{"id":7253,"date":"2013-01-30T04:16:48","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T04:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/?p=7253"},"modified":"2014-07-11T19:42:43","modified_gmt":"2014-07-11T19:42:43","slug":"meet-mashrou-leila","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/meet-mashrou-leila\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Mashrou3 Leila"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marhaba (\u0645\u0631\u062d\u0628\u0627)! In this post, I want to introduce you all to one of my favorite Middle Eastern bands: Mashrou3 Leila (\u0645\u0634\u0631\u0648\u0639 \u0644\u064a\u0644\u0649). By all means, this band is one of the most innovative and upcoming groups in the Middle East and with their progressive and enlightening music they have captured the hearts and minds of thousands of fans in the Levant and beyond. At the end of this post, I have added one of my favorite songs titled \u201cFasateen<\/strong>\u201d(\u0641\u0633\u0627\u062a\u064a\u0646) in form of a YouTube video. This song was featured on their first album called Mashrou3 Leila which was released in 2010. The video also contains the lyrics in Arabic. I have also added the lyrics of the song in Arabic with translation in this post, so that you can follow with the song<\/p>\n

By all means, their music is unique and frequently echoes a blend of meaningful lyrics with some oriental twist. The band\u2019s name refers to their music as one of experimentation given that \u2018mashrou3\u2019 means project and \u2018leila\u2019 which can signify an Arabic female name also means one night, thus \u2018mashrou3 leila\u2019 is \u2018the project of one night\u2019 which is what it actually started as.<\/p>\n

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As taken from their own website<\/a>, Mashrou3 Leila began as a music project at the American University of Beirut (\u0627\u0644\u062c\u0627\u0645\u0639\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0627\u0645\u064a\u0631\u0643\u064a\u0629 \u0641\u064a \u0628\u064a\u0631\u0648\u062a) – one of the oldest American universities in the Middle East- in 2008. Following the birth of this group by Haig Papazian, Carl Gerges, Hamed Sinno, Omaya Malaeb, Andre Chedid, Firas Abou Fakher and Ibrahim Badr, these young musical virtuosos went on to experiment with their music by producing bizarre tunes that capture the complexity of the cultural traditions and customs of people residing in Lebanon and the greater Middle East. The combination of a microphone, a bass, a violin, two guitars, drums and keyboards are the essential tools employed by this group to produce their musical masterpieces.<\/p>\n

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This small and seemingly unexpected musical project that began at the American University of Beirut has taken a successful route of its own and has matured into a serious musical experimental endeavor. They have performed at several venues around Beirut, and at venues that stretch all the way from Northern to Southern Lebanon. Their musical virtuosity (\u0627\u0628\u062f\u0627\u0639) and success (\u0646\u062c\u0627\u062d) could not be tamed or constrained for long within Lebanon\u2019s boundaries. Following the outpouring support of fans in Lebanon, many fans in the region began to learn of Mashrou3 Leila and wanted to gain access to this portal of musical experimentation and mystification. As a result, the band was invited to perform at prominent international music festivals like the Doha Tribeca International Film Festival in Qatar and Vodafone Big Day Out in the United Arab Emirates. They have also performed in Jordan, Egypt and Serbia.<\/p>\n

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Mashrou3 Leila is indeed a band that has produced revolutionary music that will stand the test of time and will constantly and unequivocally capture and portray tales of complexity, hardships, beauty, grievances, love, art and culture of people living in the Middle East. With their music, they have managed to capture the social and political struggles that are facing the growing agitated youth in Lebanon and the Arab world in general.<\/p>\n