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Following the Second World War (1945-1949), Beirut established itself as the cultural capital of the Middle East, with the Lebanese music scene leading the way. Lebanese music has a distinct sound due to the country’s unique fusion of Western and Eastern influences. Even Lebanese folk compositions often reference Western contemporary music. After 15 years of civil war and a decade of post war rehabilitation, the situation of alternative art and especially music was very poor in Lebanon. Things began to change around 2000 with the arrival of a new generation of musicians, born at the beginning and during the war, more interested in experimental art forms than in fame or glory. The experimental music scene in Beirut, may exist in relative geographic isolation from other global movements of a similar ilk, but over the past fifteen years it has become a dynamic hub for a dense concentration of fiercely independent musical voices. From humble beginnings and tiny numbers, the close-knit community has grown and thrived.

Unexplained Sounds Group is proud to release an anthology of the contemporary electroacoustic music from Lebanon. As always the compilation doesn’t pretend to be exhaustive of the whole Lebanese experimental scene, being the main goal, simply to turn on a spotlight on it. Another chapter of the "experimental surveys" series to map the best upcoming music from the international underground scene.

Special thanks to Joseph Doumet for his support, and to all artists involved in the project for their kind and much appreciated collaboration.

Global Network Of Aural Disorientation curated by Raffaele Pezzella

Subsidiaries:

eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com

reversealignment.bandcamp.com

zerok.bandcamp.com

therecognitiontest.bandcamp.com

sonologyst.bandcamp.com

Magazine and Radio: www.patreon.com/eighthtower

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