🇱🇧 This album by Lebanese artist Mayssa Jallad is dedicated to a wild episode in the bloody civil war, its consequences and influence on the lives of generations.
This story is extraordinary, strange and clearly unfinished. In the 1960s and 70s, Lebanon experienced years of intense economic growth. Beirut, Its capital, experienced intensive construction resulted in appearance of fashionable areas with high-rise hotels. It was a symbol of progress, integration into the global world and transformation of the society.
However, just a few years later, in 1975, the civil war breaks out in Lebanon. Armed Muslim and Christian forces stage large-scale clashes and begin to seize buildings. Hotels that have lost their luster received another symbolism. Aggression and rage were fighting for the skyscrapers as more convenient heights.
Fast forward, in our time, Mayssa Jallad, has been exploring the architecture of Beirut in the course of her scientific work. She studies the period of the Civil War to determine what happened to the architectural heritage. She wonders how the battles of the Blues with the Reds led to the appearance of the Green Line, the division of the city into two sectors.
Finally, we are are going to listen to an album created by Mayssa together with the talented producer Fadi Tabbal. (His collaboration with Julia Sabra was already spotted by our goose). This is a kind of an audio quest that follows iconic routes. In the architectural sense, it follows from building to building. Historically, it goes from date to date. Yet anxiety and detached loss are the dominant emotions on this album, but hope and warmth go with them hand in hand. That’s one more reason why this album is particularly relevant today than ever.
Get this album via bandcamp | spotify | deezer | apple | youtube | yandex
You may also be inspired by Four Picks. 4 Tragic Pieces | Danûk | Christos Rafalides
Selected Goosebumps 