Syrian bands rock Beirut's alternative music scene

Dozens of Syrian bands and independent artists have now become mainstays of the Beirut music scene, performing emotive and often bleak songs in front of concert-goers eager for fresh faces.

In a bright Beirut apartment, two members of Khebez Dawle, an alternative rock band from Damascus, practise surrounded by freshly hung laundry, balls of yarn and cups of tea.

“You’re still alive, under the siege?” sings Anas Maghrebi, the band’s lead singer, in their song “Ayesh”, which means alive in Arabic.

“You loved and you grew up. You spent your life savings on a house — and now that house is gone. And you’re still alive.”

Syria’s four-year-old conflict has left more than 220,000 people dead and has forced millions, including artists and musicians, to flee to neighbouring countries.

Many civilians in Syria live in areas besieged by the regime or armed groups, cutting off their access to food and medical aid.

While some Syrian artists sing about everyday challenges and societal pressures, many use their music to talk about their experiences of war.

Khebez Dawle — the Arabic term for Syria’s ubiquitous state-subsidised bread — say their self-titled first album, released in December, attempts to give a young man’s “narrative of what happened in Syria”.

“We just tell the story as if we’re telling it to a friend,” Maghrebi tells AFP.

Original article by Maya Gebeily

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Syrian bands rock Beirut’s alternative music scene