Mashrou' Leila
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
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Mashrou' Leila Lyrics
'Al Hajez بعده قاعد بمحله بعده ممسمر ماسك فردو شعره مزبط هيدا همو هاجم…
3 minutes فيي إتخبى بجلدك، فيي البس كل وجوهك. هول فيي إتخبى بخزانتك،…
3al 7ajiz بعده قاعد بمحله بعده ممسمر ماسك فردو شعره مزبط هيدا همو ه…
3ubwa تك تك تك يا إم سليمان تك تك تك تك بوم تك…
Abdo بين الشوارع صوت بيحوم لقبوه عبدو المظلوم قالوا مرة كان مغروم…
ala babu بنام وبستدعيك بأحلامي بتخيل إيديك محل إيدي ليش بركع لك ليش ب…
Aoede خذ العباب عني انا اسير مرايتي ايودي ايودي عم برجع ناديلك اع…
Ashabi كلهن عم يرقُصوا فوق القزاز ع الأرض كلهن عم بيضحكوا بالأسود…
Asnam كانت الدفاتر بيضاء وحياتنا ما بتتغنى والراديو يذيع مللنا يا …
Bahr يا ليل إحجبني، حجّبني بعتمتك. يا ليل إملئني، قويني بعتمتك. …
Bint El Khandaq هون عندك حياتك وعندك كل عاداتك وكبرتي كأن الاحساس بالغربة ان…
Bishuf أنا إستحضرت النكد وزينت مزاره فى داري بيشوف بشغفي عصيان بيشو…
Cavalry إياك التطوس بالعروش الطغيان يزهر عصيان لو راح أموت مئة مرة ر…
Djin بالغابة منسهر بالليل منشرب من قلب الغزال مننخر الأرض بعصيان …
El Hal Romancy مش عارف إن كنت راجل أم مصرف آلي، بس الأجار…
El Mouqadima حبيبى بيحكى بالأجنبى و بيلدغ بالعغبى بعمرة ما بيلوم نفسه كل …
Falyakon بحسه بعده نايم حدي بيعني حلم يهربني عم لفلف لحالي بتختي…
Fasateen بتتذكري لما قلتي لي إنك راح تتزوجني بلا فلوس وبلا بيت بتتذكر…
Habibi ﺑﻌﻤﺮﻩ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻴﻠﻮﻡ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻛﻞ ﺷﻲ ﺑﻴﺼﻴﺮ ﺑﺮﺍﺕ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻮ شي …
Icarus المشاريع بتزيد بحجة بكرة بعيد ما بيفهم كيف صار يشبه بيُّه…
Im Bimbillilat إم بمبليلح إم بللح على إم بمبليلح إم بللح على إم بمبليلح…
Im-bim-billilah إم بمبليلح إم بللح على إم بمبليلح إم بللح على إم بمبليلح…
Imm El Jacket يا إم الجاكيت والبنطلون شفتك واقفة فوق البلكون خمنتك شاب يا …
Inni Mneeh قوم نحرق ها المدينة و نعمر واحدة أشرف قوم ننسى ها…
Inni Mnih ﻗﻮﻡ ﻧﺤﺮﻕ ﻫﺎﻟﻤﺪﻳﻨﺔ ﻭﻧﻌﻤﺮ ﻭﺍﺣﺪﺓ ﺃﺷﺮﻑ ﻗﻮﻡ ﻧﻨﺴﻰ ﻫﺎﻟﺰﻣﺎﻥ ﻭﻧﺤﻠﻢ…
Kalaam اذا لمستك بحلاوة رقصك قربي على شوي في جحيم تحت جلدي…
Kalam إذا لمستِك بحلاوة رقصِك قربي عليّ شوي في جحيم تحت جلدي…
Khaleeha Zikra عم بسمع صدى جاي من مدى بعد ما فليت ما عدت اهتميت خليها…
Latlit إذا كنت مشي عمبتكزدر عل الكورنيش بدي لتلت إذا كنتي مشيه لب…
Lil Watan غيرنا روض أعاصير ليتحكم بالمصير إحنا من نسيم منطير ومنرتد عل…
Maghawir أولاً، سنة حلوة يا جميل ثانياً، الليل حيكون طويل قول لأمك ما…
Marrikh داويني بشي حبه لما انزل لا تحرمني القنينة لما انزل عم بطلع…
Min el Taboor صارلنا خمسين سنة بنحارب الحرب نفسها ما بننسى والبلد قاعة انت…
Raasuk نبضه بيدق إيقاع كان يسمعله قبل ما استأصلوه وركبوا عداد مصمم…
Radio Romance بْيِنما كون ع جسمي وين ما إيدك بتلمسني وفجأة الدنيا بترد لي …
Raksit Leila مش كل شي نفع ضاربه عين و أنا بيني و بينك…
Roman مش ناوي أبلع أكاذيبك الكلام راح يحرق حلقي مش ناوي شرّح نوايا…
Shim el Yasmine شم اليسمينة و دوق الدبس بطحينة و تذكر تذكرني يا اخي أوعا …
Skandar Maalouf حاج تأكد على قفل الباب ما فيك تتخبى من يلّي عم…
Taxi طلاع يا ابنى لوديك وين ما بدك تروح المشوار صعب وطويل…
Tayf غنيت، مع كورس أشباح تحت رصاص مدينتي والدّبكات، رقصتها تحِت ض…
Wajih قاعد مش شايف الا حالى مش شايف حدن غيرى مش شايف الا…