Foxy Digitalis
In the opening seconds of The Arabic Room, it’s as though Mephisto Halabi snaps his fingers and instantly transports us to his childhood home in Lebanon. Hypnotic chants and rhythms repeat before the dial is turned and a soothing voice turns up for a few moments before the dynamite explodes. Halabi is the moniker used by […]
Julius Masri has always had a lot going on. The Lebanon-born, Philadelphia-based multidisciplinary artist and composer has studied with a laundry list of stalwarts like Elaine Hoffman-Watts, Thurman Baker, Joan Tower, Carl Mottola, and others, but ultimately creating his own compositional framework and practice. He is also known for his performances and compositional work in […]
In the opening moments of “Watch on the Orient,” the first track of Mephisto Halabi’s incredible The Arabic Room, it feels like traveling through time and space through the radio dial. Traditional music trips into a woman’s voice speaking Arabic before giving away to acid-soaked riffage. As soon as the sharp, distorted tones hit, the […]