Backstage: Shkoon
The Syrian-German duo talk about their origin and approach to live performance after their show at Utrecht’s Nawafiz festival.
With an innovative blend of rich electronic instrumentals and classical, oftentimes poetic Arabic vocals and lyrics, Syrian-German duo Shkoon have become one of the region’s most beloved electronic acts, renowned for their immersive audio-visual live sets and their dynamic performances.
Back in May, Shkoon played as part of a stellar line-up at Utrecht, the Netherlands’ first all-Arabic festival, Nawafiz, alongside regional stars such as El Sawareekh and Marwan Moussa, where the duo performed their biggest hits and new material to a packed crowd of attendees from all over Europe.
After the show, we caught up with Ameen Khayer and Thorben Beeken of Shkoon, where the duo talked about their humble beginnings, starting out as strangers that shared a flat in Hamburg after Khayer left Syria to seek refuge in Germany. Khayer, having had no experience with music, soon discovered his powerful singing voice, and while Beeken was at a point in his career where he was not looking to work collaboratively with other artists, the duo quickly bonded and started releasing under the name Shkoon.
Khayer and Beeken also told us about their experience at Nawafiz, where they expressed their admiration for the festival’s initiative to put together a line-up that showcases the diversity of Arabic music by hosting acts from multiple SWANA countries across a variety of different genres.
‘Backstage’ is SceneNoise’s series focusing on live performances by regional artists, highlighting the most electrifying moments of a show, while also capturing the excitement and anticipation performers go through while getting ready to play to a roaring crowd.
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