Mashrou’ Leila (Arabic: مشروع ليلى) were a four piece indie rock band base… Read Full Bio ↴Mashrou’ Leila (Arabic: مشروع ليلى) were a four piece indie rock band based in Beirut. Their rousing, sensual electro- pop anthems about political freedoms, LGBT rights, race, religion and modern Arabic identity have challenged the status quo of the Middle-Eastern music industry. The loose collective of students who began jamming together in 2008 at the American University of Beirut has gradually focused into a an ambitious, fiercely articulate quartet: vocalist/lyricist Hamed Sinno, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Firas Abou Fakher, violinist Haig Papazian, and drummer Carl Gerges. And the music they make has focused, too, into a charged, atmospheric version of pop that is geographically impossible to place. The lyrics draw on their collective experiences, which the band shares with the youth of the Middle East, and addresses the need for self-expression and a judgment free culture— a notion often stifled in a conservative society. Through their relevant and charged lyrics, their music has resonated with fans all over the globe, gaining international recognition for the band. They have been described as ‘The voice of their generation’ (CNN), ’the most successful Arabic-language band internationally’ (The Guardian) and “the new face of Middle Eastern pop music” (Dazed).
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
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
Djin
Mashrou' Leila Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
بالغابة منسهر بالليل
منشرب من قلب الغزال
مننخر الأرض بعصيان
ليطوف الخمر من العين
كل النسوان والرجال
جايين لابسين الجلود
بانتظار اللي بيموت وبيعود
منسمع حكمة الأعناب
كل الحكم بالأعناب
رح نهجر حالنا
بس الله معنا
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
وعمادة كبدي بالجن
برقص لعوذ من الجن
رح غطس كبدي بالجن
باسم الأب والإبن
بكرا بس أوعى بالليل
يوم القيامة حيقوم
لكن الخمار مابيوجع قد الهموم
بيني وبين فرحي حيط
بسمك قزازة الكاس
برلين ما صمدت
ناولني وهبط
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
منشرب من قلب الغزال
مننخر الأرض بعصيان
ليطوف الخمر من العين
كل النسوان والرجال
جايين لابسين الجلود
بانتظار اللي بيموت وبيعود
منسمع حكمة الأعناب
رح نهجر حالنا
بس الله معنا
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
وعمادة كبدي بالجن
برقص لعوذ من الجن
رح غطس كبدي بالجن
باسم الأب والإبن
بكرا بس أوعى بالليل
يوم القيامة حيقوم
لكن الخمار مابيوجع قد الهموم
بيني وبين فرحي حيط
بسمك قزازة الكاس
برلين ما صمدت
ناولني وهبط
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش الشاي
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
The song "Djin" by Mashrou' Leila is a haunting and powerful ballad that explores themes of escapism and self-destruction. The opening lyrics set the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer describes drinking from the heart of a deer in the forest at night, rebelling against the earth with a stick, and waiting for death and rebirth while surrounded by men and women wearing animal skins. The symbolism of the forest and the deer suggest a primal urge for escape, while the imagery of death and rebirth hints at a desire for transformation.
Throughout the song, the singer rejects the traditional comforts of society, refusing to drink tea or coffee and instead drowning their sorrows in the embrace of the night. The repeated refrain of "ma ashroubsh el-quezouza wala shay ana" (I don't drink arak or tea) emphasizes the singer's rejection of societal norms and their embrace of self-destructive behaviors. The final lines of the song, "I'll forget my name and give myself to the night," suggest a complete surrender to the darkness and a rejection of personal identity.
Overall, "Djin" is a deeply introspective and haunting song that explores the darker aspects of human nature and the desire for escapism.
Line by Line Meaning
بالغابة منسهر بالليل
We stay up all night in the forest
منشرب من قلب الغزال
Drinking from the heart of the deer
مننخر الأرض بعصيان
We puncture the ground in rebellion
ليطوف الخمر من العين
So that the wine circulates in our eyes
كل النسوان والرجال
All the women and men
جايين لابسين الجلود
Come dressed in hides
بانتظار اللي بيموت وبيعود
Waiting for the one who dies and returns
منسمع حكمة الأعناب
We hear the wisdom of grapes
كل الحكم بالأعناب
All wisdom is in the grapes
رح نهجر حالنا
We will abandon ourselves
بس الله معنا
But God is with us
ما اشربش القزوزة ولا الشاي أنا
I don't drink poppy tea or tea
رح غرق حزني حانسى إسمي حأعطي نفسي لليل
I will drown my sorrow, forget my name, and give myself to the night
وعمادة كبدي بالجن
And the cornerstone of my liver is the spirits
برقص لعوذ من الجن
I dance to ward off the jinn
رح غطس كبدي بالجن
I will dive my liver into the spirits
باسم الأب والإبن
In the name of the Father and the Son
بكرا بس أوعى بالليل
Tomorrow, but beware of the night
يوم القيامة حيقوم
On the day of judgement, it will rise
لكن الخمار مابيوجع قد الهموم
But drunkenness doesn't hurt as much as sorrow
بيني وبين فرحي حيط
Between me and my happiness, there's a barrier
بسمك قزازة الكاس
In your name, oh, the vessel's glass
برلين ما صمدت
Berlin didn't survive
ناولني وهبط
Pass it to me and let it descend
ما اشربش الشاي
I don't drink tea
Lyrics © Sentric Music
Written by: Carl Gerges, Firas Abou Fakher, Hair Papazian, Hamed Khalil Sinno, Ibrahim Badr
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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