Born in Beirut in 1978, Jawad Nawfal undertook audiovisual and film studies at the IESAV Institute in Beirut where he specialised in sound design. In 2001 he formed Altered Ear, a laboratory of sound research and composition, based on the desire to explore and link several means of computer-assisted musical writing.

Munma was created by Nawfal in the aftermath of Israel’s war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006. It explores oriental harmonies and rhythmical patterns, with a strong reliance on sampled traditional musical beds, excerpts from radio speeches and the like, and an overall somber, reflective mood. Munma has produced three six-track EPs, entitled 34 Days (2006) Black Tuesday (2007) and Unholy Republic (2008), released by Lebanese distributor Incognito.

In May 2010 Nawfal released Previews & Premises. The self-produced, self-released album consists of eight tracks recorded between 2006 and 2010. Some of these were meant to be included on the first three EPs, but were left aside in order to be re-worked at a later stage. They finally see the light of day on this record, along with more recent tracks that reflect Nawfal’s new musical preoccupations and shed light on this intriguing artist’s future artistic directions.

Munma