V/A VV-VA-00 (Album – VV-VA)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Experimental, Minimal-Electronics, Cinematographic.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: This compilation was released during the very last days of 2019 (!). VV-VA is a label based in Lebanon. The label is driven by Jawad Nawfal who’s an artist involved in most of the tracks featured at this compilation. The label is distributed by the Syrphe –Berlin based label driven by ‘C-Drik’ Fermont.
Artists: Jawad Nawfal, Jad Atoui, Charbel Haber & Jawad Nawfal, Jad Atoui & Jawad Nawfal, Elyse Tabet, Elyse Tabet & Jawad Nawfal, Mazen El Sayed & Jawad Nawfal, Sharif Sehnaoui & Jawad Nawfal.
Content: The album features a total of 10 songs and as already mentioned Jawad Nawfal is nearly involved in all of the songs. The work is however diversified, but clearly revealing the sound of Lebanon underground scene dealing with ambient-, and experimental music. The compilation moves from a pure ambient opener by Jawad Nawfal towards the slow tempo driven and intelligent sounding Jad Atoui to the more sensual song by Charbel Haber & Jawad Nawfal. Elyse Tabet brings a pure experimental cut while together with Jawad Nawfal both artists are dealing with pure minimalism and cinematographic music at another track. There also is an experimental cut with guitar by Sharif Sehnaoui & Jawad Nawfal.
+ + + : I first of all have to thanks C-drik Fermont for the promotion of this work, which is a truly opportunity to discover underground music from a scene we’re not used to hearing here. But more important is the potential and talent of those artists and Jawad Nawfal for sure is the matrix of this work. Working alone or together with other artists, they create a diversified and mostly fascinating work. I’ve been impressed by the great sound treatments and intelligence emerging from the track together with Elyse Tabet (cf. “Club Of The Landless”) while one of the cuts by Jad Atoui (cf. “Step focus”) is another noticeable passage.
– – – : I was less impressed by the most experimental passages of the work.
Conclusion: This is the kind of compilation getting my full support for revealing something different; a scene we’re not familiarized with and artists revealing a truly, great potential.
Best bands: Elyse Tabet & Jawad Nawfal, Jad Atoui, Jawad Nawfal.
Rate: (7½).
Label: www.vv-va.com / www.facebook.com/vvvabeirut
About VV-VA
VV-VA is a label from Beirut run by audiovisual artist Jawad Nawfal, who also records as Munma and was born in Beirut in 1978. Alongside his music, Nawfal composes for film and theatre. VV-VA is distributed by Fermont’s Syrphe.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
