Still Going Strong: Tania Saleh

Tania Saleh has been around the Lebanese music scene for a long time and she has remained consistently good. Her latest album is no exception. Wehde continues Saleh's notable mix between East and West in another one of her albums that's difficult to classify. Some call it folk but I wouldn't go that far because of the prominent presence of jazz, funk and rock in her tracks. However I digress, genre is the last thing to worry about in music, it's about the good sound and that is certainly something that Salah captured in Wehde.

It's also nice to see that she developed a memorable graphic and style to go along with the album. Her website is its ultimate incarnation and we see it in the music video for Wehde as well. This vintage mixed media collage does her album and concept justice as she sings of themes like nationalism and unity with undertones of personal stories within this.

At this point let me apologize for having a disproportionate amount of Lebanese art so far, its just that I have more exposure to it. I'll also be trying to get more visual art, architecture and design on the blog, its just that music and film is more accesible online.

Enjoy the Wehde music video and you can find the download at Pirate Beirut.

Tania Saleh-Wehde from Amin Dora on Vimeo.

Round Two: Toufic Farroukh

People say Farroukh plays jazz, but that descriptions is a bit limited. If you like jazz you'll probably dig Toufic Farroukh, but if you like Arabic folk, or even experimental electronic music I would press you to give him a listen. Really regardless of what you like, give him a try.

Farroukh is a Saxophonist hailing from Beirut who now does most of his work in France, but that doesn't mean that he has forgotten his Arab roots. His sound is a wonderful mixture between Western jazz and Eastern folk. You'll hear funk beats behind the classical melodies of an Oud.

I'll point you to Pirate Beirut (a site near and dear to my heart), where you can download one of his most recent albums.

For those interested check him out:

Toufic Farroukh Ft. Yasmine Hamdam - Lili S'en Fout from kiya on Vimeo.

Let's kick it off: The Narcicyst

Welcome to 3rab Art. I'll be bringing you Arab art, design and music from the Middle East and the Arab diaspora. This isn't the only source for it (check out my links for more) but I'll try to make it one of the better ones. If you're looking for Nancy Ajram this isn't the place to be. I'll be trying to explore and expose artists with a little more social consciousness and a little less plastic surgery. 

Let's begin with a bearded brother from from the diaspora. He resides in Canada and he spits fire. He's a stylish guy and he knows it because he's The Narcicyst. You can tell from his website that the name is no joke, the man loves himself, but then again why shouldn't he? When you've got talent like him and you're using it to make real hip-hop you have every reason to. Narci is fond of collabs and you'll often find him in cahoots with Omar Offendum, Shadia Mansour and others of the like spreading the oh-so-important messages of social awareness that need to be spread in and about the Arab world.


I invite you to bob your head to his beats along with me and check out his downloads page.


His songs speak about not only the injustices that plague the Arab World, but also about everything that confronts Arabs overseas who are born into foreign homes.


Check out Hamdullilah, featuring Shadia Mansour.

The Narcicyst + Shadia Mansour "Hamdulillah" by RidzDesign from Ridwan Adhami on Vimeo.



Enjoy.