There’s a dreamy quality to the music videos, which Zeid Hamdan aka Shift Z makes for himself and other members of the underground music scene in Beirut. In one, Heba el Mansouri sings in a lilting, Arabic style, eyes half-closed as her husband swings her in circles next to a broken shoreline. Another home made video, for Shift Z’s New Government project, swings between electro and electric guitars. It starts off with snippets taken while cruising down a highway, under wide-open skies. Footage of band practise erupts into wartime scenes of flaming vehicles and smoky streets.

When Noun magazine named Zeid, a participant at the Red Bull Music Academy 2006 in Melbourne, musician of the year in their December 2008 issue, he viewed it ironically – using the term ‘playground’ in the pejorative. “It’s not a jury, I don’t receive a prize. It’s a big thing in a small community. It’s a playground.”

Of course, he appreciates the recognition from Noun mag, but Shift Z is aiming as big as Christopher Wallace. Although he plays in France often, and his friends LUMI produced their last album on EMI together with Mouse On Mars’ Andi Toma, he thinks an even more major breakthrough will be needed for them to set a new precedent in Lebanese music. “We still haven’t exploded – right now it’s a moment of intense work and focus.”

He’s aiming for this tipping point, so that the next generation will catch on to their punkish electro antics. “It’s evolving – but because of all the crisis there are not a lot of newcomers. To start music now in this era is a big challenge. The older scene is hanging on and evolving, but newcomers are still very shy.”

To be sure, with the close network of bands like Scrambled Eggs, LUMI and Shift Z’s various projects, the support they give each other is a key factor in maintaining a musical scene beyond fragmented times. “I’m a manager for some, but mostly I’m a member of the bands. It’s like a family, a collective.”

He and his collaborators, like fellow Academy alumnus Marc Codsi of LUMI, are quite prepared for life to be unpredictable. A recent blog entry on LUMI’s MySpace page reads:

"The war is over till neXt time...
Undefinable, endless YoYo, from worse fears to great Expectations.
We live in a Schizophrenic entity.
Seat Belts On for the Big Ride!"

Still, despite the not-so-distant chaos, speaking on the phone from Beirut, Zeid uses the term "playground” again to describe his city – this time in a more positive sense. And when asked if he would consider moving away, he gives a firm “No”, adding: “The community of artists always bump into each other because it’s very small. It’s intense, and it’s modern. I never feel oppressed.”



Melbourne Marvels - Shift Z