Tabloid
Kebbe aka BeirutBiloma
Mohammad Kebbe or BeirutBiloma has taken the dance world by storm with the latest hit "I wanna dance in Beirut". He talks to tabloid! about how he conquered the charts.
- By Kelly Crane, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:35 August 3, 2008
- BeirutBiloma has established itself as a premium dance sensation.
- Image Credit: Kelly Crane/Gulf News
Ask your average dance music enthusiast who Mohammad Kebbe is and you'd probably be met with a blank expression. But ask the same person about BeirutBiloma and they'd more than likely break into song with the words "I wanna dance in Beirut".
Having taken the dance scene across the Middle East by storm, the latest hit single from BeirutBiloma - I Wanna Dance in Beirut - is reaching the masses after hitting the number one spot on the MTV Arabia music charts.
If you passed him in the street you'd have no idea Kebbe is the brains behind such a talked-about track.
Strolling casually into a five-star Beirut hotel, there are no dark glasses, bodyguards or luxury brands but instead, a simple T-shirt, warm smile and an infectious enthusiasm for music.
"The city of Beirut is Arabia's gate to the world and BeirutBiloma in a similar vein is Arabia's music gate to the world. I am so excited about what we can achieve and what we can show the world about music in Lebanon."
One of the region's hottest music producers, Kebbe started to find his feet in the music world towards the end of 1999.
"The name was inspired by my two sons, Bilal and Omar. I added Beirut to give it a stronger twist as well as be relevant to the projects and talents which were mainly born in Beirut."
Currently signed to EMI Music Arabia, Kebbe has worked with a long list of musicians to come up with a new fusion of Arabia's authentic sounds mixed with international themes.
Working creatively
"I especially love chillout, dance and R&B flavours. But the most exciting part of my business is working with creatively adventurous international acts and the up-and-coming stars from Lebanon."
Kebbe takes a track, adds all the arrangements, instruments and extras and then brings in a vocalist to feature on it.
"I have experimented by featuring promising new and exciting talents: singers, DJs, arrangers, and musicians. You meet some wonderful people but also give them a way into a usually tight-locked industry."
Kebbe first real taste of success came in 2000 when he composed and produced the enigmatic dance anthem, Drive me to Beirut, which was later released in several mixes on white label independently in 2001 under the name biloma.
The single hit the high notes across the region and eventually settled as the highest new entry on Beirut's Radio 1, at number two in the radio's Top 20 charts.
The single found its way onto the internationally successful compilation ARABIANights Club & Chillout Classics which was released by EMI Music in 2002.
But in 2004 Kebbe decided it was time to go it alone.
"I released my first self-titled studio album and had big plans. But I wanted to be different. Music in the Middle East had a tendency to follow suit and had become a little Pop Idol-like. I wanted to pioneer a new music production formula in the region which would be a faceless conceptual act driven by my engineering and production skills, with various featured artists. It had never been done before and I knew it would be a success."
The album included 14 tracks, a mixture of originals, Arabic classics remakes and remixes, and featured various guest artists including the young rapper Lix, Beirut underground rap act Aks'ser, and the international soprano Sarah Brightman.
"It was great to work with these people and have the privilege of getting my hands on their music. The album was very varied in its style and included club, lounge/chillout and R&B. Of course it included the hit single Drive me to Beirut as well as the new and improved version called Take me to Beirut."
The album was a massive success and reached the top five in the charts of most major music retailers, including Virgin Megastore, in the region.
It seems people are now queuing up to let BeirutBiloma gets his hands on home grown tracks.
With influences ranging from the rich Turkish fusion sounds like Tarkan & Mustafa Sandal to French electronica acts like Air and Ahmad Medzawey - one of Madonna's many producers -Kebbe says his philosophy is to produce crossover and eclectic Middle Eastern music for the Western world.
"We have to accept people from the Western world are not exactly drawn to the traditional sounds of Arabia. But that doesn't mean we have to give up on our history, culture and heritage altogether.
Arabic flavours
"Beirut features in the title of the company and also many of the big hits as a way of showing the world music produced in this part of the world can also be great pumped across the dance floor of a club anywhere in the world. I still use Arabic flavours and instruments and blend them throughout the tracks."
BeirutBiloma has certainly turned some heads in the music world in more ways than one and clubs across Dubai seem to have been infected too with I Wanna Dance in Beirut being played into the early hours of the morning.
The huge success of his albums has also catapulted Kebbe to the top of a production house wish list with some of the region's biggest artists desperate to get into his studio in Lebanon.
BeirutBiloma has established itself as a premium producer for other acts, mostly fusion and collaboration projects between EMI Music Arabia and Kebbe.
They include English diva Sarah Brightman, Latin superstar Ricky Martin, Iraqi legend Kadim Al Sahir, former UK Pop Idol contestant Haifa, Jordanian/British pop star Radio Orient, Lebanese TV presenter/popstar Dania, talented Lebanese stars Marwan Khoury and Fares Karem, Moroccan singer Hasna, Lebanese underground rappers Aks'ser, Lebanese singer Katia, Iraqi crossover pioneer Ilham Al Madfai, LBC's Star Academy, and most recently the prince of Rai Algerian Cheb Mami and Lebanese diva Elissa.
"I have enjoyed working with people but am also very focused on the new talent coming through," he said.
Latest offering
2008 has already been a great year for Mohammad Kebbe with the launch of his fifth studio album Electrojerk - a cracking international, dirty electro house album.
"This album really has it all and it's been a lot of fun to make. Music is my life and there is nothing else I'd rather be doing. Well, apart from playing football with my children who I adore almost as much as I love making music."
Don't miss it!
EMI Music Arabia has confirmed BeirutBiloma will be heading to Dubai in September this year to launch his latest album and single in the UAE. Dates, times and the venue will be announced nearer the time.
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