Early this year, we reviewed Nour Sokhon‘s Beirut Birds, which Richard Allen found to be “teeming with urgency, … an example of an album released at exactly the right time.” Another recent record, Beyond All Borderlines, is an evocative collaboration fusing Sokhon’s field recordings and electronics with piano improvisations from Montreal’s Stefan Christoff, released on Ruptured. Late last year, that label released Yara Asmar’s engrossing Stuttering Music, and we’ve been deeply impressed by their ongoing output, with some very exciting releases on the horizon. For this joint mix, regular mix contributor Christoff joins Ruptured label owner Ziad Nawfal to select and mix various songs with field recording contributions by Sokhon. The accompanying artwork is by Mexico City based artist Margarita Barros, who also created the cover art for Beyond All Borderlines. Happy Listening. (Joseph Sannicandro)
This mixtape came together surrounding the release of my duet album with Nour, Beyond All Borderlines, out on Ruptured Music. This album, built on a session in Berlin in Oct. 2023 at Morphine Raum in Berlin by Rabih Beaini, developed ideas from an ongoing exchange with Nour, between Berlin and Montreal, over the past few years. The session was filled with electricity and layered emotions, as all present in the space were feeling the heaviness of war.
The mix that is being shared here on A Closer Listen illustrates some of the sonic influences on the album but also an ongoing exchange of sound and friendship between those who contributed to the mix. A couple of the pieces are shared in excerpts because I wanted to include a relatively wide range of sounds on the mix. It is our honour to share it here through A Closer Listen, thanks.
(Stefan Christoff)
MINI-INTERVIEW
Please introduce yourself.
Ziad: I am a music promoter and label owner currently living and working in Montreal. Prior to moving to Canada in 2021, I spent over 25 years exposing the world to Lebanon’s special local independent music talent, on my two radio shows broadcast weekly on Radio Lebanon 96.2FM. These radio programs showcased alternative rock, electronic and experimental music produced primarily by artists from Lebanon and the MENA region, and often featured interviews and live performances by said artists.
Nour: I am a Lebanese artist currently based in Berlin. My practice explores artistic research through interviews, field recordings, and site-specific interventions, which I translate into sound compositions, performances, installations, and moving image works. Since relocating to Berlin at the end of 2021, my focus has increasingly shifted toward performance reflecting the nature of the city’s openness for improvised jams, and listening sessions. Despite being far from home, my practice is connected to it, constantly questioning the notion of collective memory, using sound as a portal building a bridge between spaces and places. This can be seen through the release of the album Beirut Birds / طيور بيروت and Beyond All Borderlines.
Representing Beirut, are there any particular artists, collective, venues, or institutions you’d like our readers to know about?
Ziad: In keeping with the general A Closer Listen aesthetic, I would recommend the following artists – Munma / Elyse Tabet / Anthony Sahyoun / Jad Atoui / Fadi Tabbal / Snakeskin / Etyen / Sary Moussa / Charbel Haber. Venues – Metro al Madina, Zoukak Theater. Institutions: Tunefork Studios, Irtijal Festival.
Nour: Lebanese artists abroad (Berlin, Athens and Montreal) representing Beirut – Tony Elieh, Rabih Beaini, Raed Yassin, Liliane Chlela and Flugen (Maya Aghniadiz). Lebanese artists in Beirut – NÂR (Nadia Daou), june as (Junior Sfeir), Sandy Chamoun, Ziad Moukarzel, and Julia Sabra.
Nour: At the moment I am focused on touring my album Beirut Birds that was released on Aural Conduct, and in parallel I am working on multiple artistic projects. An upcoming one is a sound workshop/walk “Harbouring Voices” which is part of a project called Dissident Paths. It will take place at Westhafen in Berlin, during this site-specific intervention I will be collecting audio material for a new performance which may lead to an upcoming album. The sounds gathered from the harbor will serve as the foundation of the work, exploring how voices can inhabit, transform, and reshape space—and how they can carry it with them.
Ziad: On Ruptured – Charbel Haber, Nicolas Jaar & Sary Moussa / Farah Kaddour & Marwan tohme / Various Artists: The Dome Sessions (recorded live at the Niemeyer dome in Tripoli, Lebanon / Snakeskin. On Other People – Sary Moussa. On Aural Conduct – Nour Sokhon. On One Little Independent – Nadah El Shazly. On Simsara – Maurice Louca. On Constellation – SANAM.
Thank you both so much for this mix and for all these great recommendations. Lots of great music coming up on Ruptured.
And I’ll just leave off by mentioning that any readers in or around Montreal, please take note that SANAM will be playing a few events as part of Suoni per il Popolo festival. Radwan Ghazi Moumneh’s experimental soundscapes will set the stage for Beirut septet SANAM’s dynamic and hard-edged improvisations. (21 June) And members of the septet will also appear with Moumneh and Jessica Moss in various configurations over two special nights at Hotel2Tango. (23-24 June) Stefan Christoff will also perform as part of the festival, joining Daniela Solís in further exploring the Mexico City-Montréal connection. (22 June)
TRACKLIST
- Nour Sokhon – Airplane Announcement Turbulence (field recording)
- Aya Metwalli & Nadia Daou [Nâr] – Saturnus (excerpt)
- Roger Tellier-Craig – Où s’inscrit tout indéterminé (excerpt)
- Fadi Tabbal – I Am All That Is Left
- Julia E. Dyck – Regression
- T. Gowdy – Richmond Rd
- Nour Sokhon – Airplane Announcement (field recording)
- Shatr Collective – Kafas, قفص
- Jordan Christoff – Hypnotic
- Nour Sokhon & Stefan Christoff – A shadow signal
- Luke Loseth and Stefan Christoff – Clearing (excerpt)
a closer listen 