In 2019, Palestinian singer-singwriter and producer, Jowal Safadi, released his sophomore album, Stay Away from the Mid-Evil East and Sing for it, to great acclaim, leaving fans to wonder how he could possibly follow it up. Almost two years later, the Haifa-based musician has taken a very different tact, doing away with the expansive ensemble cast of musicians present on his second album and simply doing it all himself.
IJMAD (Man Up) sees the multi-instrumentalist go almost entirely solo, handling all elements of the album’s conception alongside producer, arranger and mixing engineer Muhammad Abu Ahmad (Mhauesh).
Across 10 tracks that flow between somber indie-rock, electronically inclined bedroom-pop, lo-fi cassette-based guitar and voice solo productions, Safadi tackles a range of subjects including heartbreak, infidelity and traditional roles of masculinity, all through his unique lens and lived experience in Palestine.
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