Thoom’s Brilliantly Serrated “حركت السكوت (No Speech)” Is Inspired By Beirut’s Ever-Changing Landscape

Oakland club collective Club Chai will complete its transition into a label this September, with an artist release to stand alongside a compilation and radio mix series. Blood and Sand is the debut EP from Thoom, a DJ and producer from Beirut, who is now based in Chicago.

Today, The FADER is premiering "حركت السكوت (No Speech)," a low drone of a lead single that combines percussive elements from a style of traditional Arabic musical composition with the serrated sonics of an industrial environment. Conceptually, the record is inspired by Beirut's ever-changing landscape, Thoom told The FADER, where noisy construction sites are in the business of ripping up the city's war-torn structures and starting again.

"Sometimes when I am producing, I feel that it is Thoom, not Zeynab producing," Thoom told The FADER over email. "In 'حركت السكوت (No Speech),' I felt that it is 100% Thoom, who is manic, takes shortcuts, and is messy, but not in a sexy way. I have a narrative approach to my work, which is sometimes rendered in more obvious iterations. I love watching trailers to listen to their soundtracks, especially action movies, because there is a sense of immediacy and simultaneous tension and release. I usually think about space or dialogue when approaching a new composition but I was mostly thinking about an absorptive action or feeling in 'حركت السكوت (No Speech)' — like when you stub your toe, nothing in the world exists except for your toe, at least for a minute or two. 'حركت السكوت (No Speech)' is about toe-ness."