Forward Music

Forward Music is a Lebanon based independent record label specializing in World Music.^[1]

Forward Music S.A.L.

Type	Private
Industry	Music entertainment
Founded	2001[2]
Headquarters	Beirut, Lebanon
Key people	Ghazi Abdel Baki
Website	forwardmusic.net

History

Forward Music was established in 2001 by Ghazi Abdel Baki as a music label that pools together the cooperative efforts of young artists from the Middle East. It aims to encourage new and creative trends in the musical arts, blending the various cultural currents that meet and interact in new fusions and fresh perspectives. It hopes to draw on the rich musical past of the Arab world and the array of contemporary influences to find new musical dialects. Forward Music is committed to making an authentic contribution to our ever-changing culture and to the growing global dialogue of World Music.

Today, Forward Music is a leading independent label that produces and distributes the work of more than 30 of the most respected musicians and singers in the Middle East.^[3]

In 2007, one of Forward Music's projects, "Al Muwashahat", received The BBC Awards for world music .^[4]

In October 2010, Forward Music acquired 13 album licenses from the record label Incognito, further expanding its music catalogue.^[5]

Later, In 2011, Forward Music opened its state of the art Live concert venue in Beirut: The Democratic republic of Music (DRM). Despite the incredible difficulties of the period in Lebanon, DRM hosted 300 concerts in the span of 3 years with artists such as: Stanley Jordan, Tony Allen, The Musicians of the Nile, Henry Texier, Souad Massi, The Herbalizer, Ilham El Madfaii, Joey De Francesco, and many others including the label's artists and a myriad of musicians from Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon.^[6]

List of artists currently on the roster

• Charbel Rouhana
• Lena Chamamyan
• Soumaya Baalbaki
• Ghazi Abdel Baki
• Issa Ghandour
• Mustafa Said
• Ziyad Sahhab
• Ziad El Ahmadie

Discography

• Handmade, Charbel Rouhana
• Arabtango, Soumaya Baalbaki
• Rubaiyat El Khayyam, Mustafa Said
• "Ghazi Abdel Baki LIVE", Ghazi Abdel Baki
• Beirut Good Vibes - Vol.1, Various
• Handmade DVD, Charbel Rouhana
• Darwish, Issa Ghandour and the Madina Band
• The Last Communique, Ghazi Abdel Baki
• Doux Zen, Charbel Rouhana
• The Collection, Lena Chamamyan
• Hal Asmar Elone, Lena Chamamyan
• Shamat, Lena Chamamyan
• Cotton Candy, Lena Chamamyan
• Communique # 1, Ghazi Abdel Baki
• Madinatuna, Paul Salem
• Oyoun el Bakar, Ziyad Sahhab
• World Music From Lebanon - Vol.1 (3 CD box set), Various
• We Live, Various
• Dangerous, Charbel Rouhana
• Faces, Ibrahim Jaber Gros Bras
• Sourat Trait d'Union, Charbel Rouhana
• Communique # 2, Ghazi Abdel Baki
• Keep On Singing, Ziyad Sahhab
• World Music From Lebanon - Vol.2 (2 CD box set), Various
• World Music From Lebanon - Vol.3 (2 CD box set), Various
• Fareeq ElAtrash, Fareeq El Atrash
• Silent Wave, Ziad Al-Ahmadieh
• Bilbal, Ziad Al-Ahmadieh
• Beyond Traditions, Ziad Al-Ahmadieh
• Things That I Miss, Hazem Shaheen
• Hewar, Hewar
• El Aysh Wel Melh, Masar
• The Taqalid Series (6 CD box set), Various
• Asil, Asil Ensemble & Mustafa Said
• The Annunciation, Nida Abou Mrad & The Arabic Classical Ensemble
• Wisal, Nida Abou Mrad &The Arabic Classical Ensemble
• Wasalat, Nida Abou Mrad &The Arabic Classical Ensemble
• Tajwid, Sheikh Salah Yammout
• Insan, Twais
• Taqalid Sampler, Various
• Khameer, Basel Rajoub

References