Spirits Rebellious

I’ve come across many bands all throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceana, Central and South America covering all different styles music and genres, generally taking influence from their Western contemporaries or blending their traditional music with modern day sounds. But modern indie rock music from the Middle East has eluded me and I have been finding it difficult to come by. I did a search and found some fantastic garage rock from Iran and Lebanon bands during the 60’s and 70’s which I’ll be putting out at some point once I can thoroughly sift through everything I came across. But for current artists, I’m finding it more difficult to come by.

Even though this blog is centered around the Reno music scene, it’s title comes from a book of the same name by Lebanon’s Khalil Gibran. Being of Lebanese and Palestinian decent (my father’s side), I wanted my new blog to have a more personal meaning to me. Gibran’s Spirits Rebellious spoke to me right away not only in title but by the contents of said book. My search for Middle Eastern musicians making contemporary music was and always been something of great interest to me. My time in Beirut during the summer of 2004 was spent listening to music from Fairouz, debke and the never ending stream of pop artists that plastered billboards and television screens wherever I went. I wanted something different, something more in line with my own personal tastes; I was just having a hard time finding it. However, yesterday Instagram made a recommendation that caught my attention.

Kazdoura are based out of Toronto but their singer Leen Hamo is Syrian who fled due to violence during the Assad regime and John Abou Chacra is Lebanese. They met at a fundraiser shortly after the massive explosion that devastated Beirut in 2020. Their style blends Levantine Arabic maqams (which translates to place, location or position and are scale systems used in Arabic and Turkish music, read more about it here) with funk, jazz, disco and indie pop. Hamo’s vocals and singing style is very familiar but the compositions are anything but. The lyrics are emotional and heartbreaking but the music itself calls for you to dance. Kazdoura have created something incredible and beautiful here. It’s exactly what I’ve been searching for and I’m finding it hard describing how much their music means to me.

Kazdoura released their debut LP titled Ghoyoum in March of 2025 and can be found here. Their discography can be found here which includes their latest single and then? The band are currently touring Europe but hopefully a stop can be made in the United States (unless I missed it, in which I hope they return again soon).

خيال

شكلك بلا… لون
ما†حدا انتبهلك …هون
قاعد بلا …صوت
شو هو سرك …شو؟
متل الخيال لاحق سؤال
لبعيد تروح وين بتروح؟
ابقى شوي …شوي
ما تنسى روحك …خطي
مستني إيد …مين؟
تشيلك من ماضي حزين
قلبك عطشان
صرلك زمان
بتخاف تقول
وشو بتقول؟

Khayal

Your appearance has no… colors.
No one noticed your presence… here.
You’re sitting quietly.
What’s your secret? What?
Like a shadow, You’re following a question.
You’re going far away. Where do you go?
Stay here for a bit.
Don’t lose yourself, poor soul.
Waiting for a hand, whose hand?
To pull you away from your past.
Your heart is thirsty.
It’s been a while.
You’re afraid to speak.
And what would you say?