If He Dies, If If If If If If

Not so much a group as a multi-media project, Jerusalem in My Heart consist of Lebanon-born Radwan Ghazi Moumneh and the Canadian filmmaker Charles-André Coderre, who provides a visual backdrop to Moumneh's striking contemporary Arabic compositions. Moumneh, who divides his time between Beirut and Montreal, fuses twitchy electronica with hauntingly eerie vocals and traditional instruments, veering dramatically between the tranquil and the terrifying, setting shimmering Arabic strings against roaring white noise. The effect is an emotional maelstrom of anger and sorrow, introspection and declamation, inspired – although provoked might be a better word – by the tragedies of Gaza and Syria. Wayward synths combine with the ancient strings of the buzuk (the Levantine version of the Greek bouzouki) and, in the sombre climax of the record, the mournful sounds of a bansuri (flute) and an echoing vocal that sounds like a requiem are followed by the droning strings of the buzuk set against the sound of waves washing over a Lebanese beach. Despite moments of great beauty, If He Dies, If If If If If If is not an easy listen; but it is an undeniably profound, ambitious and moving one.