Soapkills

Soapkills was a Lebanese electronic duo formed in Beirut in 1997 by Zeid Hamdan and Yasmine Hamdan, widely regarded as one of the first independent electronic acts in the Middle East. Working with drum machines and samplers, they fused classical Arabic melody and vocals with trip-hop and downtempo textures reminiscent of Massive Attack and Portishead. Across three self-released albums recorded between 2001 and 2005 they became a cornerstone of Beirut’s underground scene and a lasting influence on later Arabic alternative artists. The pair drifted into separate projects after their final album without a formal breakup, with Zeid Hamdan founding The New Government and Yasmine Hamdan going on to an international solo and film career.