In a sea of rock-n-roll talent emerging from the Middle East over the last 3-years, Beirut, Lebanon's own LAZZY LUNG (pronounced Lazy) has stood out among the region's indie-rock acts - sweeping up more industry accolades than any other independent group in the region since their release of their first album Strange Places in 2010.

Fast forward to the end of 2013 the band is on the cusp of releasing their 2nd full-length album Sailor's Delight to limited press outlets throughout the region - earning Rolling Stone Magazine Middle East's top 3 unsigned albums of 2013. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, "The long-delayed second LP from the Lebanese indie rockers was worth the wait. Sailor’s Delight is the perfect soundtrack to a lost weekend in Beirut’s bars and bedrooms – wild, scuzzy, and very loud."

The band has evolved considerably since it began as a solo project in the Ottawa basement of frontman Allan Chaaraoui in 2006. Leaving the hinterlands of Canada for Beirut, Lebanon later that year - by 2010, a 4-piece unit was formed. The band spent nearly 2-years ripping up clubs all-over the region building a devoted fanbase, and creating what one local music critic described as a sound that was "an homage to the true spirit and grit of those incredibly sweet bands that emerged from the height of alternative rock in the mid to late 90's."

When Lazzy Lung finally settled in to Karim Sinno's Mixdown Studios in Beirut to record their debut album in May 2010, they were entering unchartered territory in the Middle East that had seen only a handful of semi-successful English-language rock acts in the 90's and mid-2000's. That all changed when Lazzy Lung released Strange Places.

Setting the stage for things to come, Lazzy Lung's album launch in October 2010 was a musical event for Lebanon's rock annals. Staged at Beirut's City Theatre (Masrah Al Madina) that had for decades hosted Arab musical legends like Fairuz and the Rahbani brothers, they were the 1st rock act of any kind to perform at this iconic venue.

It was a balls-to-the-wall rock-n-roll riot at the City Theater that began a 2-year tidal wave of frenzied touring in Lebanon and the region - Jordan, Dubai, Egypt & Cyprus. Lazzy Lung also began wracking up a host of regional awards during this period as well: "Best Band” honors at Rolling Stone Middle East's "Battle of the Band" contest in Dubai in 2011; “Musician of the Year 2011" by Esquire M.E.; and winner's of the Ray-Ban sponsored contest (*Homegrown to Hollywood) that featured a recording session at Capitol Records (Los Angeles) in Studio A with legendary engineer Charlie Paakkari.

"I remember walking into Studio A feeling this massive lump in my throat, and the realization and feeling of the weight of the world - it just hit me - like - this is it! This is what people in the music business are working for - opportunities like this!" - Allan Chaaraoui

2012 provided its fair share of love for the band, but this time from its hometown fan base that voted the band "Best Local Act" in Time Out Beirut's annual "Best of" edition. Shortly thereafter the band also scored the "Best Gig" award with Time Out Dubai. And in late September, the band toured the Middle East and shot a documentary (*"Kids Like You and Me" Dir. Bill Cody) with the Atlanta-based punk outfit the Black Lips.

When it came time to recording a new album, they had more than enough material, and their fans were itching for a new release, but the band lived in Beirut -a city rife with political instability with a decadent underbelly that provides more than enough distraction and indulgence for those people who choose a lifestyle of excess. And indulge they did - falling for the seductive rhythms and charms of Beirut - losing themselves in a thick of smog of high times and Irish whiskey. The stories for their next album began to unfold.

Abandoning all previous recordings including those that took place at Capitol Records Studio A and in Dubai - both offered as prizes by Ray-Ban/triplew.me and Rolling Stone ME in 2011- bassist Imad Jawad and Chaaraoui went back to the drawing board and ironed out a new sound that eventually became Sailor's Delight. When in studio, the two band mates spent months tweaking everything from mic set-ups to song structure.

Sailor's Delight was recorded in a dingy basement studio in May 2013, and was mixed at Karim Sinno's Mixdown Studio - ultimately mastered by Grammy-award winning engineer Emily Lazar (The Foo Fighters, the Shins, Vampire Weekend) at The Lodge Studio in NYC.

The pace has changed and the volume is cranked and they leave you begging for more!

Since the early 1990s, Lethal Skillz has been holding it down as one the Arab world’s elder DJ statesman – earning the title as the oldest and most established turntablist in the Middle East and North Africa. He was the first to push turntablism as an art form in the Middle East and has continued to be one of Arab hip-hop’s most notable cultural ambassadors – having traveled the world representing Lebanon and the Middle East hip-hop through literally hundreds of community DJ workshops, free concerts, b-boy events, and through his own work as a prolific radio host.

Having grown up as a child of the Lebanese Civil War, he was the first Arabic judge for the DMC World DJ Championship GCC Battles hosted in Dubai (2007), and he has sought to use his influence in hip-hop to sow the seeds of peace and empower the community through the pillars of hip-hop culture with an unyielding commitment to keeping DJ culture alive and kicking with a new generation of youth -wherever he goes.

Based in Kuala Lumpur and Beirut, he continues to work as a DJ and turntablist, sharing the stage with the biggest names in hip hop including Grandmaster Flash, Timbaland, Missy Eliot, DJ Jazzy Jeff, De La Soul, Dj Q-bert, Pharoahe Monch, M-1 of Dead Prez, Rob Swift, DJ Akakabe, Co-ma, DJ Tony Touch, DJ Vinroc (5th Platoon / Triple Threat), DJ Shortkut and DJ Apollo (ISP / Triple Threat) World DMC Champions.

For over 20-years he’s also been producing and releasing music with two seminal Arab hip-hop albums to his credit- New World Disorder (2008) and Karmageddon (2012) – which features nearly everyone in the Lebanese hip-hop scene past and present and many of Arab hip-hop stalwarts from the region and Diaspora. Skills has also collaborated musically with the likes De La Soul, Dr. Dre and Snoop producer Fredwreck, Booty Brown and The Pharcyde, The Outlaws and Hussein Fatal (2Pac Shakur’s crew), and most of the pioneers of Arab hip-hop both in the region and Diaspora including Omar Offendum, The Narcycist, Shadia Mansour, Eslam Jawad, Malikah, Ramallah Underground, Qusai, MC Amin, Arabian Knightz and many more.

MEEN is a Lebanese rock band founded by Fouad and Toni Yammine in 2006. We’re proud to say that the band is best known for its humorous and sarcastic style, and most notably for performing in native Lebanese, adding a twist and a bit of flare to traditional rock music.

Meen is the he first band in Lebanon to release its music under the creative commons license, Meen is certainly a landmark of Lebanese music. From humble beginnings performing in universities the band has moved up, releasing several albums since its formation in 2006. Their music alludes to Lebanese humor as they tackle serious issues in a sarcastic light. Some of their more successful songs include Inta Min Wein and Jeye Min B3id.

The Kordz have risen to the pinnacle of the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean rock scene after years of constant gigging, perseverance and overcoming obstacles. The Kordz were known across Lebanon as the hardest working band around, as their high-energy gigs drew an ever-increasing throng of fans and increasingly high profile gigs, including opening for the likes of international Alt-Rock band PLACEBO and the legendary ROBERT PLANT.

Never a band to follow musical trends, The Kordz have instead been at the forefront of the emergence of Middle Eastern alt-rock and metal, effortlessly blending together guitar riff-driven rock with incredibly funky grooves and Arabic instrumentation, rhythms, and melodies. Its live shows have inspired legions of dedicated fans, and the group is known for shaking more than a few rafters during the course of a night's work.

The Kordz worked with Grammy Nominee producer Ulrich Wild (Deftones, Static X, White Zombie, Breaking Benjamin) in Canada, Los Angeles and Lebanon on their latest L.P "Beauty & the East” which effortlessly combines opposite, divergent, musical worlds in a stark reflection of the band’s origin in being the living proof of coexistence of various beliefs and different mindsets. Probably for the first time, these worlds have been engineered on such a high professional level, serving fans of modern alternative rock, traditional Arabic harmonies and those people always searching for something unique. Mark LeVine, Grammy-winning musician and author of Heavy Metal Islam, describes The Kordz as "without a doubt the best rock band from Morocco to Pakistan, and perhaps anywhere. The new album will be remembered as the avant-garde for a revolution in rock music, in which bands from the Middle East take the lead in shaping the sound of rock and metal in the new millennium. The Kordz are setting the standard for the most powerful and innovative live and recorded rock anywhere on the planet."

“Beauty & the East” is the result of the band members’ musical, social, and spiritual life experiences. It is a blend of several musical and cultural influences, as well as a clear message for change. It's not just the music that's groundbreaking; the lyrics tackle social problems, politics, change, love and acceptance - global issues that can be applied anywhere, not just the strife-ridden Middle East where the band hails from. That's not to say The Kordz are primarily a political band; rather, they are constantly pushing to transform the standard rock idioms with the experiences gained by growing-up in the hard and often harsh reality of life in a war zone. As Moe says, "It's not just about one band, in one country. It's not just about us being from the Arab world; It's about people - everywhere - all feeling this universal thing”. Many years already, and in some ways only just getting started…

THE KORDZ, “Beauty & the East” will be released in Europe during the first quarter 2012 through an international record company, following the band support, July 2011, as special guests, rock legends DEEP PURPLE for the icons’ Orchestral German summer tour, as well as they headlined other shows in Germany and Czech republic, and lately they have participated in the “Festival du Monde Arabe” creation entitled “Charabia” in Montreal, Canada along with a Classical Orchestra and Sufi singer, and other artists.

For The Kordz, poised on the edge of global success, that universal thing could turn out to be very, very big.

The Kordz current lineup: Moe Hamzeh (Vocals), Nadim Sioufi (Guitar), Mazen Siblini (Keyboards), Alan Azar (Guitar), Souheil ‘Sous’ Moukaddem (Drums), Nadim Abou Chakra (Bass)

Formed in 2009, the band started out playing covers of classic rock until they released their first album in 2012. Their talent quickly earned them a place in concerts all over the Arab world. In 2014, they got the attention of David Gappa, a producer who offered them a contract in Europe and the band has enjoyed success there ever since. Some of their best songs include Distant Rendezvous and Born Addicted.

Perhaps the name strikes one first, but as soon as these four bearded men hit the stage with their energetic set, the crowd does not seem to mind the confusion the name creates.