Quartertones | Music from the Arab World

We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC. Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is the third of six, featuring a conversation with and performance by Bab L'Bluz'...

We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.  Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is the second of six, featuring a conversation with mother-son duo Firas Zreik –...

We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.  Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is one in six, and features a conversation with Hadi Eldebek and Omar Offendum –...

With a vast discography featuring both emerging artists and some of the biggest names in Arabic music, Sleiman Damien is completely tapped into the region’s pop genre. We asked him what he thinks of the phrase “Arab pop fusion”, which metrics actually matter to him, and why he thinks legacy superstars have more sticking power in today’s fickle industry.  We reflect on the role of ego in the region...

P-Thugg, one half of music duo Chromeo, shares the secrets to a successful and long-term musical collaboration. On set with us in Beirut, he talks about the experiences that led to his discovering funk and hip hop, growing up between Lebanon and Canada and his changing relationship with the former, and what it’s like attending the VMAs. He tells us of Chromeo’s early days when he and David “Dave 1...

DJ Nooriyah’s iconic Boiler room set with her Baba on the oud, growing up between Saudi, Japan and London, and her beloved CDJ 2000s Pioneer decks. We sat down with Nooriyah Qais to talk about everything DJing, her guide to safeguarding yourself in the club industry, and how she transforms a sample into an infectious dance track.  We also touch on the community she’s built with her curated event a...

The early days of Palestinian hip-hop group DAM, growing up in Lydda, and working with artists across the region and from the diaspora: Suhel Nafar joins us on QuarterTones to discuss his colorful and accomplished musical career to date. We talk about his family’s ‘Bootleg Jackson 5’ group, Palestinian hip hop and his departure from DAM.  Suhel Nafar is the co-founder of Palestinian hip-hop group...

Akher Zapheer’s front-man and longest standing member, Basem Sayej, talks to us about Amman as his muse and a misunderstood city, the Arab rock scene, and his favorite places to perform round the world. We listen to three of Akher Zapheer’s songs from across their albums and get an insight into how Basem approaches song-writing. Finally, Basem shares his personal mixtape for the best alternative b...

In this episode of Quartertones, Thanks Joey takes us on a journey through hip hop, Brooklyn music, and his Syrian grandfather’s old records. We talk about working with Omar Offendum and Narcy, his music making process, and what inspired his Lahme song. He gives us a sneak preview of unreleased tracks, tours us round his sampler, and reflects on infusing his music with his heritage. Thanks Joey is...

John Bakhos talks about forming his metal band, Anuryzm, and the progression of its music throughout the years. In this Quartertones episode, John plays three songs: Cosmos, Neo Luddite, and Ruby Demon. John Bakhos is a Lebanese musician, guitarist, and the founder of the progressive metal band Anuryzm. Born in Beirut, Bakhos started playing the guitar at a young age and was heavily influenced by...

Blu Fiefer plays three of her songs: Sharaf, Nazele Big Champagne, and Sint El Ew. She talks about her contribution to hip-hop in Lebanon and how she uses storytelling in her music. Blu Fiefer is a Lebanese-Mexican artist, music producer and director, approaching her art as a multi-faceted platform. Today, Fiefer readies her debut album 'Villain Bala Cause' inspired by the traditions of story-tell...

Omar El Ouaer plays three of his songs: Alif Ya Soltani, Aziza, and Mana3ref Win. He tells us about Tunisian music and how he discovered Jazz. Omar el Ouaer, a Tunisian jazz musician. He started his music education at the age of 11, studying Arabic music at the conservatory, and later discovered jazz and modern piano. He participated in various jazz workshops and played concerts with local and int...

Zeid Hamdan introduces us to the Indie music scene in the Arab region. We listened together to songs he produced: Herzan by Soapkills and Zamel by Bedouin Burger, which he forms with Lynn Adib. Zeid Hamdan is a Lebanese music composer. For the last 2 decades, he's been producing some of the most interesting bands of the Lebanese and regional indie music scene such as Soapkills, The New Government,...

Malika Zarra takes us on a musical journey to discover Moroccan music. She tells about her newest album "RWA (The Essence)" and about who inspires her the most, from Moroccan Hajja Hamdaouia to Lebanese Farid Al-Atrash and Algerian Warda. Malika is a singer and composer who was born in Southern Morocco and raised in a suburb of Paris. Her musical background is a blend of French and Moroccan influe...

On this episode of Quartertones we're talking with Nubian-rooted Egyptian singer Nesma Herky who takes us to the origins of her interest in singing. We then listen to her work starting with Amary, continuing with Ne3eesh Be3eed, and end with her rendition of Mohamed Mounir's Ya Marakby. Nesma Herky is a marvelous Nubian rooted Egyptian singer and a skillful music composer, who is taking steady ste...

Vanessa Paloma Elbaz talked about her research in Jewish music. We listened to Chant Juif pour la Naissance by Mme. Azeroual, Habibi Lawel by Habiba Messika, and La Llorona by Chavela Vargas. Vanessa Paloma Duncan-Elbaz has a Ph. D. from the Sorbonne’s CERMOM research group of the INALCO (Center for Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Studies of the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civil...

In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to Bedouin Burger duo artists Lynn Adib and Zeid Hamdan. ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwav...

In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to classical pianist Hatim Belyamani and rapper Mehdi WMD. ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airw...

In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to Kanun player and composer Firas Zreik.  ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and living...

In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to maqamat and awtaar vocalist Zahra Alzubaidi. ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and li...

In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to Mauritanian griot and singer Noura Mint Seymali and Mauritania/Senegal-based producer and musician Matthew Tinari.  ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take l...

Nadine performed three of her songs and spoke about her musical career. Nadine El Roubi is a Sudanese artist who grew up in Virginia, she hopes to expand the understanding of what it means, and looks like, to be Arab Muslim woman. She takes inspiration from icons like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and more. She debuted in 2018, with her first solo single “gr8ful”. She has performed in Sudan, Egypt, th...

Kinan performed three musical pieces and spoke about his work as a composer. Originally from Damascus, Syria Kinan Azmeh is a soloist, composer, and improvisor. He has performed in places such as the Opera Bastille, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Damascus Opera House, and more. Kinan’s compositions include several works for solo, chamber, and orchestral music, as well as music for film, live illustrat...

Rahim performed 3 pieces from his work and spoke about his work as a composer and musician. Rahim AlHaj has performed all over the world, on tour with Munir Bashir, his teacher, as well as solo and with his string quartet project, including numerous concerts in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, and France and hundreds of concerts in the United States. He has r...

Firas performed three songs, spoke about starting Last Floor Productions, and his work in movie/TV composition. Firas Abou Fakher is a Lebanese composer, producer, and writer. While attending the American University of Beirut (AUB), he co-founded Mashrou' Leila with Hamed Sinno, Haig Papazian and Carl Gerges and is the band's composer, guitarist, and keyboardist. He also co-founded Last Floor Prod...