Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest SANDY CHAMOUN // 03 December 2024

A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal โ€“ this broadcast features a mix by Lebanese musician SANDY CHAMOUN. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

Sandy Chamoun is a multifaceted artist, singer, and actor based in Beirut. Her music draws from her ongoing interest in a wide range of subjects, including audio-visual arts, politics, satire, and folk traditions.

In 2022, Chamoun released her debut solo album, FATA17OCT. She is currently developing her second album, Sawt El Doumoue, commissioned by Mophradat. Beyond her solo work, she is a founding member of two notable musical groups: the political satire band The Great Departed and the free-rock, post-folk sextet SANAM. SANAM’s debut album, Aykathani Malakon, was released in June 2023 on the UK label Mais Um Discos to critical acclaim, followed by the live album Live at Cafe Oto a year later.

Chamoun has also delved into Arabic folk songs with social and political themes. She has performed the works of iconic figures like Sheikh Imam and Mona Meraashli at venues such as Metro Al-Madina in Beirut. As a performer, she has appeared in several acclaimed Lebanese theater productions, including Political Circus, Welada88, and Aghani Servicet (Taxi Songs). Her skills extend to sound design, with credits in short films such as There Is a Baba in Our House by Leil Zahra Mortada and Congress of Idling Persons by Bassem Saad.

TRACK LISTING:

– Anthony Sahyoun feat. Julia Sabra: Wasted Efforts
– Marc Codsi: Fugue 1
– Youmna Saba: Al Khayal
– Kamilya Jubran: Wahdi
– Diamanda Galas: Judgment Day
– Howie Lee: Bankers
– Katibeh Khamseh: Silat Rahem
– Arca: Prada/Rakata
– Malayeen: Omar
– Jerusalem in my Heart: 2asmar Sahar
– Mohamad Omran: Aslamtou Wajhi
– Saint Abdullah: Sounds from the Hosseinieh
– Abdullah Miniawy: Purple Feathers



Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio // 05 November 2024

A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal.ย Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

1. Azu Tiwaline – Long Hypnosis
2. Deena Abdelwahed – Complain
3. Use Knife –ย Coup dโ€™รฉtat (Muqata’a ู…ู‚ุงุทุนุฉ Remix)
4. Nour Sokhon –ย The destruction and the rebuilding
5. Ralph Chbeir –ย Olive Trees
6. Kid Fourteen –ย Learning How to Die
7. SANAM – Mouathibatti (Live at Cafe Oto)
8. Nadah El Shazly –ย Mausoleum
9. Julia Sabra –ย Minor Detail
10. Fatima Al Qadiri –ย Medieval Femme
11. Los Panteros (Tony Elieh & Aya Metwalli) – Ya Tayren Tayer ูŠุง ุทูŠุฑู ุทุงูŠุฑ
12. Yara Asmar –ย Cold Feet And Hot Air Balloons


Photo by Tanya Traboulsi

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio // 01 October 2024

A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

1. Marmalsana [Burkhard Beins, Tony Elieh & Maurice Louca] –ย Inundo
2. Youmna Saba – Akaleel
3. Yara Asmar –ย Are These Your Hands? Would You Like Them Back? (With Majd Chidiac)
4. Marmalsana [Burkhard Beins, Tony Elieh & Maurice Louca] –ย Alveno
5. Elyse Tabet [with Pascal Semerdjian & Yara Asmar] –ย Bright Bells (Bana Haffar Remix)
6. Liliane Chlela –ย Bza2
7. Safa – Grounds
8. Nstant [Stephanie Merchak & Nour Sokhon] –ย Floating Like Particles In The Air
9. Sote –ย Kangaroo Court
10. Anthony Sahyoun –ย Khifat Al-Atraf (with Firas al Hallak)
11. Munma –ย Le garde du coeur
12. Mazen El Sayed & Jawad Nawfal –ย Pastless
13. Shatr Collective –ย Kafas


Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest MAYSSA JALLAD // 05 March 2024

A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal โ€“ this broadcast features a guest mix by Lebanese musician MAYSSA JALLAD. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

Mayssa Jallad is a Beirut-based bilingual singer-songwriter, architectural researcher andย teacher, born in 1990. Her work deals with the highly personal as well as the political, as with her first solo album โ€œMarjaa: The Battle of the Hotelsโ€, which explores the histories of urban battles that occurred before she was born, during the Lebanese Civil War, through a collaborative musical and architectural lens.

  1. DAKN & MUQATAโ€™Aย Fi Miโ€™ad
  2. SNAKESKIN All The Birds
  3. MITSKIย Heaven
  4. YOUMNA SABAย Ahad
  5. FARAH KADDOURย Estehlฤl
  6. VAMPI & NADAH EL-SHAZLYย Myst
  7. RAHILLย Tell Me
  8. DRAGONCHILDย Unicode 1200
  9. MARC CODSIย The Dance
  10. DEENA ABDELWAHEDย Each Day
  11. JENNY HVALย Year Of Love
  12. SARY MOUSSA & CHARBEL HABERย An Atom Of Your Love
  13. NABIHAH IQBALย Dreamer
  14. SANAMย Shajar Al-Touti
  15. CLAIRE DEAKย Quarrel Of The Senses
  16. MAYSSA JALLADย Haigazian (October 22)


Portrait of Mayssa taken in Beirut by Mohamad Al-Rifai

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest RAMI ABI RAFI // 06 February 2024

A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal โ€“ this broadcast features a guest mix by Berlin-based Lebanese DJ, sound artist and photographer RAMI ABI RAFI. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

In Rami’s own words: โ€œIn this broadcast entitled INSIJAM, meaning ‘harmony’ in Arabic, the essence of chances and encounters takes center stage. Combining musique concrรจte with traditional Arabic sounds, the performance shifts between experimental, avant-garde, spoken word, field recordings, and improvised jazz.ย INSIJAM represents my perspective on the beauty of diverse musical encounters.โ€

  1. ร‰LIANE RADIGUE – Adnos I
  2. PHILL NIBLOCK – Didjeridoos and Donโ€™ts
  3. PAULINE OLIVEROS – Time Perspectives
  4. BANA HAFFAR – Ahl Al Samaa’
  5. RAED YASSIN – Black Risotto With Razor Clams
  6. TWO OR THE DRAGON – Dance Grooves For The Weary -Part I-
  7. FRANZ HAUTZINGER & MAZEN KERBAJ – Kalash 1
  8. RASHAD BECKER – matraquage
  9. RELร‚CHE ENSEMBLE – Paul Epstein, “Three Songs from Home
  10. NADAH EL SHAZLY – Breakup By The Sea
  11. MARGARET LENG TAN – Dream
  12. โ€˜Aโ€™ TRIO – Kazdoura
  13. JANA WINDEREN – Live in Den Haag
  14. LAURIE SPIEGEL – Music for Dance II
  15. YOUMNA SABA – Al khayal ุงู„ุฎูŠุงู„
  16. SNAKESKIN (JULIA SABRA & FADI TABBAL) – Past Tense
  17. FAIRUZ –ย Nassam Alayna El-Hawa


Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest JULIA SABRA // 06 January 2024

A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal โ€“ this broadcast features a guest mix by Lebanese musician JULIA SABRA, from dreampop trio Postcards and ambient duo Snakeskin. This broadcast was commissioned and produced by Onassis Cultural Center, and presented for the first time in the frame of Stegi Radio.

Julia Sabra is a Lebanese musician, songwriter, composer and sound engineer. She co-founded Postcards in 2013, a dream pop/shoegaze trio, and is the bandโ€™s lead singer, lyricist, co-composer and multi-instrumentalist. Postcards have released two EPs and four albums and their fifth is set for release in the fall of 2024. The trio has been regularly touring Europe and the Middle East since 2015.

Sabra is one half of Snakeskin, an ambient/electronic duo with long-time collaborator Fadi Tabbal. They released their debut self-titled album in October 2022.ย She is also the manager of Tunefork Studios since 2017, where she works as composer, VO artist and live sound engineer.

  1. Charbel Haber & Fadi Tabbal- Enfin La Nuit
  2. Postcards- Fall From Grace (unreleased)
  3. Marc Codsi – The Wait
  4. Interbellum – Flotsam
  5. Mayssa Jallad – Kharita
  6. Marwan Tohme – To Begin Again (unreleased)
  7. Yara Asmar – Come Back Later
  8. Fadi Tabbal – You Were Right (unreleased)
  9. Anthony Sahyoun – Untitled (unreleased)
  10. Snakeskin – In Our Garden
  11. Farah Kaddour – Khuzama (unreleased)
  12. Youmna Saba – Akaleel
  13. Charif Megarbane – Souk el Ahad
  14. Sary Moussa & Charbel Haber – An Atom of Your Love
  15. Sanam – Ya Nass
  16. Sam The Dog – Pulling It Off (unreleased)


Ruptured News // Youmna Saba at Souffle Continu, Paris // 12 January 2024

Friends in Paris,

This is happening in your city on Friday 12 January.

The exquisite Youmna Saba will present her new album “Wishah”, co-released in late 2023 by Touch [UK] and Ruptured [Lebanon], in a live showcase taking place at Souffle Continu music store. Starting 6.30pm.

There will be copies of the album available to purchase in both vinyl and CD format.
Facebook event HERE.

Press Review // Youmna Saba // Wishah

Acclaim for Youmna Saba’s album Wishah, released by Touch UK In October 2023 (CD/digital) and by Ruptured in December 2023 (vinyl/digital).

“Structured into five discernible stages, Wishah guides us through a gradual process of revelation, deconstructing memories and barriers that have built up through the ages. Saba carefully peels back those layers, finding an empty shell at the center, the place where home once existed. Each word stings. Caustic, atmospheric drones hollow out the last remnants, leaving our thoughts trailing into the endless night. A stunning album.” โ€“ Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis
https://foxydigitalis.zone/2023/12/13/the-capsule-garden-vol-2-42-december-13-2023/

โ€œNestled in the interval between the urgency of speaking, and that of remaining silent or speaking out of turn, Youmna Saba engages in a relentless yet passionate and loving heart-to-heart with her instrument.โ€ โ€“ Nasri N. Sayegh, Lโ€™Orient-le-Jour
https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1350564/youmna-saba-electronise-son-oud.html

“The five-song composition feels like going in circles on the edge of an epiphany; a spiral in synthesized oud.” โ€“ Layla Raik, SceneNoise
https://scenenoise.com/New-Music/Youmna-Saba-s-Wishah-is-an-Obscure-Tapestry-of-Oud-Soundscapes

Also included in Scene Noise’s Best Albums of 2023 (Middle East & North Africa):
https://scenenoise.com/Reviews/Best-Albums-Of-2023-Middle-East-North-Africa

“Lebanese musician, composer and musicologist Youmna Saba positions her voice at the center of her latest solo album (…) Very strong material indeed.” โ€“ Boomkat
https://boomkat.com/products/wishah

“A remarkable new work from Beirut’s Youmna Saba, now based in Paris. Saba is an accomplished oud player (…) On Wishah ูˆโ€‹ูโ€‹ุดโ€‹ุงโ€‹ุญ her oud’s sound is technologically extended, to amplify every string squeak and body tap, and further integrated with sympathetic electronics. The works range from abstract processed sound to delicate oud fingerpicking, and most tracks patiently reach a place where Saba brings in her emotive vocals. It’s an immersive, moving listening experience.” โ€“ Peter Hollo, Utility Fog (FBi Radio)
https://www.frogworth.com/utilityfog/archives/2023/10/08/playlist-08-10-23/

“Saba sโ€™attaque au logiciel historique du oud en tant quโ€™instrument : (elle) utilise ce qui est souvent perรงu comme une sรฉrie de dรฉfauts pour le transformer en instrument รฉlectro-acoustique, en jouant notamment sur des dispositifs de larsen maรฎtrisรฉ, comme lorsquโ€™elle a placรฉ le oud face ร  6 voix et travaillรฉ sur leurs rรฉsonances dans lโ€™instrument. ร€ le faire sonner ainsi, elle sโ€™affranchit de la vision essentialiste sโ€™รฉtant largement diffusรฉe ces cinquante derniรจres annรฉes en Europe ; un oud justement dรฉnuรฉ de bruits, suspendu dans une logique de puretรฉ proche de la musique baroque, oรน chaque note rรฉsonne et doit rencontrer le silence du public.” โ€“ Musique Journal
https://musique-journal.fr/2023/10/19/youmna-saba-a-plus-dune-corde-a-son-oud/



Listen/Order CD (Touch)
Listen/Order LP (Ruptured)

Ruptured Album Release // YOUMNA SABA // Wishah [VINYL EDITION]

Releasing December 15th, 2023 on Ruptured Records:
Although these are terrible times we are living in, it pleases us to finally announce the vinyl release of โ€œWISHAHโ€, by Lebanese musician, composer and musicologist Youmna Saba.

“Wishah” (meaning veil in Arabic) is a composition for voice, oud and electronics, composed and performed between 2021 and 2022.ย 

Following her previous solo works “Njoum” (2014) and “Arbโ€™een” (2017), this album marks a significant turning point in Saba’s journey. Created after leaving Beirut and settling in Paris, “Wishah” reveals a profound shift in her musical expression, informed by rigorous research in the sonic properties of sung Arabic phonemes and their role in shaping synthesized electronic sounds.

The composition is organized into five distinct stages, each contributing to a process of gradual revelation. As the tracks unfold, they strip away layers of constructed emotions and perceptions that have been intricately woven over time, to expose a space that no longer exists. โ€œWishahโ€ is in many ways a farewell to home.

Youmna Saba is a musician, composer and musicologist. Her current research focuses on instrument and space resonances in different sonic and musical contexts. With four albums to date, she has collaborated with artists from different countries and backgrounds, further enriching her repertoire and expanding her reach. These include Kamilya Jubran, Floy Krouchi, Mike Cooper and the Neue Vocalsolisten ensemble, among others. She is the laureate of the first sound residency at Quai Branly Museum, Paris (2022-2023) with her research project and installation โ€œLa Rรฉserve des Non-Ditsโ€, now on view at the museum; and a laureate of the music residency program at the Citรฉ Internationale des Arts, Paris (2020-2021).

โ€œWishahโ€ was first released by UK label Touch back in October 2023, as a CD and digital album. Ruptured will release the vinyl version in December 2023.

โ€œNestled in the interval between the urgency of speaking, and that of remaining silent or speaking out of turn, Youmna Saba engages in a relentless yet passionate and loving heart-to-heart with her instrument.โ€ โ€“ Nasri Sayegh, Lโ€™Orient le Jour

“A remarkable new work from Beirut’s Youmna Saba, now based in Paris. Saba is an accomplished oud player, found on many other artists’ releases (such as Oiseaux-Tempรชte). On Wishah ูˆโ€‹ูโ€‹ุดโ€‹ุงโ€‹ุญ her oud’s sound is technologically extended, to amplify every string squeak and body tap, and further integrated with sympathetic electronics. The works range from abstract processed sound to delicate oud fingerpicking, and most tracks patiently reach a place where Saba brings in her emotive vocals. It’s an immersive, moving listening experience.” โ€“ Peter Hollo, Utility Fog (FBi Radio)

Wishah
Written and performed by Youmna Saba.
Recorded and mixed by Fadi Tabbal at Tunefork Studios, Beirut.
Produced by Youmna Saba and Fadi Tabbal.
Mastered by Stephan Mathieu.

Vinyl version produced by Ruptured in Montrรฉal, Canada in Fall 2023.
Limited edition of 200 copies pressed at Microforum, Toronto.
Design and photography by Jon Wozencroft (courtesy of Touch UK).



Starts shipping on December 15, 2023.
Listen/Preorder here


Photo by Nasri N. Sayegh

Ruptured Album Release // MAYSSA JALLAD // Marjaa: The Battle Of The Hotels [VINYL EDITION]

Releasing November 3rd, 2023 โ€“ a joint release by Ruptured and Six of Swords

Lebanese singer/songwriter Mayssa Jallad’s first solo album. A poetic reflection on Beirut’s War of the Hotels, one of the bloodiest events of Lebanon’s Civil War.

The vinyl edition of โ€˜Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotelsโ€™ is co-released by Beirut-based label Ruptured and UK newcomer Six of Swords. It is pressed in a limited edition of 300 copies, with a limited D2C edition containing download coupon and a full-colour, double-sided 34 x 68cm art print on 150gsm wood-free paper with map, 3D diagrams and timeline depicting the historical events of the battle.ย ย 

Mayssa will play a short European tour in November, including performances at Oslo World in Sweden and Le Guess Who? in The Netherlands.ย 

“In the end, the album, like the city on which it is based, feels like an infinite loop of history, relayed through the brave yet saintly voice of an artist who has taken the task of documenting the past through music.”Christina Hazboun, Bandcamp
daily.bandcamp.com/features/mayssa-jallad-marjaa-battle-of-the-hotels-interviewย ย 

โ€œItโ€™s an album with everything; vital history, experimental melodicism, inventive structures, mountains of emotion, and Jalladโ€™s stunning voice. There is so much to learn, so much to hear.โ€Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis

“In an overwhelmingly creative and critical act, Mayssa Jallad turns the destruction of the Lebanese Civil War into a stunning, two-sided album driven by poetic songwriting mixed with historical narration, lush strings and synths, gentle drones, and her incredible vocal prowess.”Maha El-Nabawy, SceneNoise

releases November 03, 2023



Listen/Order (Ruptured) HERE

Listen/Order (Six of Swords) HERE