47Soul

47Soul is a  Palestinian Jordanian electronic music group who are one of the main forces behind the Shamstep electronic dance music movement in the Middle East. The band's first album, Shamstep, was released in 2015.

Background 
The group formed in Jordan in 2013. Their debut album Shamstep was released in 2015. In 2017, 47Soul released their second album Balfron Promise, which takes its name from the east London tower block Balfron Tower, where the record was created. It also refers to the Balfour Declaration of 1917 through which the British government committed itself to the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The group had been residents of Balfron Tower for two years while creating their album. The album received 4 out of 5 stars in a January 2018 review in The Guardian.

The band are playing at festivals in 2018 like Walthamstow Garden Party, Fusion festival and Festival Med. and NYU Abu Dhabi's Barzakh festival.

On August 26, 2019, NPR released a video of 47Soul appearing on its "Tiny Desk Concerts".

Band members 

 Tareq Abu Kwaik – vocals, darbuka, electronics – known independently as El Far3i
 Ramzy Suleiman – vocals, synthesiser, keyboard – known independently as Z the People
 Hamza Arnaout – guitar – known independently as El Jehaz
 Walaa Sbait – vocals, bass drum

Musical style 
47Soul's style, Shamstep, is based on mijwiz (a levantine folk musical style) and electronic dance. "Shamstep" is a portmanteau: 'Sham' refers to the levant region, which is locally referred to as "Bilad al-Sham", and 'step' refers to the musical style dubstep. The band's music is also associated with the traditional dance called Dabke.

References 

Category:Middle East
Category:Middle Eastern music
Category:Palestinian music
Category:Jordanian music