NND's take on Lebanese Music

[NumberNineDream]

As Ziad Rahbany is considered as the greatest living Arabic musician, I'll begin with him for now. So Ziad is Fairuz' son, and got firstly known for composing his mother's songs, after his father died (Assi Rahbany, the creator of Lebanese music), I'll just talk about the whole deal.

Ziad Rahbany

Starting off with Fairuz (formerly known as Nouhad Haddad). Well she never wrote songs, but her voice was the muse that inspired all the great writers and composers of this side of the world. She was married to Assi Rahbany, who was the one to revolutionize Lebanese music and put it in the same level as Egyptian music (with Oum Koulthoum mainly). He was the one to discover her talent, and together they were an unbeatable match, the head of Lebanese music. Until one day, her son Ziad Rahbany, the mix of these two artists, ran away from home and started his musical career. He revolutionized Lebanese music a second time, introducing Jazz to the mainly Folk compositions of the Rahbany family.

The first part would be, about the compositions he made for Fairuz, which he mixed the Classical/Folk Fairuz with his own version of Jazz.

I can't talk about Ziad, without talking about his cynical lyrics and the plays he wrote. As you won't understand much about the lyrics, I'll just move to the music in his plays, which was the second part of his career. He would always work with the late Joseph Sakr, and they'd be the two, with other usual actors, acting in this play. Then Sakr would sing on his oud, as part of the story, as he usually played the role of a "struggling artist".
Or you can enjoy the music at the beginning, the intermission, and the end of the play, that would also be composed by Ziad Rahbany, to become themselves classics.

The third part of his career, moving on to just composing studio albums. After Joseph Sakr died, Ziad continued to compose for other artists he would hand pick. The latest was Salma, an unknown artist that only sang on this album. She was picked for her unusual "un-tuned" voice. Have a listen, from the album Salma monodose

[Scissorman]

I hate Arabic music, which is funny beause I study Arabic language and literature. I like some of the songs by Ziad Rahbani and also some Arabic black metal bands

[NumberNineDream]

^ Well I hate mainstream Arabic music, a lot really. It actually, physically, makes me sick. However, there are some gems from the past and present, that I am trying to discover, and maybe try to share.

There are a lot of songs by Ziad that I find much better, but thought of just posting some kind of samples, so feel free to add any of your favourites on here. And if you want to share some of the Arabic black metal bands you're familiar with, please feel free to do so, but try to write something more than just their names.

I wonder though, how come you're studying Arabic language and literature?

[Scissorman]

I study Arabic because I like the language and the writing. I dislike most of the music. There are a lot of Arabic black metal bands, but, unfortunately, most of their lyrics are in English. There is one band that I particularly whose lyrics are in Arabic. It is called Narjahanam, from Bahrain http://www.youtube.com/v/3bMNLHJVm8I&hl

[NumberNineDream]

^ Well they're kinda forced to sing in English, if they want to get out of the Arabic countries, as there's no chance for them to be known in the local markets. That's why I'm not going to post only Arabic speaking bands, as "arabic music" is not only made by the language.

Btw, here's a documentary a watched a few days ago, about a band trying to make it out of Iraq, if you're interested:

IMDB link to the movie

[Scissorman]

I have heard about that documentary. I wanted to watch it but I couldn't find it anywhere

[NumberNineDream]

Originally Posted by Scissorman

I have heard about that documentary. I wanted to watch it but I couldn't find it anywhere

They were showing it on TV, I just stumbled upon it by luck. If you ever find it, it's a must, specially after knowing that metal is illegal in Iraq, and music is all they have to express their struggle.

[Scissorman]

maybe I could download it friom rapidshare or megaupload

[NumberNineDream]

Originally Posted by Scissorman

maybe I could download it friom rapidshare or megaupload

I hope you find it.

On another note, I'll continue with the reviews:

Soap Kills

Genre: Indie, downtempo, trip hop.

Soapkills is an indie band based in Lebanon. The group was formed in October 1997 when Zeid Hamdan and Yasmin Hamdan, both born in Beirut in 1976 but not related, decided to explore and combine their interest in classical Arabic song and electronic music. Currently a cult group in Lebanon, Soapkills gets inspiration both from classical Arabic song and music and from the new electro scene currently blossoming in the Middle East. The group performs sensual music that draws much of its inspiration from Arabic song. The band appears on several compilations, has recorded the albums Bater and Cheftak, and has also performed in Paris, Berlin, Algeria, Congo, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Sydney.

They are truly a cult band in here, maybe the first underground band defying the mainstream big labels. They're mainly influenced by Ziad Rahbany, as they took his jazz, bossa-nova, oriental music fusion, and added a hint of Electronica. Even Ziad's influence on the lyrics is obvious, in contrast to the mainstream's "I miss you even when you're near" lyrics.
Soap Kills is no longer a band, but both members are still making music, and I surely will talk about their other projects later on. As for now, enjoy the music:



I have links for 3 of their albums, if anyone's interested.

[Dieselboy]

I liked what you posted on page 2, but especially the Salma Monodose stuff. Do you have a link for that by any chance? I came up with absolutely nothing when I looked.

Soap Kills also sounds interesting, especially the second song. If you don't mind linking one of their albums, maybe the one the second tune came off of, that'd be pretty cool.