Habibi Funk 035: Beirut City Pop (Various Artists) - LP

Beirut City Pop brings together ten recordings from Lebanon's private press cassette scene of the late 1970s and 1980s. Created by short-lived bands and studio projects, these songs move between disco, pop, soul, jazz, bossa, rock and AOR. Produced during the Lebanese civil war, many were copied at home and circulated only among friends and local communities, with some surviving solely on hand-copied tapes. Many of the musicians were connected through Ziad Rahbani's Bypass Studio, collaborating across projects and sharing a common musical language. Inspired by the blend of genres found in Japanese city pop, the title reflects both the sound and spirit of these recordings. Featuring artists including Stephanie Stephanou, Force, Games, Andromeda and Walid Itayim, Beirut City Pop documents a close-knit musical community whose creativity and musical camaraderie endured despite extraordinary circumstances.