Producing for Arab Pop Stars: Metrics & Mental Health | Sleiman Damien

The afikra Podcast

With a vast discography featuring both emerging artists and some of the biggest names in Arabic music, Sleiman Damien is completely tapped into the region’s pop genre. We asked him what he thinks of the phrase “Arab pop fusion”, which metrics actually matter to him, and why he thinks legacy superstars have more sticking power in today’s fickle industry.

We reflect on the role of ego in the region’s music industry, comparing the “old guard” to emerging musicians and their approach to collaboration. Sleiman also talks about his experience working as a ghost producer and how he reacts emotionally to his own work.

He also shares his mental health journey, especially when it comes to the emphasis placed on performance metrics and an obsession with knowing how people feel about his own creations.

Sleiman Damien is a music producer, DJ and audio engineer from Beirut, Lebanon. Much of his work is focussed on the Arab pop genre.

He has worked with music talents from across the region such as Georges Wassouf, Nassif Zeytoun, Haifa Wehbe, Assi Hallani, Ragheb Alama, Abeer Nehme, Dana Hourani, Maritta Hallani, Adonis, Zef and many more.

Theme music: "Peninsular", Tarek Yamani

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Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra Founder & Executive Director

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**** ABOUT THE SERIES ****

Quartertones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

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****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.

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Hosted by:

Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

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ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra