Various Artists – Beirut Good Vibes Vol.1 (Forward/ Select Audio Visual)

This compilation goes to great pains to point out that it’s not a dance cd. It sure as hell looks like one, with its Beirut by night cover, yet as it promises it’s more about introducing a cool laidback atmosphere than getting your booty shaking to innocuous techno. I imagine these are some of the artists on Lebanese label Forward Music who are attempting to champion some of the more interesting musical practices in the city. It’s considered an acoustic collection however there are electric guitars and key’s and synths, however all the pieces exude the kind of late night cool the album is trying to project. The album begins with some devotional sounding wailing, as if to conform to expectations, however Ziad Ahmadieh & Fun Jan Shai quickly move on after a couple of minutes adding a bit of jazzy housy percussion, with a gentle strum of an oud, which on paper sounds terrible, but in reality offers an incredibly and evocative opening. It’s a signal to leave your expectations at the door as we’re dealing with all manner of influences, many exuding the late night lounge feel. Sylistically there is little to tie it particularly to Beirut, as the influences seems to come from everywhere, there’s the jazz based chanteuse, though the majority of the pieces are instrumental. curiously they use the more traditonal instrments sparingly, if at all. This is modern Beirut music, looking towards the future, not trading on traditions.