Some years back we remember discovering a young talented Lebanese singer-songwriter, alone on stage, at Wickerpark Festival in Batroun. He went by the name of Charlie Rayne. His dreamy lyrics and acoustic folk style, inspired by the likes of Bob Dylan, was a crowd pleaser. “It all feels like forever ago” he said in a recent chat, “i’ve just been trying to learn more and get better at it”.
Since then, Karl Mattar has embarked on another musical journey with Interbellum, his latest project, a more “modular, collaborative and experimental” one.
Last year, he released his second album entitled “Dead Pets, Old Griefs” on the Lebanese independent record label Ruptured. This acclaimed 10 track record which revolves around the themes of “memory, time, childhood, and loss”, delivers a more textured sound and showcases maturity in both production and songwriting.
This album was recorded with (none other than) multi-instrumentalist and producer Fadi Tabbal (Tunefork Studios) alongside his musical family Marwan Tohme, Julia Sabra and Pascal Semerdjian from Postcards and Camille Cabbabé (Filter Happier, KŌZŌ).
Interbellum just released a new video, filmed in the ruins of the mesmerizing Grand Theatre in Beirut, directed by Camille Cabbabé, for the melancholic and harmonically rich track “Ready to Dissolve”.
“Camille suggested the location” he says, “I’m really grateful we managed to do it there because I feel it perfectly encapsulated the world within the song. It made me research the history of the place which was fascinating. Camille invited Lynn Sheikh Moussa to star in the video and the 3 of us snuck past the barricades and filmed it in a few hours. It was a surreal experience being there and I think that eeriness comes through.”
Check out his video! #supportlocaltalent.
