In 2022, a band named nabeel dropped a piece of music that differed from traditional indie rock – reverb-heavy, dreamlike, singing in Arabic, Yasir Razak found a way to speak to all, despite language barriers.
Originally born in Iraq and then moving to northern Virginia during the Gulf War, Razak began his life in the States, but it wasn’t that black and white. Coming from a strong Iraqi heritage, he grew up speaking Arabic as his primary language and English as his second.
“Basically, when we moved to this country, it was just me and my mom in our house because I’m the youngest of three siblings. So my other siblings pretty much went off to school almost immediately. And so it’s interesting, of all my siblings, I’m the strongest in Arabic,” Razak said.
Little did he know this would be the basis of his story and identity with music.
Distortion
Later, while engaging in school, Razak began to find his obsession with American music. Growing up during the ’90s, he listened to a lot of popular artists and bands during that time, including Elliott Smith, The Smashing Pumpkins, Red House Painters, etc. He soon picked up a guitar and began his musical journey.
Around the age of 18, Razak moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia, and started exploring the DIY music scene. From local house shows to highway bands, the music was never-ending, and this was a big source of inspiration for him. He became drawn to art-rock and loved how you could express yourself without restriction or fear of judgment.
“It kind of just became this place where we would just be seeing insane acts in like a basement, on a band’s random night, driving through Virginia. So, a lot of the shows that I got to see at that time were just like super influential. Bands like Sediment Club or Palberta are some East Coast bands that are like art rock bands. I think art rock really inspired me more than anything because it was so bizarre and felt like there were no rules,” Razak said.
Being able to experience this type of rock helped guide Razak find what he wanted to create. “It kind of just felt like free in this way, where I felt like music just felt way more accessible,” he said.
Diaspora
While Razak grew up in the States and experienced an American childhood, he never forgot his home. In his remembrance of Iraq, life was very traditional; there was little space for creative expression.
“You get a job, support your family and be the man of the house,” Razak said. There wasn’t a creative outlet. This made it difficult for Razak to fully relate to Iraqi culture as much as he would have liked.
“I think for people who come from a place that they’re estranged from, there’s like this desire to reestablish the connection,” he said.
He soon began uncovering all these old photos and videotapes of his family. He then started learning to read and write in Arabic better, so he could feel closer to them and the culture. A while later, he began to research the Arab world online and found all these pages of individuals indulging in the arts and he finally felt connected and alike.
“That was the first time I’d ever seen this alternative kind of identity represented in the Arab world,” “There was this sentiment that the arts aren’t really a part of life, and aren’t that important,” Razak said.
Finding this online community set him off to see if anyone was making any of this music he was drawn to, but he found little to none. This is when he realized his calling.
“I can’t believe this doesn’t exist. I don’t know, I was just like, this is something that I need to do. It just kind of felt like a desire to do it. So, yeah, out of that feeling of like, why is this not happening? I was like, I guess I’m just gonna do it,” Razak said.
nabeel released their first couple of singles in 2022 and has since dropped numerous singles, an EP, and just this past year, an album, “ghayoom.” He uses the old photos of his family as his cover art in all of nabeel’s songs.
Nabeel
nabeel is Razak’s personal project that is titled after his father and his middle name. However, he receives help from his best friends: Jake Golibart (guitar), Kyle Grim (bass) and Danny Gibney and Dane Ludwig (drums). When it comes to playing live and the studio work, the band’s chemistry is undeniable. Although, when it comes to songwriting, decisions, etc, it’s all Razak.
It’s all about feel for Razak’s songwriting approach. “Typically, I’ll start with guitar and really just figure out progressions that feel really nice to me. And so I’ll typically figure out a chord progression and connect it to a chorus idea, then try to connect it to a verse idea or vice versa. I like song structure a lot. I love pop music, so it feels very much like finding that thing that grabs me, that feels like I just want to play it over and over again. And then I’ll just sing randomly,” Razak said.
Razak will begin by singing nonsense and then later go back into the recording and try to reconstitute the lyrics if some of the things don’t make sense. He usually begins writing lyrics based on the theme he’s feeling that day. He’ll then bring what he has to his bandmates, who add or improvise from there.
What’s next
As the new year is upon us, Razak is leaving it open and playing it by ear. Razak isn’t just a rockstar; he’s also a high school teacher in Virginia, something he finds great joy in. He says he’s still figuring out what music is going to be for him.
“I’m trying to figure out if I’m going to sort of take this to the next step or not. It’s kind of a transition area here,” he said.
As for now, nabeel have some East Coast dates lined up for February and he’s hoping to release a project. Already having recorded some demos and tracks, he wants to create a solo “bedroom poppy” type of release, something he’s always wanted to do.
“I’ve always admired artists like Current Joys or Daniel Johnston or like anybody that does like cheap, really emotional recordings,” Razak said.
Razak’s goal is to finish an EP this year. “I hope my music can just be a reminder of staying attuned, I guess, and to staying sensitive, staying human.”
You can find nabeel’s music here.