Fresh from their first European tour, upcoming Lebanese indie-folk duo Safar are preparing to make their Dubai debut on Friday, August 14.
There's also a new EP, Carry-On, ready for release later this month — singer Mayssa Jallad, 25, exclusively revealed during our interview. Good news, too — it will follow January's warmly received 23 Kilograms, a delicate, wistful, warm set of hypnotic lo-fi tunes, mixing lyrical themes both heavy and light.
How did you and guitarist Elie Abdelnour meet and start making music together as Safar?
I’ve known Elie a long time, a mountain ago — we used to go around friends’s houses doing covers together. We became a band in February 2013, we never planned it — we won a music video competition and the organisers asked us if we were going to do an original. We decided to write something, it came naturally, and that’s when we realised we worked well together. Normally when we start writing he is behind the guitar and I have my notebook and phone in front of me, and we go from there.
You released debut EP 23 Kilograms in January. Are you happy with the way it’s been received?
We’re really thrilled with the reception — it encouraged us to keep doing what we do. So now — and you’re the first to know this — we’ve recorded a second EP which we we’re releasing at the end of the month, called Carry-On. This one is a bit more raw, a bit more emotional.
Where do you find inspiration for these emotional lyrics?
I write about daily life. I try to be as truthful as possible with my emotions — love, loss, identity. The first EP was mostly about home, and what it means to have a home and be loved. We have two kinds of songs, we realised, very quirky and fun songs, but also the very melancholic and emotional songs.
Which is more natural to you — the quirky or the melancholy?
They’re both natural to us — we’re complicated beings. I couldn’t feel melancholic the whole time, I think I’d go crazy, but I’m not this quirky person the whole time — but they both make us human in a way.
You chose to cover Robin Thicke’s charged anthem Blurred Lines. Not so melancholy ...
That was a fun project. Loopstache — a great Beirut band — they used to release these cover videos and they proposed the idea to us. I think Blurred Lines was on the radio at the time, and we just gave it a go — and it worked. I found I could sing like that.
You recently returned from gigs in France, Belgium and United Kingdom. How’d it go?
It was a beautiful experience, we learnt a lot about each other and the music, about performance and response. The crowds were all lovely, very attentive, we’ve never had that kind of audience before. They would wait until the last note in total silence before clapping — this was definitely something new. Audiences in Lebanon are very loud and you have to try very hard to get any attention. I hope we’ll tour a lot more in future — Safar means travel in Arabic, so I don’t think it makes sense if we don’t actually go and travel to other countries.
Describe your music in five words?
Emotional, dreamy, honest, cheeky ... and loving.
• Safar perform for The Other Side on Friday, August 14, at And Lounge, The Address Marina Mall, Dubai. Early bird tickets Dh75 from platinumlist.ae
rgarratt@thenational.ae
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Dubai Creek Open in numbers
- The Dubai Creek Open is the 10th tournament on this year's Mena Tour
- It is the first of five events before the season-concluding Mena Tour Championship
- This week's field comprises 120 players, 21 of which are amateurs
- 15 previous Mena Tour winners are competing at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
MATCH INFO
League Cup, last 16
Manchester City v Southampton, Tuesday, 11.45pm (UAE)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
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Superliminal%20
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
