Ishtirak LP by Ishtirak

“A Sonic Uprising in the Shadow of Unending Disaster''

With a powerful sound and stage energy, resonant with that of the Comet is Coming, Maryam Saleh, and Taxi Kebab, the multi-instrumentalist trio Ishtirak prepare to release their debut self-titled album on the 13th of May, 2024 on Lebanese label Thawra Records.

In Arabic, Ishtirak means communication, participation, or subscription. In Lebanon, Ishtirak refers to that strong two-phase electricity cable that connects you to the closest privately run generator, which are usually controlled by neighborhood gangsters.

An 8-track opus of sizzling synth-infused Acid Jazz with flavors of Arabic Maqam, Progressive Rock, and Leftfield Electronic, the album was improvised and performed by the trio composed of Dylan Greene, Samah Boulmona and Jeremy Thal - on live Drums & Percussion, an original Alpha Juno II Synthesizer, and French Horn, Melodica and a half-busted OP-1 - on a hot and sticky July weekend in 2021, in a post-covid and post port-explosion Beirut.

This was a time when the country was still heavily reeling from a complete economic collapse, and where fuel and electricity were scarce. For the first time in a long time, the city that never sleeps would fall almost completely into darkness at night. And just like a power cable directly into some unknown metaphysical generator, Ishtirak was born, with each song recorded in between power cuts, its length and sonic journey dictated by the amount of time the trio could physically plug in and press record. Ultimately, for the band, the album represents the collective human creative power to resist mafia governments and soulless empires, and to triumph above those forces that try to stop us from expressing ourselves and creating.

Produced in collaboration with Lebanese veteran musician Etyen, the LP is an electrifying and bold body of work, embodying the idea of collaboration and coming together to resist and persist. Ishtirak is a kind of journal entry; a sonic picture of the internal and external environment of Beirut at the time, that is as ever relevant today. With this first release, the trio announce and power a sonic uprising in the shadow of unending disaster, with a loud and thunderous clap-back at those that want to turn off the lights.

“For a brief moment, the entire future was contained in my mind in the form of a lightning flash that illuminates the enormity of the unknown.” — Ghassan Kanafani

With a powerful sound and stage energy, resonant with that of the Comet is Coming and Taxi Kebab, the multi-instrumentalist trio Ishtirak, composed of Dylan Greene, Samah Boulmona and Jeremy Thal, was born on a hot and sticky July weekend in 2021 in a post-port-explosion Beirut, a time when power was scarce, and the only relief; a few daily hours of private generator power (Ishtirak).