Beirut youth, who for decades often looked to the West for creative and social inspiration, are now turning to face each other, their families, their culture and their own city for creative fuel. This movement was spearheaded in 1997 by the trip-hop duo Soap Kills (Zeid Hamdan and Yasmine Hamdan), with their use of the Arabic language (especially their creative use of Lebanese slang), referencing of traditional Arabic songs, as well as incorporation of Middle Eastern sounds in their deeply Western musical style. Although young Lebanese musicians did not immediately follow suit, choosing instead to continue emulating the West, today there seems to be a current rise in Lebanese music that is rooted more in the Middle East than in the West.

Mashrou3 LeilaAt the forefront of the current generation of independent Lebanese musicians is Mashrou3 Leila (مشروع ليلى), a band with members who were afforded the chance to imagine the possibilities for young Lebanese musicians, and realize that Arabic music can be manipulated beyond the superficial pop music of Nancy Ajram or the like.
Drawing inspiration from the deep desire to make Arabic music both relevant and great the way it used to be in the days of Oum Kalthoum, Fairouz, and the Rahbani Brothers, Mashrou3 Leila set off to create music that would speak to their generation: Westernized liberal Lebanese youth who hold both a deep love and strong criticism of their country, culture and society.

The group was started as a one-night project at the American University of Beirut, thus named "mashrou3 leila" which literally translates to "one-night project." The band, however, has offered a new interpretation of the title, referencing Leila, a famous character in Arabic literature and folklore who appears in One Thousand and One Nights. This second interpretation has become a more appropriate one, for the band presents new Arabic narratives whilst referencing traditional ones, to which Leila belongs. The band, formed by Haig Papazian (violin), Omaya Malaeb (keyboard), and Andre Chedid (guitar), to later be joined by Hamed Sinno (vocals), Carl Gerges (drums), Firas AbuFakhr (guitar), and Ibrahim Badr (bass) has come to speak to and for the youth of Lebanon who want to get past the political and religious turmoil that has long created a strong divide within the country and its people. The members of this band each come from different religious and social backgrounds, and their formation of the band has come to represent the desires of the Lebanese youth to unite as one regardless of any religious differences.

Mashrou3 posterIn several articles featuring the band, they have been labeled as rock, because of their use of guitars, drum, and bass, however that is most certainly not a clear classification of the music. In fact, to classify their music is a challenging task, because they have created a new sound, that although it relies on many traditional and existing sounds cannot be accurately summed up in one or two words. The best way to go about this is as follows: Mashrou3 Leila offers the heaviness of rock, the tenderness of romantic Oriental music, the joyousness of Balkan music, and the scathing lyricism of a revolutionary.

The band, to date, has released one album, self-titled Mashrou3 Leila. The track Raksit Leila has served as the band's first single, with its joyous and upbeat melody, but a really outstanding track is Shim El Yasmine, a somber song of love lost.

Similar to Soap Kills, the band uses Lebanese slang in a witty and creative manner (especially in Latlit, Min il 6aboor, and 3al 7ajiz), which is extremely appreciated by Lebanese listeners who are united by the idiosyncrasies of their language and culture. However, a lot is lost in translation, and the essence of the band is lost on non-Arabs, and sometimes even on non-Lebanese listeners. In fact, the lyrics are meant for the Lebanese population, because they tell stories for and about Lebanese people. That is not to say that the band is trying to exclude the rest of the music-listening populace of the world, for the music itself, remains a universal language, and thus can be enjoyed by any and all. Mashrou3 Leila is truly at the forefront of a musical movement in Lebanon, because they are not catering to an international/Western audience, but instead are reaching out to the audience at home, the one that has been neglected for so long.

Souraya Al-Alaoui, a native of Damascus, recently graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A. in Media Studies.