The Dome Sessions

Deluxe limited edition 2xLP. Pressed on 140g black vinyl at Mother Tongue (Italy). Comes in a 350gsm gatefold jacket with black inner sleeves Includes digital download card Approx. 85 minutes in total Artwork and design by Cynthia-ël Hasbani Mastered by Cedrik Fermont at Syrphe (Berlin) Liner notes by Wassila Abboud Album photography by Gabriel FerneiniThe Dome Sessions is an exploration of sound and space, emerging from the distinct architectural and acoustic features of the unfinished Dome of the Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli, Lebanon. Designed by renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1962, the space never fulfilled its intended purpose as part of a decentralized economic plan for the city and instead remains a relic of unrealized potential in decay.When the Lebanese Civil War began, construction on the Dome ceased, leaving it acoustically untreated. This created a haunting and rare reverb within the space. Since 2010, audiovisual artist and curator Firas El Hallak has used the Dome as a landmark to reflect the told and untold stories of the city through sonic experiments that intertwine sound, space, and memory.What began as an individual curiosity evolved into a collaborative experiment, with each artist adapting their approach to the Dome's distinctive sound and layered history. Every recorded session reverberates within its concrete walls. By reclaiming this forgotten structure and reinventing its possibilities, the work dissolves the boundaries between past and present, personal and communal.The recordings also serve as part of the soundtrack for a film that examines the Dome’s place in Tripoli’s social and historical fabric. While the body of work reflects the many diverging currents of place and identity in Lebanon, its core lies in the power of how a shared idea or action can breathe new life into the abandoned. By utilizing and reclaiming the Dome as a site of collaboration, the project underscores the role of art in the preservation and reinterpretation of heritage.The Dome Sessions invites listeners to a shared experience of space through sound.