Qalaq

Born in Beirut at the outset of a civil war that devastated his country and set the pattern for decades of crippling politics, crumbling infrastructure, and toxic relations with its neighbours, Jerusalem in My Heart’s founder Radwan Ghazi Moumneh did not choose his latest album’s name by accident. Qalaq, as with many words from this region, has several interpretations, but the Montreal-based producer and musician here intends the meaning of ‘deep worry,’ a reflection of the anxiety which he clearly feels for Lebanon and its future.

A sense of agitation, anxiety and deep unease pervades this uncategorisable collaboration with artists including Alexei Perry Cox, Rabih Beaini, Lucrecia Dalt, Greg Fox, Tim Hecker and Alanis Obomsawin. Fusing ethereal-sounding sung and spoken Arabic with grating electroacoustic noise and discordant electronica, most of the 13 tracks possess commendable artistic integrity in greater quantity than outright aural pleasure. There’s a beguiling appeal to tracks such as ‘Ana Lisan Wahad’ (with Farida Amadou and Pierre-Guy Blanchard); however, this album undeniably succeeds in its attempt to instil in the listener’s mind the unsettling sense of trepidation and pessimism that, sadly, seems so fitting for the Levant right now.