Kabreet is a duo made up of Yemeni visual artist and singer Ibi Ibrahim and German DJ/Producer Hanno Stecher. Their sound occupies a unique space: instead of coming off as a preconceived marriage of eastern and western styles, it feels organic and unforced, incorporating elements of each seamlessly. Ibi croons sensually and lazily in Arabic over glossy synth/guitar pop backed by subtle Arabic percussion and processed qanun and oud. The duo has had a productive two years, releasing their debut album Momken Bokra in 2016, and in June of 2017 releasing their sophomore album Bidayat. The latter was recorded in Beirut, funded by a grant from the Arab Fund for Art & Culture, under the expert eye of co-producer and mixer Fadi Tabbal, giant of the Lebanese music scene.Their music is alluring, and there is an undeniably sexy air to it. This is especially evident in their track Enta, the single off of Bidayat, and its accompanying video. As an homage to recently deceased singer George Michael, Enta questions gender constructs, saying “you are a boy, you are a girl, you are everything I dreamt of.” The video itself doesn’t literally focus on George Michael, but rather the aesthetic and conceptual undertones of the song and lyrical matter.Videographer Mohamed Abdouni decided to use his long-time friend, charming Palestinian/American actress Yumna Marwan. Abdouni and Marwan created it in the style of a home video, and the result is an intimate, voyeuristic and powerful experience as we watch Marwan in situations ranging from driving, to lazing in bed, to getting gussied up in heels and makeup. The video instantly intrigues, as she pops up out of a field of grass clutching a red poppy, presenting it to the camera with the innocence of a little girl. Immediately after, it reveals itself to be sexy and provocative as Marwan traces her tattoos and dances in a bathing suit. Her face is continually and endearingly expressive, drawing you in next to her.Marwan is captivating to watch in her personality and body language, as one moment she is tomboyish and mischievous, another shy and seductive, and others emotional and confrontational. This fluctuation between the multiple facets of her character conveys the subject matter of the song, revealing that one can easily embody a span of traits both male and female without sacrificing anything, and that we are a culmination of all the ages we have lived. As Marwan herself exposes a wide range of emotion, we also find ourselves affected by the simple yet evocative revelation that is living inside someone else’s life for a moment.  

Check out Kabreet on their website, Soundcloud and Facebook.