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Ziad Nawfal has been making himself busy in the Beirut underground for nearly three decades now. He got his start in a legit role, playing music on the city’s government station Radio Liban. Always existing on the periphery of the station, and proudly flouting its rules, Nawfal programmed a show with a DIY ethos, playing lesser-known tunes from indie, psychedelic and experimental circles. He later became a DJ and promoter around the city, continuing to discover the hidden alternative scenes of Lebanon and the wider middle east. He’s been active ever since, using his radio shows, as well as his record label Ruptured, to join up the eclectic range of sounds going on in the region.
In 2013, Nawfal took over as the managing director of Irtijal – a music festival that has brought together experimental and free jazz sounds to Beirut since the start of the millennium. Under his direction, he has expanded the festival’s reach, programming ‘electronic, post-rock and modern Arabic music’. Now, Irtijal defines itself not by genre, but by innovation, choosing to celebrate radical communities who make whatever they want. Always expanding, Irtijal connects Beirut’s scenes to one another, while also hosting experimental artists from around the world.
Through the years, Nawfal has become increasingly interested in documenting Beirut’s scenes. In 2010 he published Untitled Tracks, a history of the city’s experimental music told through gig photography and artist testimonial. Ten years on, he’s still curating, releasing and broadcasting the music emerging from the country. In this hour long missive, he highlights unreleased and rare music from prominent Lebanese musicians, bringing together ‘realms of experimental and electronic music’ as featured at his time at Irtijal, in his work with Ruptured or on his long-running shows on Radio Lebanon. Nawfal’s podcast will include conversations with these artists, providing an oral history of Beirut’s legendary underground.
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