A new online platform for the alternative music scene in the MENA region launched Friday.
Cube Sessions offers performances and interviews with prominent underground artists, all staged from within a cube-shaped, neon-lit metal scaffold. The initiative was created by Balkoon Media, in collaboration with art consultant Rasha Saleh and Beirut underground music pioneer Zeid Hamdan.
Founded in July 2019 by Samah El Kadi and Dany Chamoun, Balkoon strives to create content that gives a voice to the region’s youth, through social media platforms.
“Everyone relates to music in the Arab region. We see a lot of artists emerging, each with their own styles and genres, but are often not showcased properly, staying underground,” Chamoun told The Daily Star. “We wanted to showcase them [and] create a community around the artists and alternative music lovers in the region ... so that people can see what kind of music is being played and create a catalogue through Cube Sessions to explore them.
“These artists don’t have the budget or capabilities to create high quality content. They often shoot things with their phones or do things with their friends and people can’t really see the work behind it. So our role is to present it in the most appealing way,” he added. “Now there are many channels for artists and we want to represent them.”
Filmed before the lockdown, the concert series was originally meant to debut this summer but it was brought forward to entertain people stuck at home, and badly in need of online arts content to devour.
“We will release one every two weeks, in the format of one artist featured in a specific location, performing one song inside the cube,” Chamoun said. “After the performance there is an interview with the artist, getting to know them and their music more, which will be released separately a few days after the performance video.
“It’s a collaborative work with the artist, so we don’t impose any location, setup or song,” he added. “We see what fits them best in terms of image and mood, which can represent them in the best way cinematically.”
The launch on May 8 offered up a tune by Muhammad Abdullah, the singer-songwriter who usually performs with the Palestinian-Jordanian band El Morabba3. Shot at dusk amidst a copse of trees, Abdullah played a previously unrecorded acoustic version of “Cigara Qabel Ma Nqoom,” from the band’s self-titled 2012 album.
Future programing currently includes music from Beirut underground music pioneer Zeid Hamdan, Lebanon’s indie-pop band Adonis, and segments from Syrian vocalist Lynn Adib as well as progressive metal band Tanjaret Daghet, also from Syria.
“We started shooting in Lebanon but we want to expand and move to other places in the Arab world,” Chamoun said. “Eventually we’re looking for some support and funds to be able to shoot artists outside of Lebanon. Right now we can’t do much with the production capabilities we have, so with some support we can widen our scope.”
“We’re investing on our own right now, which is very difficult,” he added, nodding to the country’s burgeoning financial crisis, “but we’re confident that people will see the results and will want to support us.”
This article has been adapted from its original source.
