Charif Megarbane :: Hawalat

Charif Megarbane’s prolific schedule of releases via his independent imprint Hisstology looks like a set of Borgesian fantasies or little musical toys that tap into all possible musical traditions. His releases on the much more selective Habibi Funk label, though, are another beast entirely, distilling that beautifully demented potpourri to their essence. Hawalat, the follow-up to 2023’s wondrous Marzipan, is a cosmo-cosmopolitan craftwork, a world tour through a lysergic miniature model. The Lebanese musician, who has lived in Nairobi, Lisbon, London, and other cities around the globe, provides both a self-conscious reflection on the diasporic fluxes he feeds from and a sort of ironic commentary on the transnational dimensions of his own music.