You can hear Leila, cascading melts of masculine vocals only suspended with thrusts of violin, beats and bass – attacked by neurotic melody that means no harm – sometimes tender, even sometimes on pause. Through the music, you can smell where Leila has been, in bed sheets, on sidewalks, jasmines in rifles and spilled coffee on dresses as she made you play with aubergines, dancing her dance. Music has constantly been their place to play with things, to match and mis-match, a project.
In the various performances, Mashrouʼ Leila is a constant attempt to taste and produce, more than happy to harvest anyone from the audience as a guest in their encores. They have performed around Lebanon since 2008, playing in various venues in Beirut, taking over supposed public piazzas as well as clubs, pubs, hybrids and the such – they also played in Zahle, Sour, Jounieh, Saida and Deir el Qamar, each of which pushed forward their thinking about how to go about their music, lyrics and performance. It is only when Mashrouʼ Leila goes live, that you can actually catch a glimpse of Leila. As it talks to you of Beirut, the city that tastes of the absurd, the product of its day-to-day experiences, its stubborn security and lack of the latter, its musical bombshells, incoherent sexuality and thrusting pleasure…narcotic pain – as it brings forward hints of Arabic Tarab, rock, to folk pop, electro, you can see Leila in every man and woman in the silent- come-raving audience. In this trajectory, they participated in music workshops and concerts in Amman and Cairo to maneuver their way into a pan-Arab music scene, to know and to announce, more importantly to grow, musically.
In March 2009, Mashrouʼ Leila won the Lebanese Modern Music Contest jury prize and public vote organized by Radio Liban in partnership with CCF, Incognito and the Basement. They released their debut album in December 2009 at what turned out to be Beirut’s biggest alternative (read non-mainstream) event in recent years.
The months leading up to the Arab Spring proved fruitful for Leila as well. In July 2010, Mashrou’ Leila headlined Byblos International Music festival alongside the Gorillaz and Caetano Veloso; this was the first time a Lebanese band was given a headlining post in the festival and proved to be Mashrou’ Leila’s biggest concert yet. Fall of 2010-11 saw Leila pack up her suitcases with shows in Qatar at the Doha Tribeca International Film Festival and at the Vodafone Big Day Out, headlining alongside Hoobastank and Toploader, in the United Arab Emirates at the Du World Music Festival and the Music Room – Dubai’s leading live music venue and in Egypt where the live at the Genaina Theater show saw a sold out crowd with people gathering outside the venue premises for a peek.
In the summer of 2011, Mashrou’ Leila released "el Hal Romancy" E.P., five songs of new material recorded in mountain retreats with cousins and turkish coffee, in the abandoned concrete dome in the Tripoli world Fair and with a quintet of strings on cold winter nights. The release was held at the Hippodrome of Beirut. Mashrou’ Leila also added Serbia and Jordan to the map, with a spot in the 4 day prestigious Exit Festival in Serbia and a 2 night show at the Citadel in Jordan.
After two years, one spent writing the other spent producing, one crowd funding campaign, touring and gigging all around, Mashrou’ Leila released their 3rd Album “Raasük” on 27 August, 2013, recorded at the mighty Hotel 2 Tango in Montreal.
The first hint of new material arrived when the band started a campaign asking the members of their social media pages to submit lyrics and video ideas to be incorporated in the band's upcoming single. "3 Minutes" was released on March 17, 2015.
Contrary to their common method of writing and producing songs, the band decided not to test their new material in live concerts, opting instead for secrecy and mystery about their fourth album. The band recorded the 13 tracks in studio La Frette in France over the summer with French-Lebanese producer Samy Osta, and worked on orchestral and brass arrangements with the Macedonian Radio Orchestra in F.A.M.E's Studios in Macedonia. The band has said that this album is their most pop album to date, and deals with topics that range from the euphoric to the destructive and depressive, all taking place in the politically, socially, and sexually charged spaces of Beirut's night.
The band experimented with drum machines, loops, samples, and several synthesizers in a new method of composition, trying to accommodate for the departure of keyboard player Omaya Malaeb. "Maghawir" narrates a possible version of a club shooting in Beirut, drawing on references to real Lebanese case histories from two different shootings that took place within the same week, both of which resulted in the deaths of extremely young victims, each of who was out celebrating their birthday." During a show in Boston, the band explained that the song "Tayf (Ghost)" is about a shuttered gay club, and "Bint Elkhandaq" tells the story of a friend who learned, "as hard as it is to be a woman in Beirut, it’s just as hard to be brown in the West."
The album is heavily loaded with allusions and references, both to contemporary figures of pop, and to mythological figures of gods and demons.
On the November 28, the band released Ibn El Leil at the Barbican in London with live broadcasting on MTV Lebanon available to the entire world to positive reviews. "In the seven years since Mashrou’ Leila formed at the American University of Beirut, the quintet – whose name, in fact, means 'overnight project' – have won comparisons to everyone from Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead to Roxy Music and Wild Beasts."
On December 1, Ibn El Leil debuted at the number one spot on local iTunes channels, and charted as number 11 on the international world Billboard charts. "It’s such an impressive performance that stadiums seem not only possible but imminent."
The band released a music video for their single "Roman" on July 19, 2017. The single was included on the deluxe version of Ibn El Leil released July 21, 2017.
On February 8, 2019, Mashrou' Leila released a new single, "Cavalry", the first from their upcoming album The Beirut School. The Beirut School was released on March 1, 2019. The album includes some songs from the group's previous album. The group toured North America in 2019 in support of the album.
On Aug. 9, 2019, the band was set to perform at the Byblos International Festival. The concert was banned against the backdrop of widespread rejection and accusation that the lyrics of one of the group’s songs offend the Christian faith.
In September 2022, Sinno announced that the band would be disbanding. Sinno cited harassment and hate campaigns as a reason for the band breaking up, especially because of Mashrou’ Leila’s hardships with bans in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. The real reason for restrictions on the band is his declared gender identity, as he defines himself as being queer — something that he believes was behind the attacks on the musical group and their work over the past years.
Many of the group’s songs touch on the issue of homosexuality, namely the 2009 song “Sham El Yasmine,” which speaks of a forbidden relationship and love between two men, and their struggle to lead normal lives together. The band also produced several songs addressing social and political topics in unconventional ways. The group members also touched on love, marriage, sex, religion, emancipation, the reality of Arab cities and revolutions, political assassinations and other thorny issues in the Arab world.
www.mashrou3leila.com
Asnam
Mashrou' Leila Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
والراديو يذيع مللنا يا إما خمسة أو خمسين مرة
لمرّة سمعنا فارس قال لنا نردم معابدنا
روحنا وعمّرنا له معبد ثاني بمحلّها
سلّطنا الضوء على وجهه لما طلع حتى يمكسج
ما شفنا غير خياله إختفى وجهه تحت الوهج
ويطلع يعزف ليتخيّل حاله بالأفلام
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
طربنا بحفلاته لما بلش يلعب لنا
الأسرار اللي خربشناها على الحيط بحمّاماتنا
فسّر الأغنية فصلبناه بخشب المسرح
كان يكتب من الجوع وما في أكل على المذبح
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
حرّفوه، ردّدوه، قدّسوه، ورتّلوه
The lyrics of the song "Asnam" by Mashrou' Leila reflect on the loss of cultural heritage and the destruction of historical landmarks in the Arab world. The first verse talks about how our lives used to be empty and we used to listen to the radio all the time, but even that couldn't alleviate our boredom. Then they heard a man named Fares say that they should destroy their temples and build new ones in their place. The second verse describes how they shone a light on Fares’ face when he emerged, but all they saw was his imagination disappear beneath the glow. And he plays his guitar, imagining himself a character in a movie, while people believe his lies and justify the idols - Asnam - that they have created.
The chorus is repeated several times throughout the song, and it talks about how people chanted his words, sanctified him, and recited them. They celebrated his concerts when he started to play for them, sharing secrets that they scribbled on the walls of their bathrooms. And he interpreted their song, transformed it into something else, and constructed it on the stage by carving it out of wood, and despite the hunger and starvation, he continued to create, write, and produce something.
Line by Line Meaning
كانت الدفاتر بيضا وحياتنا مابتتغنى
Our notebooks were white and our lives were not singing
والراديو يذيع مللنا يما خمسة وخمسين مرة
The radio broadcasts our boredom fifty-five times
لمرة سمعنا فارس قالنا نردم معابدنا
Once we heard Faris say we should rebuild our temples
رحنا وعمرنا له معبد تاني بمحله
So we went and built another temple in its place
سلطنا الضو على وجهه لما طلع حتى يبكسج
We shone the light on his face and he became distorted
ما شفنا غير خياله اختفى وجهه تحت الوهج
We only saw his imagination, his face disappeared under the glare
ويطلع يعزف ليتخيل حاله بالأفلام
And he starts playing to imagine himself in the movies
واحنا نصدق حكيه حتى نبرر الأصنام
And we believe his story so we can justify the idols
طربنا بحفلاته لما بلش يلعبلنا
We enjoyed his concerts when he started playing for us
الأسرار اللي خربشناها عالحيط بحمامتنا
The secrets we scribbled on the wall of our pigeon coop
فسر الغنية فصلبناه بخشب المسرح
He interpreted the song and we crucified him on the theater's wood
كان يكتب من الجوع و ما في أكل على المدبح
He wrote while hungry, with no food on the slaughterhouse
حرفوه و رددوه
They repeated his words
قدسوه و رتلوه
They made them sacred and recited them
حرفوه و رددوه
They repeated his words
قدسوه و رتلوه
They made them sacred and recited them
حرفوه و رددوه
They repeated his words
قدسوه و رتلوه
They made them sacred and recited them
حرفوه و رددوه
They repeated his words
قدسوه و رتلوه
They made them sacred and recited them
Lyrics © SENTRIC MUSIC
Written by: Carl Gerges, Haig Papazian, Hamed SInno, Firas Abou Fakhar, Ibrahim Badr
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind