Mashrou’ Leila are a journalist’s dream – an edgy Beirut-based indie-art band who sing strictly in Arabic, addressing regional issues of class, race, religion and sexual politics.
A band who refuse to sign to a label, instead financing their work with the #OccupyArabPop crowdfunding campaign. A band fronted by the controversy-courting lead singer Hamed Sinno, a rare voice prepared to bare his identity and interpersonal ideals in song and speech, regardless of the consequences.
And, perhaps for all these reasons, a band who rank among the most successful to emerge from the region, playing dozens of shows a year across the Middle East and Europe, despite refusing to sing in English.
It is telling to learn that Mashrou’ Leila have performed more in Paris than they have in the UAE.
After a two-year absence from the country, the quintet return tonight with a performance at Dubai’s MusicHall, wrapping up an autumn tour that has taken them to Zurich, Milan, Rabat, Cairo and even a gig at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
“The first time we go to a city, it’s mainly Arabic expats coming to the shows,” says founder and guitarist Firas Abou Fakher, “but every time we come back, the audiences get more diverse.”
It’s been a heady journey for the DIY-band, formerly a group of architecture and design students at the American University of Beirut who began playing together in 2008 and self-produced an eponymous album later that year.
Their distinct sound mixes the western guitar of bands such as Radiohead and Arctic Monkeys with elements of electronica, folk and traditional Arabic ballads, and things were starting to get serious by the time of 2011's El Hal Romancy. But they really burst onto the scene in the aftermath of last year's Raasuk, which was recorded at Montreal's Hotel2Tango studio, where Arcade Fire have famously recorded.
In April, Mashrou' Leila became the first regional band to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Middle East. In September, the album was released on CD in France and is set to be rolled out across Europe, sparking a fresh wave of western media interest.
Last month, the band collaborated with music legend Nile Rodgers on an Arabic-language cover of Daft Punk's Get Lucky, and this month they recorded a live performance at the BBC's London studios.
Little surprise, then, that Mashrou’ Leila are being hailed as the lost voice of a disenfranchised generation of young Arabs.
“We sing about things we think are important,” says Firas. “People might disagree with some of the things we say, but we have the legitimacy now to highlight important issues in everyday life that we would like to change.”
Beirut has plenty of great bands: Pindoll, Lazzy Lung, Who Killed Bruce Lee and recent Abu Dhabi F1 headliners The Wanton Bishops, to name just a few.
But despite the earlier successes of Soap Kills, the Arab-language Beirut trip-hop duo who found success in Europe at the beginning of the millennium, most of the scene is still in English. Mashrou’ Leila stand out as the most prominent act in a small but emerging regional scene whose members sing in their native tongues.
“When we started, we were just a band making music in our rooms – we said ‘let’s only play our own music, and only sing in our own language’,” remembers Firas. “At the time we had no idea what that meant.
“The Arabic language is a reservoir waiting to be tapped – people haven’t really experimented with it in music.
“There’s a precedent now for bands who have made it, who have broken through that strong barrier between music that never gets out of clubs, to music that gets on the radio and TV, and is exported to Europe and North America.”
When Mashrou’ Leila leave the stage tonight, it is likely to be their last gig for some time, with the band returning to Beirut to continue work on a fourth album that already sounds more ambitious, lyrically and musically, than its predecessor.
“We like to think we’re making not 10 songs that make up an album, but an album of 10 songs,” says Firas.
“What we want is to be the first band who are not just an ‘Arab indie-pop band’, but an international band that happens to be based in Lebanon.
“I don’t think that’s impossible.”
• Mashrou’ Leila perform at MusicHall Dubai tonight at 9.30pm as part of the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture’s End of Year Event. Tickets cost Dh195 from www.platinumlist.ae
rgarratt@thenational.ae
List of UAE medal winners
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
The fake news generation
288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year
11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general
31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate
63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Results
2pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: Mouheeb, Tom Marquand (jockey), Nicholas Bachalard (trainer)
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Honourable Justice, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dark Silver, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
4pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Dark Of Night. Antonio Fresu, Al Muhairi.
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Habah, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
25-MAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina, Abdullahi Shehu, Chidozie Awaziem, William Ekong, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Jamilu Collins, Semi Ajayi
Midfielders: John Obi Mikel, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, John Ogu
Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Henry Onyekuru, Odion Ighalo, Alexander Iwobi, Samuel Kalu, Paul Onuachu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze
On Standby: Theophilus Afelokhai, Bryan Idowu, Ikouwem Utin, Mikel Agu, Junior Ajayi, Valentine Ozornwafor
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Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
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How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
Shows signs of depression or isolation
Ability to sleep well diminishes
Academic performance begins to deteriorate
Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
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How to book
Call DHA on 800342
Once you are registered, you will receive a confirmation text message
Present the SMS and your Emirates ID at the centre
DHA medical personnel will take a nasal swab
Check results within 48 hours on the DHA app under ‘Lab Results’ and then ‘Patient Services’
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
