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CIPHER
2024
Cipher is a 9-track music album of my music project Hello Psychaleppo and released under Syrial Records record label.
The album features collaborations with seven acclaimed Arab and North African singers and songwriters such as Hamed Sinno, Dima Orsho, Fourat Koyo, Anas Maghrebi, Bu Nasser, Yafa Bakri and Chaden. The album is mastered by the distinguished mastering engineer Heba Kadry.
In addition to musically writing, producing and mixing this album, I also undertook the design and the visual direction of the album art and merchandise.
LISTEN
Dima Orsho
Syrian-American mezzosoprano and composer Dima Orsho seamlessly blends Arabic and Western musical traditions. She has performed with renowned ensembles such as the Silk Road Ensemble and the Morgenland Festival All Star Band. Her work spans opera, contemporary classical music and world music.
Heba Kadry
Heba Kadry is an Egyptian mastering engineer who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her work with Björk, Beach House, Slowdive, The Mars Volta, Neon Indian, Wooden Shjips, Lightning Bolt, White Hills, Alex G, Future Islands, Liturgy, !!!, White Lung, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Nation of Language and The Hotelier. Kadry worked as a staff engineer at SugarHill Recording Studios from 2005 to 2006.
Anas Maghrebi
Anas Maghrebi is a musician and producer born in Nabek, Syria. He lived in Damascus before fleeing the civil war to Beirut in early 2013 and then to Berlin in 2015. He founded the Syrian Indie band “Khebez Dawle” in late 2012, in the midst of the Syrian Uprising. Before the war, the band was active underground because of Syrian censorship. Maghrebi produced the band’s debut album and collaborated with many local acts in Syria and Lebanon, singing in various styles including Sufi, Tarab, Rock Shaabi, electronica and more. In 2018 he produced the music for Ici – a concept album by the visual artist Saâdane Afif.
Hamed Sinno
Hamed Sinno (H/they/she/he) is a writer, musician, and social justice snowflake born and raised in Beirut, and currently living in New York. They have an MA in Digital Musics from Dartmouth College, and a BFA from the Department of Architecture and Design at the American University in Beirut, where they founded and fronted Lebanese indie band, Mashrou Leila. Their song-writing leverages rhetoric, poetry, and social justice to weaponize popular culture. Equal parts sequined boi-band and political lobby, over the 14 years since the band’s inception, they have been at the forefront of conversations around freedom of expression, gender justice, and the Arab Spring, performing around the world to audiences upwards of thirty thousand, and attracting the ire of religious and political authorities across the Middle East. With a fatwa and multiple bans under their belt, H moved to the US, and is currently exploring narratives of estrangement, while centering their research on vocality, and voice synthesis as sites of political negotiation.
Fourat Koyo
Fourat Koyo is a singer of Moroccan origin who plays Guembri in the traditional style of Gnawa music. Born in Essaouira, the city of Moroccan gnawas, Fourat developed his art alongside the great Maalem Omar El Hayat with whom he performs on numerous stages in Morocco and France.
Yafa Bakri
Yafa Bakri is a singer and an actress from Palestine.
Bu Nasser
Bu Nasser is a Lebanese writer and rapper who raises his voice to break the silence of a marginalized society that the state has persistently impoverished and silenced. His songs and writings emerged as anthems during the Lebanese popular demonstrations and protests.
Chaden
Chaden, a Moroccan singer/songwriter.
Dima Orsho
Syrian-American mezzosoprano and composer Dima Orsho seamlessly blends Arabic and Western musical traditions. She has performed with renowned ensembles such as the Silk Road Ensemble and the Morgenland Festival All Star Band. Her work spans opera, contemporary classical music and world music.
Heba Kadry
Heba Kadry is an Egyptian mastering engineer who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her work with Björk, Beach House, Slowdive, The Mars Volta, Neon Indian, Wooden Shjips, Lightning Bolt, White Hills, Alex G, Future Islands, Liturgy, !!!, White Lung, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Nation of Language and The Hotelier. Kadry worked as a staff engineer at SugarHill Recording Studios from 2005 to 2006.
Anas Maghrebi
Anas Maghrebi is a musician and producer born in Nabek, Syria. He lived in Damascus before fleeing the civil war to Beirut in early 2013 and then to Berlin in 2015. He founded the Syrian Indie band “Khebez Dawle” in late 2012, in the midst of the Syrian Uprising. Before the war, the band was active underground because of Syrian censorship. Maghrebi produced the band’s debut album and collaborated with many local acts in Syria and Lebanon, singing in various styles including Sufi, Tarab, Rock Shaabi, electronica and more. In 2018 he produced the music for Ici – a concept album by the visual artist Saâdane Afif.
Hamed Sinno
Hamed Sinno (H/they/she/he) is a writer, musician, and social justice snowflake born and raised in Beirut, and currently living in New York. They have an MA in Digital Musics from Dartmouth College, and a BFA from the Department of Architecture and Design at the American University in Beirut, where they founded and fronted Lebanese indie band, Mashrou Leila. Their song-writing leverages rhetoric, poetry, and social justice to weaponize popular culture. Equal parts sequined boi-band and political lobby, over the 14 years since the band’s inception, they have been at the forefront of conversations around freedom of expression, gender justice, and the Arab Spring, performing around the world to audiences upwards of thirty thousand, and attracting the ire of religious and political authorities across the Middle East. With a fatwa and multiple bans under their belt, H moved to the US, and is currently exploring narratives of estrangement, while centering their research on vocality, and voice synthesis as sites of political negotiation.
Fourat Koyo
Fourat Koyo is a singer of Moroccan origin who plays Guembri in the traditional style of Gnawa music. Born in Essaouira, the city of Moroccan gnawas, Fourat developed his art alongside the great Maalem Omar El Hayat with whom he performs on numerous stages in Morocco and France.
Yafa Bakri
Yafa Bakri is a singer and an actress from Palestine.
Bu Nasser
Bu Nasser is a Lebanese writer and rapper who raises his voice to break the silence of a marginalized society that the state has persistently impoverished and silenced. His songs and writings emerged as anthems during the Lebanese popular demonstrations and protests.
Chaden
Chaden, a Moroccan singer/songwriter.
Dima Orsho
Syrian-American mezzosoprano and composer Dima Orsho seamlessly blends Arabic and Western musical traditions. She has performed with renowned ensembles such as the Silk Road Ensemble and the Morgenland Festival All Star Band. Her work spans opera, contemporary classical music and world music.
Heba Kadry
Heba Kadry is an Egyptian mastering engineer who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her work with Björk, Beach House, Slowdive, The Mars Volta, Neon Indian, Wooden Shjips, Lightning Bolt, White Hills, Alex G, Future Islands, Liturgy, !!!, White Lung, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Nation of Language and The Hotelier. Kadry worked as a staff engineer at SugarHill Recording Studios from 2005 to 2006.
Anas Maghrebi
Anas Maghrebi is a musician and producer born in Nabek, Syria. He lived in Damascus before fleeing the civil war to Beirut in early 2013 and then to Berlin in 2015. He founded the Syrian Indie band “Khebez Dawle” in late 2012, in the midst of the Syrian Uprising. Before the war, the band was active underground because of Syrian censorship. Maghrebi produced the band’s debut album and collaborated with many local acts in Syria and Lebanon, singing in various styles including Sufi, Tarab, Rock Shaabi, electronica and more. In 2018 he produced the music for Ici – a concept album by the visual artist Saâdane Afif.
Hamed Sinno
Hamed Sinno (H/they/she/he) is a writer, musician, and social justice snowflake born and raised in Beirut, and currently living in New York. They have an MA in Digital Musics from Dartmouth College, and a BFA from the Department of Architecture and Design at the American University in Beirut, where they founded and fronted Lebanese indie band, Mashrou Leila. Their song-writing leverages rhetoric, poetry, and social justice to weaponize popular culture. Equal parts sequined boi-band and political lobby, over the 14 years since the band’s inception, they have been at the forefront of conversations around freedom of expression, gender justice, and the Arab Spring, performing around the world to audiences upwards of thirty thousand, and attracting the ire of religious and political authorities across the Middle East. With a fatwa and multiple bans under their belt, H moved to the US, and is currently exploring narratives of estrangement, while centering their research on vocality, and voice synthesis as sites of political negotiation.
Fourat Koyo
Fourat Koyo is a singer of Moroccan origin who plays Guembri in the traditional style of Gnawa music. Born in Essaouira, the city of Moroccan gnawas, Fourat developed his art alongside the great Maalem Omar El Hayat with whom he performs on numerous stages in Morocco and France.
Yafa Bakri
Yafa Bakri is a singer and an actress from Palestine.
Bu Nasser
Bu Nasser is a Lebanese writer and rapper who raises his voice to break the silence of a marginalized society that the state has persistently impoverished and silenced. His songs and writings emerged as anthems during the Lebanese popular demonstrations and protests.
Chaden
Chaden, a Moroccan singer/songwriter.
Dima Orsho
Syrian-American mezzosoprano and composer Dima Orsho seamlessly blends Arabic and Western musical traditions. She has performed with renowned ensembles such as the Silk Road Ensemble and the Morgenland Festival All Star Band. Her work spans opera, contemporary classical music and world music.
Heba Kadry
Heba Kadry is an Egyptian mastering engineer who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her work with Björk, Beach House, Slowdive, The Mars Volta, Neon Indian, Wooden Shjips, Lightning Bolt, White Hills, Alex G, Future Islands, Liturgy, !!!, White Lung, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Nation of Language and The Hotelier. Kadry worked as a staff engineer at SugarHill Recording Studios from 2005 to 2006.
Anas Maghrebi
Anas Maghrebi is a musician and producer born in Nabek, Syria. He lived in Damascus before fleeing the civil war to Beirut in early 2013 and then to Berlin in 2015. He founded the Syrian Indie band “Khebez Dawle” in late 2012, in the midst of the Syrian Uprising. Before the war, the band was active underground because of Syrian censorship. Maghrebi produced the band’s debut album and collaborated with many local acts in Syria and Lebanon, singing in various styles including Sufi, Tarab, Rock Shaabi, electronica and more. In 2018 he produced the music for Ici – a concept album by the visual artist Saâdane Afif.
Hamed Sinno
Hamed Sinno (H/they/she/he) is a writer, musician, and social justice snowflake born and raised in Beirut, and currently living in New York. They have an MA in Digital Musics from Dartmouth College, and a BFA from the Department of Architecture and Design at the American University in Beirut, where they founded and fronted Lebanese indie band, Mashrou Leila. Their song-writing leverages rhetoric, poetry, and social justice to weaponize popular culture. Equal parts sequined boi-band and political lobby, over the 14 years since the band’s inception, they have been at the forefront of conversations around freedom of expression, gender justice, and the Arab Spring, performing around the world to audiences upwards of thirty thousand, and attracting the ire of religious and political authorities across the Middle East. With a fatwa and multiple bans under their belt, H moved to the US, and is currently exploring narratives of estrangement, while centering their research on vocality, and voice synthesis as sites of political negotiation.
Fourat Koyo
Fourat Koyo is a singer of Moroccan origin who plays Guembri in the traditional style of Gnawa music. Born in Essaouira, the city of Moroccan gnawas, Fourat developed his art alongside the great Maalem Omar El Hayat with whom he performs on numerous stages in Morocco and France.
Yafa Bakri
Yafa Bakri is a singer and an actress from Palestine.
Bu Nasser
Bu Nasser is a Lebanese writer and rapper who raises his voice to break the silence of a marginalized society that the state has persistently impoverished and silenced. His songs and writings emerged as anthems during the Lebanese popular demonstrations and protests.
Chaden
Chaden, a Moroccan singer/songwriter.
COLLABORATORS
MERCH
LOGO DESIGN
PRESS
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