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LP
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RPTD 036LP
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Kinematik is a Lebanese post-rock ensemble hailing from the village of Reyfoun in the Lebanese mountains. Formed in the summer of 2014, Kinematik recorded its debut album Ala' in the spring of 2017, and released it later that same year with Lebanese indie label Ruptured (RPTD 017CD/LP). This was followed later that year by a string of performances in Lebanon, as well as a number of European dates as part of a tour organized by Beirut & Beyond International Music Festival. Both Ala' and its follow-up Murur al Kiram (BNSD 046LP) were recorded and co-produced by Fadi Tabbal from renowned Lebanese recording studio Tunefork. Murur Al-Kiram was released by Ruptured in the winter of 2020, in the early days of the bloody Lebanese uprising and the Covid-19 pandemic. Kinematik spent the best part of 2020 under lockdown, trying to come to grips with Lebanon's and the world's new realities, battling societal, economical and sanitary hurdles and obstacles. In November 2020, upon receiving an invitation from Irtijal Festival in Beirut to perform in its 20th edition, the former trio evolved into a full-blown ensemble, comprising a total of six musicians -- the core line-up of Anthony Sahyoun, Rudy Ghafari and Akram Hajj was joined by modular synth players Jad Atoui and Ziad Moukarzel, as well as drummer Teddy Tawil. The Irtijal performance laid the roots for a series of recording sessions, that coalesced a few months later into the long-form, elaborate compositions that make up Al Jadi, the band's third album -- four slabs of brooding, elegiac post-rock. Recorded and mixed by Fadi Tabbal, mastered by Harris Newman of Grey Market Mastering fame, and packaged in a superb sleeve courtesy of Studio Safar's head of design Hatem Imam.
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LP
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BNSD 046LP
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Portland and Beirut rub shoulders again as Beacon Sound and Ruptured reveal their second co-release, the new album by Lebanese ensemble Kinematik entitled Murur al-Kiram. Kinematik hails from the mountain village of Reyfoun. Formed in the summer of 2014, they recorded their debut album Ala' in the spring of 2017 and released it on Ruptured (RPTD 017CD/LP). The band is known for the elaborate visual setup of its live shows and has collaborated with a variety of different artists over the years in an effort to carefully craft each of its performances. Kinematik has toured extensively in Lebanon and Europe, re-scored Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1930's classic film Vampyr for the the 23rd European Film Festival in Beirut, and contributed soundtrack pieces for Lebanese filmmakers Ghassan Salhab's Une Rose Ouverte (2019) and Sarah Kaskas' Underdown. Murur al-Kiram uses electronics, intricate double-drumming, guitar, and bass to construct ambient soundscapes and hypnotic, propulsive rhythms -- conjuring the ghosts of a diminishing future as well as an unresolved past. Subtle in both angst and joy, the album celebrates small victories in the face of great defeats, echoing the band's conflicted mindset towards life in their country and community. The record was recorded over a period of two months, and features Teddy Tawil joining the band as second drummer. Whereas Ala' saw Kinematik's four core musicians confining themselves to one instrument and/or role within the overall sonic construct of the band, these new compositions see each musician playing and equally at ease with several instruments, adding intensity, cohesiveness, and a sense of fluidity to the proceedings. The intent was to make a record that would sound like a single traveling shot, beginning with the musicians' childhood in their hometown, through their adult lives weighted down by the corruption and theft endemic to the Lebanese political system, until they are buried back in their place of birth. The salutary presence of Sary (newborn son of synth player Rudy Ghafari) that became the "raison d'être" of the record. Murur al-Kiram is the story of an important chapter in the band's history, one marked by uncertainty and hesitation, yet solid and vibrant in spite of the latter. With the recent mass protests against dire, still unresolved social conditions, a vision of a democratic and post-sectarian Lebanon has come into view. Recorded by Fadi Tabbal at Tunefork Studios in Beirut. Includes download code; Edition of 300.
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CD
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RPTD 017CD
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Kinematik is an instrumental rock band from Lebanon, whose music blends elements of '70s psychedelia, progressive rock, and post-rock. Kinematik's rock sound is both diligent and intuitive, ranging from raucous improvisational psychedelic rock to steady and mechanical electronic grooves, with frequent post-rock climaxes. Immediate points of comparison include Explosions In The Sky, Can, Loop, and Tortoise. Kinematik composes instrumental pieces that feature dynamic contrast, strong melodic lines, a heavy use of distortion and effects, and some reliance on electronics and synthesizers. The band collaborated with renowned Lebanese producer Fadi Tabbal from Tunefork Studios, who produced this debut album, Ala'. Recorded on reel-to-reel tape, a recording process that has not occurred in Lebanon for the last decade. Edition of 300.
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LP
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RPTD 017LP
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LP version. Hand-numbered edition of 300. Kinematik is an instrumental rock band from Lebanon, whose music blends elements of '70s psychedelia, progressive rock, and post-rock. Kinematik's rock sound is both diligent and intuitive, ranging from raucous improvisational psychedelic rock to steady and mechanical electronic grooves, with frequent post-rock climaxes. Immediate points of comparison include Explosions In The Sky, Can, Loop, and Tortoise. Kinematik composes instrumental pieces that feature dynamic contrast, strong melodic lines, a heavy use of distortion and effects, and some reliance on electronics and synthesizers. The band collaborated with renowned Lebanese producer Fadi Tabbal from Tunefork Studios, who produced this debut album, Ala'. Recorded on reel-to-reel tape, a recording process that has not occurred in Lebanon for the last decade.
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