Acclaimed musicians from Syria and Lebanon join forces to rediscover their common “dabkeh” tradition.

With Wael Kodeih as the artistic director and supported by UNHCR, the musical project Dabaka unites forward-thinking musicians from Syria and Lebanon. Beside Kodeih, it’s Samer Saem el Daher (from Hello Psychaleppo), Khaled Omran (from Tanjaret Daghet) and Wassim Bou Malham, Wael Kodeih.

This evening, they are organizing a free premiere concert of their debut EP in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, where they will accompanied on stage with “a visual experience by Joan Baz”.

The name of the project comes from dabke dance, an Arab folk dance that’s characteristic for the whole region of Levant. And you can hear this past-present dialogue in every of their new tracks, which combine contemporary electronic music with traditional rhythms, melodies and sounds.

“Artists joined their passion and talent to reclaim its place within a contemporary context,” we read. “The project hopes to encourage more dialogue between artists on the cultural scene and to foster a greater understanding of the unique role art can play in bringing people together.”

You can also watch a short documentary about the project here.

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Dabaka on Soundcloud.