Rise 1969 Returns With Genre-Defying LP ‘Floating Memories’

Veteran Lebanese producer William Mahfoud, AKA Rise 1969, returns with a genre-defying LP ‘Floating Memories’.

The seven-track record is scattered with an amalgamation of influences and styles, from minimal, IDM and electronica to drum n bass and electro. “‘Floating Memory’ was an album I produced during COVID-19 after getting a grant from AFAC to record in Blackhead Studios Berlin,” William Mahfoud tells SceneNoise. “These are the B-sides that came during and after that experience.”

On the opening track ‘Tartine’, Mahfoud turns mundane sounds into musical material, crafting a collage of digitally documented memories. The track interpolates deconstructed samples of voice memos and monologues –from Tara El Khazen’s short movie ‘Tartine’ -of Lebanese people speaking about their homeland into atmospheric sounds and intricate melodics.

Meanwhile, tracks like ‘Soft Groove’ and ‘Comedown’ drift in the intersection between IDM and electronica, where danceability is a lesser point of emphasis. The track merges ominous and dark textures of ambient music with minimal rhythmic patterns in an easy flow that feels meditative.

‘Why Can’t I Make Something Happy’, however, ventures into different sonic territory from the overall sound of the record, mainly rooted in a hard-hitting drum n bass composition, featuring a blend of intense rapid beats, deep basslines and fast breakbeats.

Proceeds from the album sales will be donated to Nation Station, a grassroots organisation that has been helping the Lebanese people since the Beirut Port explosion.