Habibi Funk 037: Markab

After the great success of their debut album Ghoyoum, Syrian-Lebanese duo Kazdoura return with Markab, their second album and first release in partnership with Habibi Funk. The album arrives with strong momentum already behind it: two singles have been released ahead of the album, ‘Taa’ featured in a Colors Studios live session, while the other ‘And then?’ has already amassed over 200,000 streams on
Spotify. Since the release of Ghoyoum, Kazdoura have taken their music around the world, touring
internationally, playing festivals and selling out shows as their audience has continued to grow.

Musically, Markab finds Kazdoura at their most confident and fully formed, bringing Arabic musical
traditions into a groove-heavy, organic band sound shaped by psychedelic and Anatolian rock, indie, jazz,
Afrobeat and Gnawa. Arabic maqamat including Bayat, Rast, Nakriz, Hijaz and Kurd sit at the heart of the
record, carried by Leen Hamo’s vocals and John Abou Chacra’s guitar, saxophone and flute, with
prominent basslines, live drums, analogue textures and repeating grooves driving the arrangements. While
making the album, the duo drew inspiration from artists including Alt?n Gün, Men I Trust and Kit Sebastian,
alongside older Arabic music and records from the Habibi Funk catalogue.

The result moves naturally between Arabic melodies and microtonal phrasing, warm psychedelic guitars, jazz-informed instrumentation and tightly locked rhythms, while retaining the immediacy and energy of Kazdoura’s live performances.