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Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels

by Mayssa Jallad

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Download includes a high-res map of 1975 Beirut in PDF format, showing the key buildings of the "Battle of the Hotels" - based on Mayssa Jallad's Master's thesis ("Beirut’s Civil War Hotel District: Preserving the World’s First High-Rise Urban Battlefield") – the map was designed in Beirut by Josette Khalil, Leen Charafeddine, Maya Chams and Mayssa Jallad.
    Purchasable with gift card

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited edition of 100 copies.

    140gsm vinyl pressed at Microforum (Canada). Jacket printed on 20pt board with aqueous gloss coating, with a 3.5mm spine and a black paper inner dust sleeve.

    Available from Ruptured Records in North America / ROW at the following link: rupturedthelabel.bandcamp.com/album/marjaa-the-battle-of-the-hotels

    The vinyl version of "Marjaa" is a co-release by Ruptured in Beirut and Six of Swords in London.
    RPTD044LP / SWORD01

    Includes unlimited streaming of Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 4 days
    edition of 100  4 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      £20.99 GBP or more 

     

  • Poster/Print

    Double-sided, 34 x 68 cm art print printed on 150gsm woodfree paper. Includes digital download code.

    "Marjaa" art print consists of a map, 3D views and a referenced timeline depicting the key events of Beirut's "Battle of the Hotels" in the year 1975. The art print is based on Mayssa Jallad's Master's thesis ("Beirut’s Civil War Hotel District: Preserving the World’s First High-Rise Urban Battlefield") – it was designed in Beirut by Josette Khalil, Leen Charafeddine, Maya Chams and Mayssa Jallad.

    Available from Ruptured Records in North America / ROW at the following link:
    rupturedthelabel.bandcamp.com/album/marjaa-the-battle-of-the-hotels
    ships out within 2 days
    edition of 50  9 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      £8.99 GBP or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited edition of 210 copies, available only on Bandcamp. Includes digital download code.
    Includes:
    140gsm vinyl pressed at Microforum (Canada). Jacket printed on 20pt board with aqueous gloss coating, with a 3.5mm spine and a black paper inner dust sleeve.
    +
    Double-sided, 34 x 68 cm art print printed on 150gsm woodfree paper. Art print depicts the key events of Beirut's "Battle of the Hotels" in the year 1975 - it is based on Mayssa Jallad's Master's thesis ("Beirut’s Civil War Hotel District: Preserving the World’s First High-Rise Urban Battlefield")

    Album sleeve and art print designed in Beirut by Josette Khalil, Leen Charafeddine, Maya Chams and Mayssa Jallad.

    Available from Ruptured Records in North America / ROW at the following link:
    rupturedthelabel.bandcamp.com/album/marjaa-the-battle-of-the-hotels

    The vinyl version of "Marjaa" is a co-release by Ruptured in Beirut and Six of Swords in London.
    RPTD044LP / SWORD01

    Includes unlimited streaming of Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 4 days
    6 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      £22.99 GBP or more 

     

1.
Etel 04:12
أمشي وحدي وأنظرْ إلى الآفاقْ ما هذهِ الشمسُ الزرقاءْ مَنْ يسكنْ هنا لا أحدْ يسكنْ هنا مدينتي رهينةُ ناطحاتِ السحابْ دهاليز دهاليز I walk alone and look at the sky What is this blue sun? Who lives here Nobody lives here My city is the hostage of skyscrapers Corridors, corridors
2.
Kharita 01:57
Kharita أمشي وحدي وفي يدي خريطَهْ لا أفهمْ منها شيء ء ء ء ء I walk the streets alone, in my hand a map That I don’t understand
3.
Baynana 02:53
Baynana هناكَ مستشفى هنا ولكنني لا أراهْ هناك فندقٌ هنا يملأُ السماء هناك قناصٌ هنا يسقطُ منَ الفضاءْ هناك أشباحٌ هنا والقتلةُ أحياءٌ احرارٌ بيننا There is a hospital here, but I don’t see it There is a hotel here, it fills the sky There is a sniper, he falls in space There are ghosts here and the killers and free and alive among us
4.
Mudun 02:32
Mudun يُقَسِّمونَ الأحياءْ، يَضُمّونَ الأراضي يُفَكِّكونَ العائلاتْ، يُدَمِّرونَ المَباني يُوَظِّفونَ الأقرِباءْ، يُهَجِّرونَ الأهالي يَستَثمِرون المشاريعَ الكُبرى، يُشَرِّعونَها بالتَّوالي وإنْ تَجَرّأتَ أن تَفضَحَهم يُهدّدونكَ بالماضي وإنْ تجرّأتَ أن تفضَحَهُم يهدِّدونْ فَيرتَفِعُ القَنّاصُ في ذاتِ المِصعَدِ ويُباشرْ بالقتالِ في غُرَفِ النّومِ الفارِغَهْ والمطابخِ الفارِغَهْ وغُرَفِ الجلوسِ وغُرَفِ العاملاتِ ودهاليزِ السماء كل هذه البيوت الفارغة ومدينتي مُدنْ They divide neighborhoods, they merge plots They tear up families, they destroy buildings They hire their relatives, they displace locals They fund grand projects, and license them afterwards And if you dare expose them, they threaten you with the past And so the sniper rises up in the elevator and starts to kill In the empty bedrooms Empty kitchens Empty living rooms Empty maids rooms And the corridors of the sky All these empty houses And my city becomes cities
5.
Haigazian (October 22) يختبئُ أحدٌ في جسدي بينَ قناطري وأشعرْ به يركُضُ والسلاحُ في يدِهِ يختبئُ "أزرقٌ" في جسدي يريدُ اقتحامَ البنكِ المركزي كالآخرينَ في شارع ِ المصارفِ ولكنْ أرى الحمراءَ تتصدّى ويشتدُّ القتالُ في دهاليزِ القِنطاري Someone is hiding in my body, between my arches, I feel them running with weapons in their hands Blue is hiding in my body. It wants to invade the Central Bank like they all did at Banks’ Street But I see Red is resisting and the fighting moves to the corridors of Kantari
6.
Burj Al Murr (October 25 to 27) يختبئُ "أحمرٌ" في جسدي يتسلّقُ عَمودي الفِقَري يتنفّسُ ثقيلاً في رِئَتي يصلُ إلى رأسي ينظرُ مِن عيوني، يقتُلُ مِن عيوني صَوبَ شرقِ بيروتْ والزُّرقُ في "رِزقَ" لا يطالوني فيَعبُرُ بعضٌ منهم مِن المقاطعة الرابعةِ إلى فندقِ السماءْ يَدخلونَ لشراءِ السّكائرِ ولا يَخرُجونَ بعدَها والعرقُ يَصُبُّ على جِباهِ رِجالِ الأعمالْ مِنهمْ مَن يختبئُ تحتَ الأسِرّةِ، مِنهمْ مَن يشاهدُ الاقتحامْ إقتحامَ الفنادقِ منَ الشُّرُفاتِ إلى الشَّمالْ يأتي الزُّرقُ في القواربِ مِن خليجِ التِّنّينْ يأتي الزُّرقُ مِن زيتونةِ الدّهاليزْ ويُسَيطرونَ على مِنطقةٍ ليسَتْ مِلكَ أحدٍ بالتّحديدْ Red hides in my body He climbs my spine He breathes heavily down my lungs He reaches my head Looks through my eyes Kills through my eyes Towards East Beirut And the Blues at Rizk could never reach me So some of them cross from Sector 4 towards the sky hotel They come in to buy cigarettes and never leave And businessmen are sweating of fear Some hide under beds And some observe the battle to the North The Blues invade with boats at the Dragon’s bay The Blues invade through the corridors of Zaituneh And they take control of an area that is not the property of anyone in particular
7.
Markaz Azraq (December 6) لا أعتَقِدْ أنّني أحسَستُ بِعُنفٍ كهذا رجُلٌ يصرُخْ في مداخلي رجُلٌ يصرُخْ في سلالمي رجُلٌ يصرُخْ في شوارعي ويحُضُّ الزُّرقَ إلى الثأرْ لا أعتَقِدْ أنّني أحسَستُ بِعُنفٍ كهذا فَقَدَ ابنَهُ الأوّلَ البريءْ قَتَلَهُ قاطعُ طُرُقِ زحلة-ترشيش وبعدَ ثلاثةِ أشهرٍ معَ الـ ب. ج.، قتلوا ابنَهُ الثّاني لا يَعتقدْ أنّهُ أَحَسَّ بعُنفٍ كهذا "ليسَ مِنهُمْ بَريءْ، ليسَ مِنْ مُسلمٍ بَريءْ" لا أعتقدْ أنّهُمْ أَحَسّوا بِعُنفٍ كهذا وفي غُضونِ ساعتَيْنْ قَتَلوا ثلاثَمِئَهْ بذريعةِ الهَوِيَّهْ مِن أمامِ "مركزي" إلى مدخلِ المرفأِ مِن ساحةِ الشهداءْ إلى شِركَةِ الكهرَباءْ فَلْتَسقُطِ المفاوضاتُ مَعْ دمشقْ وتهدئةُ القياداتْ اشتعلتِ المدينةُ وَوَلْوَلَتِ النّساءُ مِن الشُّرُفاتْ ولكن لَمْ يَنَمْ ولكن لَمْ يَنَمْ ولكن لَن يَنامَ بَعدَ ذاكْ I do not think I’ve ever felt such violence A man screams at my entrances A man screams at my stairs A man screams at my streets and calls the Blues for revenge I do not think I’ve ever felt such violence They killed his innocent first son Killed by a pirate on the Zahle Tarchich road And three months in with the Be Jin they kill his second son I do not think he’s felt such violence There are no more innocents No more Muslims are innocent I do not think they’ve felt such violence And in the span of 3 hours, they killed 200, on identity card From my headquarters to the port From Martyrs Square to the Electricity building Let the Damascus negotiations be damned And the leaders’ calming voices too The city was on fire and women wailed from balconies But he never slept But he never slept But he never slept after that
8.
Markaz Ahmar (December 6 suite) لا بدَّ من ردٍّ أحمرْ لا عودَه لصُلحٍ أكبرْ "الزُّرقُ أفشلوا كلَّ تفويضْ افتعلوا مجزرَه لكي نستجيبْ فكيـــْــــــــفَ نستجيبْ؟" فَرسمَ قاْئدُ الـــــْــــــحُمْرِ خطاً على الخريْطَه يمتدُّ من المرْفأِ إلى ساحةِ الشهداءْ "لا بدَّ من الردِّ لتحريرِ المقاطعة الرابعةِ لا بد من الرد لتحريرِ الفنادقِ من الفاشي" لا بد من الرد... لِتُقْسَمَ مدينتي The Reds must respond There is no turning back The Blues have made all negotiation fail" They provoked a massacre so that we respond How shall we respond And so the Red leader drew a line on a map from the port to Martyrs' square We must respond to free sector 4 We must respond to destroy the fascist hotels We must respond to divide the city
9.
Al Hisar (December 8) حاصر الحمر منطقة الفنادق رجِعوا إلى أدراج برج المر احتلوا رياضَ الصلحَ و ساحة النِّجمةِ أخذوا مركزاً في البالم بيتش دخلوا خِلسةً الى الورشةِ أمام التنين (أي السان جورج) قاتلوا ... خرجت قوى الأمنِ منهُ أشعَلوا النارَ في الفينيسيا حتىْ اختنقَ الزرقُ فيه دخلوا الألْكزار ثمَّ الإكسلسيور احتلوا كلَّ الفنادقِ بقيَ الهوليداي إنْ The reds encircle the hotel district Thy return to Burj el murr They take control of Riad Al Solh and Place de l’Etoile They take the Palm beach as headquarters They sneak in to the construction site in front of Saint George They fight him until Internal Security Forces flee They set the Phoenicia on fire suffocate them all They invade the Alcazar And the Excelsior All the north hotels are theirs except the Holiday Inn…
10.
Holiday Inn (January to March) يختبئُ أزرقٌ في جسدي يعْزِفُ الآلاتِ، يشربُ النبيــْــــذ واقفاً في المصعدِ، متّكئاً على الصواريخ ويدورُ المطعمُ ويدورُ التقنيصْ ويدورُ المطعمُ ويدورُ التقنيصْ على بُعدِ أربع ِ كيلومترْ في الكرنتينا مجزرةْ في الثامنِ عَشَرْ من كانونِ الثاني وعلى بُعدِ عِشرينَ كيلومترْ في الدامور مجزرةْ في العشرينِ من كانونِ الثاني كيفَ نستجيبْ؟ كيفَ نستجيبْ؟ Blue hides in my body Plays music on the instruments, drinks wine Standing in the elevator, leaning against missiles And the restaurant spins while the sniping goes on 4kilometers away, in Karantina A massacre On the 18th of January 20kilometers away, in Damour A massacre On the 20th of January How shall we respond How shall we respond How shall we respond
11.
Holiday Inn (March 21 to 29) يختبئُ ستةٌ في جسدي اثنان على المدخلِ اثنان على الثاني إثنان على الرابع ِ والعشرين أتى الصاروخُ الأحمرُ من المدرسةِ دمرَ المِدفع الأرق على الأرضيِّ مشَّطَ الحمرُ شَعري.. طابقاً ، طابقاً هربَ الزرقُ كلهم ، إلّا القناصون مسكَهُمُ الحُمرُ وألقوهُمْ من رأسي الى كعبي ثم جرّوهمْ سحبوهمْ بالسياراتِ في المدينةِ هرب الزرقُ إلى مركزِ المقاطعةِ الرابعةِ حاربوا في الهيلتون والنورماندي ولكنهم خسِروا المعركةَ وانقسمتْ مدينتي غرباً وشرقاً أهلاً وعقلاً هرّبَ الزرقُ أهلَهُمْ وتركوا باقي المسيحيين صفّهم الحمرُ على الحيطانِ Six of them hide in my body Two at the entrance , Two on the second floor Two on the 24th The Red missile came from the school Destroying the walls and heavy weapons on the ground floor The Reds combed my hair floor by floor All the Blues fled, except for the snipers The Reds captured them and threw them From my head to my heel And then they dragged their bodies in the city The blues fled to the Sector 4 They fought at the Hilton and Normandy But they lost the battle and the city was divided East and west, people and mind The Blues saved their families and left the rest of the Christians The reds lined them up on the walls
12.
Al Irth 01:58
Al Irth كانتْ أولُ حرب ِ أبراج ٍ في العالمِ يَدرُسونَها في الجيش الأمريكي ورِثناها في حاضرنِا العنيفِ حاولوا محوَها في اتفاقِ الطائفِ وفي مشروع ِ وسطِ بيروتَ التجاريِّ ضاعت خريطتي من يدي وضاع الناس في أحياء الآخرين ... انتهتِ المعركةُ في آذارِ ستةٍ وسبعين وانتهت معاركٌ أخرى وانتهى غزوُ اسرائيل ولكنَّ الحربَ لم تنتهِ لكنَّ الحربَ لن تنتهــــــــيْ ما دُمنا نصوتُ للحمرِ والزرقِ في البرلمانِ لن تنتهي And it was the first highrise urban battle in the world A case study for the American Military We inherited it In our violent present They tried to erase it in the Taef Agreement And in the Solidere project The battle ended in March 76 But the war did not end Other battles ended and the Israeli invasion ended But the war did not end The war will not end As long as we vote for the Reds and Blues

about

Centred upon Jallad’s incredible voice, ‘Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels’ meshes fractured, utterly contemporary sound-design with a gorgeous instrumental backing featuring the cream of Lebanon’s music scene. Attempting to process historical trauma through mapping Beirut’s violent past upon a present that remains littered with the ghosts of abandoned architecture, this stunning, singular album achieves the rare trick of being both deeply anchored and accessible, whilst ambitiously adventurous and experimental; rooted in tradition, yet thrillingly modern. Made available digitally earlier this year, the album is released in November in a gorgeously-packaged vinyl edition. 

A heady mix of Arabic blues with folk, ambient and electronic elements, ‘Marjaa...’ is a concept album that merges Lebanese singer/songwriter Mayssa Jallad’s two vocations: music and urban research/ architectural history. Written in collaboration with producer Fadi Tabbal and mastered by Heba Kadry, the music builds upon Tabbal’s deeply spatial approach to sound and the research carried out in Jallad’s Historic Preservation master's thesis (‘Beirut’s Civil War Hotel District: Preserving the World’s First High-Rise Urban Battlefield’), which examines the history of a 5-month conflict that took place within Beirut's luxury hotel district of Minet El Husn near the start of the Lebanese Civil War, from October 1975. Jallad views architecture as a main protagonist in what was the world’s first high-rise urban battle. Repurposed as command posts and strongholds from which snipers dominated the territory, the once opulent hotels served as "examples of an architecture that has backfired against its original program", becoming weaponised and undercutting their designers’ modernist ideals of optimism and progress. The battle’s outcome resulted in the 15-year Green Line, an urban rift which split Beirut into East and West, restricting movement and communication and creating a violent divide that still resonates today.  

Jallad's sublime voice moves sinuously across this landscape, drifting slowly like smoke, occasionally rising to a powerful intensity. Its cracked grain and breathy intimacy is cast alongside a shifting web of electric and close-mic-ed acoustic guitars, skittering drums and ambient/electronic sound-scaping.  Synth drones swirl amid textures resembling crumbling masonry and metallic clanging. Field recorded clips of traffic or what sounds like the dull thud of distant gunfire poke through alongside the vernacular instrumental sounds of buzuk and oud, as well as piano, metallophone and bass. A beautiful balance is struck between ambient space and song form.  

Whilst structurally fractured and scarred, the album is rich and sensual, marked by a sense of space and lightness. Its textures shimmer soft and warm. Its songs feel loose and only fleetingly anchored, as though on the cusp of formlessness. In places, the acoustic guitar interplay recalls acoustic-era Animal Collective and Swans, or Low or Grouper. Its gauzy, atmospheric otherness may hint toward The Cocteau Twins or This Mortal Coil, whilst the LP might also appeal to fans of the likes of Bjork, Nadah El Shazly, Maarja Nuut, Lucrecia Dalt or Mabe Fratti. If you might pin this as ‘world music’, it’s of a type that sounds utterly adventurous and modern. 

Addressing a post-war generation who have never been taught this difficult history, the album comprises two parts. In Part A: ‘Dahaliz’, Jallad walks through the city, attempting (and failing) to follow an old map. Musician Youmna Saba is a companion on this journey of remembering Beirut’s once winding corridors (“dahaliz”), destroyed by new developments since the 1960s. Abandoned skyscrapers propel her onto a past filled with the violence of snipers, and a present filled with the glamorous injustice of empty luxury real estate endorsed by powerful warlords-turned-politicians. In Part B: ‘Maaraka’, Jallad imagines embodying the buildings as the battle unfolds. She calls the fighting militias the Blues and Reds, respectively the Lebanese Front (Christian Nationalists) and the Lebanese National Movement (Pro-Palestinian leftists), levelling the playing field, and drawing a map of the battle through songwriting. Sary Moussa produces the conclusion of the battle in ‘Holiday Inn (March 21 to 29)’, which ends with the ultimate severance of the city of Beirut. 

A powerful act of remembrance, 'Marjaa: the Battle of the Hotels' is a bold, ambitious attempt to create a space where historical trauma can be processed, rather than erased or concealed. Where history might not need to loop back and repeat itself. The album's parting lines “But the war did not end / The war will not end / As long as we vote for the Reds and Blues” - are echoed by Mayssa’s comment that the record is "also a call to protest for the renewal, rather than the recycling of the political class that once destroyed the country and holds us, to this day, hostage of its violence.” 

The vinyl edition of ‘Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels’ is co-released by Beirut-based label Ruptured and UK newcomer Six of Swords. It is pressed in a limited edition of 300 copies, with a limited D2C edition containing download coupon and a full-colour, double-sided 34 x 68cm art print on 150gsm wood-free paper with map, 3D diagrams and timeline depicting the historical events of the battle.  

Mayssa will play a short European tour in November, including performing at Oslo World and Le Guess Who? Festivals. 


“something so extraordinary that it gives one pause…. a work of reconstruction that uses modern Arabic-language song to subtle and breath-taking effect… an accomplished and unusual album.”
(The New Internationalist)

“It’s an album with everything; vital history, experimental melodicism, inventive structures, mountains of emotion, and Jallad’s stunning voice. There is so much to learn, so much to hear.”
(Foxy Digitalis)

"In an overwhelmingly creative and critical act, Mayssa Jallad turns the destruction of the Lebanese Civil War into a stunning,
two-sided album driven by poetic songwriting mixed with historical narration, lush strings and synths, gentle drones, and her
incredible vocal prowess."
(SceneNoise)

"In the end, the album, like the city on which it is based, feels like an infinite loop of history, relayed through the brave yet saintly voice of an artist who has taken the task of documenting the past through music." (Bandcamp)

daily.bandcamp.com/features/mayssa-jallad-marjaa-battle-of-the-hotels-interview

credits

released November 3, 2023

All lyrics by Mayssa Jallad.
All music by Mayssa Jallad and Fadi Tabbal.

Additional music on “Etel” and “Kharita” by Youmna Saba.
Additional music on “Baynana” and “Mudun” by Marwan Tohme.
Additional music on “Al Hisar” by Farah Kaddour.
Additional music on “Holiday Inn (March 21 to 29)” by Sary Moussa.
Additional music on “Holiday Inn (January to March)” and “Holiday Inn (March 21 to 29)” by Pascal Semerdjian.
Additional music on “Al Irth” by Yara Asmar.

Mayssa Jallad – vocals on all tracks, nylon guitar on tracks 1, 3 & 7, piano on track 10
Fadi Tabbal – synth on tracks 1 to 8 & 10, electric guitar on track 2, acoustic guitar on track 7, sound design on tracks 9 & 12, bass on track 10
&
Yara Asmar: metallophone on track 12
Farah Kaddour: buzuk on track 9
Sary Moussa: synth and electronics on track 11
Youmna Saba: oud on track 1, vocals on track 2
Julia Sabra: backing vocals on track 8
Pascal Semerdjian: drums on track 6, 10 & 11
Marwan Tohme – acoustic guitar on tracks 3 & 4, backing vocals on track 8

Produced by Fadi Tabbal and Mayssa Jallad except “Holiday Inn (March 21 to 29)” by Sary Moussa.
Mixed by Fadi Tabbal and Sary Moussa at Tunefork Studios.
Mastered by Heba Kadry.

Cover design by Josette Khalil, Leen Sharafeddine, Maya Chams and Mayssa Jallad. Calligraphy by Ali Assi.

Based on the thesis by Mayssa Jallad (2017). Beirut’s Civil War Hotel District: Preserving the World’s First High-Rise Urban Battlefield. doi.org/10.7916/D84M9GS0

Thank you to Marie-Joe Younan, Mona Hallak and the AUB Neighbourhood Initiative, Ziad Nawfal, Samer Etyen Chami, Ely Dagher, Yasmine Sarout, Gregory Buchakjian, Paul Jureidini, Rana Abou Chacra, Aya Jallad, Mustapha Sleiman, Karim Sleiman, Maria and Rachid Jallad.

To the families of victims and disappeared, then and now.


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