Album lore

HandMade, issued in 2009 by Forward Music, assembles Charbel Rouhana and The Beirut Oriental Ensemble in a set of eleven tracks rooted in Lebanese and Arabic traditions, filtered through an oriental jazz sensibility. The oud, Rouhana’s instrument of choice, threads through pieces like "Al Bint El Shalabiya" and "Om el Maradem," anchoring the ensemble’s interplay within a familiar yet supple regional idiom. The record balances original compositions with nods to folklore and ritual, as in "Ya Asmar" and "Wedding," allowing for shifts in mood and tempo that reflect the ensemble’s command of both chamber nuance and rhythmic propulsion.The album’s place in the Forward Music catalog situates it among contemporary explorations of Middle Eastern heritage, offering a textured listen for those attuned to the oud’s lineage and its modern articulations. Listeners have logged over 23,000 plays on Last.fm, underscoring HandMade’s steady resonance within communities of world and jazz aficionados. The record invites attentive ears to the details of ensemble arrangement and the oud’s timbral breadth, a signal of Rouhana’s craft and the Beirut Oriental Ensemble’s collective touch.

Album lore

HandMade, issued in 2009 by Forward Music, assembles Charbel Rouhana and The Beirut Oriental Ensemble in a set of eleven tracks rooted in Lebanese and Arabic traditions, filtered through an oriental jazz sensibility. The oud, Rouhana’s instrument of choice, threads through pieces like "Al Bint El Shalabiya" and "Om el Maradem," anchoring the ensemble’s interplay within a familiar yet supple regional idiom. The record balances original compositions with nods to folklore and ritual, as in "Ya Asmar" and "Wedding," allowing for shifts in mood and tempo that reflect the ensemble’s command of both chamber nuance and rhythmic propulsion.The album’s place in the Forward Music catalog situates it among contemporary explorations of Middle Eastern heritage, offering a textured listen for those attuned to the oud’s lineage and its modern articulations. Listeners have logged over 23,000 plays on Last.fm, underscoring HandMade’s steady resonance within communities of world and jazz aficionados. The record invites attentive ears to the details of ensemble arrangement and the oud’s timbral breadth, a signal of Rouhana’s craft and the Beirut Oriental Ensemble’s collective touch.