Speed Caravan, Wasl Trio & Kamilya Jubran @ Metro

Curated by renowned Lebanese hip-hop pioneer Wael Kodeih aka Rayess Bek, Beirut & Beyond 2016 will take place in Beirut from Thursday 8 to Sunday 11 December. Three different venues will host celebrated and yet to be discovered artists from Lebanon, the Arab region and beyond.

Night Program at Metro al Madina:

Wasl Trio / Kamilya Jubran (Palestine/France/Switzerland)
In the Arabic language, Wasl signifies combination, contact or connection. In keeping with the spirit of these definitions, the Wasl project is a meeting point between different historical and musical traditions, brought to the stage by three seasoned musicians inhabiting the works of two poets. Palestinian composer, vocalist and musician Kamilya Jubran has collaborated with French acoustic bass player Sarah Murcia and Swiss trumpeter and electronics producer Werner Hasler since the early 2000’s. The trio creates an intricate and rich musical backdrop for the written works of poets Hassan Najmi (from Rabat, Morocco) and Salman Masalha (from Jerusalem, Palestine), creating in this manner bridges between the Middle East and the Maghreb, and paving the way for a new Arab “chanson”. 

Speed Caravan (Algeria/France) starts at 22:00
If you've never regarded the oud as a rock'n'roll instrument, then you've clearly never heard the frenetic and joyous playing of Mehdi Haddab! Once part of Parisian-based global electronic trio Ekova and experimental oud duo DuOud, Haddab created Speed Caravan in 2008 with bassist Pascal "Pasco" Teillet, keyboard player Hermione Frank and percussionist/vocalist Mohamed Bouamar. The band is an ethnic fusion collaboration that references in equal measure The Cure and The Chemical Brothers alongside Algerian Rai and other Arabic influences, in a glorious collision of global sounds and styles. Speed Caravan is famed for its electrifying, high-energy stage performances