Golden Beirut: New Sounds From Lebanon

Two years ago, I spent a week in Beirut lecturing to journal¬ism students. In the evenings, after classes were done, my students took me around the city’s music clubs and introduced me to a small but vibrant scene. Unsurprisingly, there were a number of bands trying to be the Lebanese Radiohead or Coldplay. Most of them, such as Scrambled Eggs, The New Government, Soap Kills and electroclash duo Lumi were excellent in their way, and with few big international bands stopping off in Beirut, they perform a valuable function for a domestic audience. But the lack of any local identity in their sound was frustrating and Songlines readers will probably find these are the least interesting acts among the dozen showcased in this broad-based compilation of contemporary Lebanese music. There is plenty here which will engage, however. Malikah is a strikingly original MC who mixes rap and Lebanese styles in thrilling fashion. The seven-piece Mashrou’ Leila evoke a swirling Middle Eastern Gypsy vibe. ShiftZ offer up a lovely, nostalgic evocation of the ‘golden Beirut’ of the 50s. Katibe 5, a Palestinian rap quintet (whose dramatic, flag-waving live show I was privileged to witness) deliver a guttural, passionate sounding rap which begs for translation (unfortunately not provided). Praed cleverly manipulate Arabic pop tropes into something far more experimental, while Rayess Bek is another powerful rapper and oud player and singer Ziyad Sahhab brilliantly connects traditional Arabic forms with a contemporary singer-songwriter sensibility, in the style of Iraq’s Ilham al-Madfai. It’s a mixed bag. But that, of course, was the intention, and Beirut can be proud to present such a diverse and multi-talented scene to the world.