Humanitarianism has never confined itself to borders or regions; on the contrary, it is a global phenomenon aiming to make the world a better place. That being said, let us tell you about our people. We, the people of Beirut, have been governed for 30 years by the same ruling class whose moral compass does nothing but defy the definition of humanity. Despite three decades of oppression, theft, and civil destruction, we made Beirut a hub for culture and art. We remained vibrant and creative. Music found its way out into the world even amidst multiple wars and a nationwide revolution. Lebanon became one of the go-to countries for music & art.
All until August 4th, 2020. On that day—and after being improperly “stored”—2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate destroyed half of our capital. 200 innocent lives were lost, thousands were injured and 300,000 lost their homes. People became spiritless, speakers stopped humming, and culture was blown to rubble. As expected, it was up to traumatized people to rebuild. In a country suffering from heavy immigration, capital control, economic recession, corruption, and hyper-inflation on top of a global pandemic, people are broke and are still suffering.
As humans first and as a platform with international recognition second, Feedasoul owe it to their people, the people who made them who they are today, to raise their voices. After a series of campaigns to raise funds for NGOs (in which they are forever grateful to every helping hand), they decided to take the initiative of compiling this Bandcamp exclusive Various Artists Compilation. In addition to their own talented artists, they’ve reached out to three extraordinary artists that they admire deeply. Without hesitation, all three were ready to support the citizens of Beirut in any way possible. Each one submitted a track and waived their fees, in order to maximize our impact. And for that, Feedasoul are eternally grateful. They are deeply touched by the show of support from the international community and we’re really happy to share with our Bolting Bits community this lovely premiere by Contours.
The Artists:
Ben Hauke is a South London producer whose identity fluctuates between Broken Beat, House and Hip Hop. He is widely known for jamming out on his mpc 500 and sp 404, giving whatever, he does a little bit of the old school vibe that is heavily infused into Jazz.
Contours is the project of musician, producer and DJ Tom Burford. Born in Cumbria and based in Manchester. Known for his wide variety of percussion from around the world, Contours’ sound explores the spaces, rhythms and textures that sit between House, Jazz, Afro-Beat, Electronica and Hip Hop.
Footshooter is one half of Saul, the band that broke into the scene with their exceptional release last year on Rhythm Section (Murmurations). Footshooter takes his solo productions into a space where the UK influence shines a bit more, focusing on Broken Beat and the manipulation of Jazz and Hip-Hop samples.
Papa Soul and Patch are Byblos based artists, long-time friends and co-founders of Feedasoul Records. Together, they combine their love of Jazz, Soul and no-nonsense Deep House.
Soul Groove is a Northampton born artist, DJ and host of “Afro Galactic”, a local electronic Jazz night. Dan recently released a heavy EP on Feedasoul incorporating his take on House and Jazz. One can expect drum-heavy and deep chord changes from Soul Groove.
Buy here, it’s for a good cause!
