From Beirut to West Philadelphia, Bass Dropper Hello Psychaleppo Tells Story of Syrian Loss Through Music

Nisa Qazi

In many ways, electronic music producer and self-described “Arab bass dropper” Samer Saim Eldahr, who goes by the stage name Hello Psychaleppo, has a typical Syrian story. More than a decade ago, after the start of the war in Syria, he left his hometown of Aleppo for Beirut, and has relocated numerous times since. But that might be the only typical thing about Eldahr, 35. Today, the musician draws large international crowds, has booked shows in Paris, Berlin, Beirut, and Osnabrück, Germany, and he is slated to share a West Philadelphia stage on Saturday, August 10 with renowned Sudanese band Alsarah & The Nubatones.

Samer Saim Eldahr, who goes by the stage name Hello Psychaleppo, is a self-described “Arab bass dropper.” Photo courtesy of Hello Psychaleppo.

In a recent interview with Al-Bustan, Eldahr, who now lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and child, spoke about the upcoming Philly concert, his plans for his newly launched record label Syrial, the release of his third full-length album “Cipher” (out this Friday!), and the challenges of making music while displaced.

Hello Psychaleppo, aka Samer Saim Eldahr, is slated to share a West Philadelphia stage on August 10 with renowned Sudanese band Alsarah & The Nubatones. Photo courtesy of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture.

“You face so many challenges as a Syrian in the industry, as an Arab. Sometimes you're not welcome,” Eldahr told Al-Bustan. “So, you feel like you want to quit and just do something else. It’s very, very hard, and I don't know how I’ve lasted for so long.” But despite the challenges, Eldahr has carved a unique and indelible niche for himself in contemporary Arabic music through sheer will and a self-taught mastery of digital audio production tools.

When Eldahr first arrived in Beirut in 2012, he expected to stay in the city only a month or two. “We all thought, maybe things will get better,” he said. But instead, the war in Syria escalated, resulting in more than 600,000 deaths and, according to some sources, more than 13 million refugees and internally displaced people. “Eventually my parents followed me [to Beirut], and suddenly it was my new home,” said Eldahr. During his three years living there, he channeled much of his energy into painting and other creative projects, having earned a visual arts degree from the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Aleppo. He also began sampling old Arabic songs, a natural extension of his teenage years playing in bands in Aleppo. He booked his first electronic music performance at Beirut’s Metro Al Madina. It was the start of the inventive mix of musicality, emotional intensity and tech savvy that has become Hello Psychaleppo’s trademark. “I don't think I would have pursued music the way I do today if the war hadn’t started and I hadn’t left Aleppo,” Eldahr said.  

Eldahr will be traveling to Philadelphia to perform at One Art Community Center on August 10. Photo courtesy of Hello Psychaleppo.

It's been seven years since the artist released his last full-length album, “Toyour,” a delay that Eldahr credits in part to multiple international moves and the birth of his son. Eldahr finds it hard to overstate the obstacles he faced in producing his forthcoming album “Cipher.” On each of the new album’s nine songs, he collaborated with a different artist—musicians from Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Morocco—but he never set foot in a studio with his collaborators. “Thank God for the internet,” said Eldahr. “In the studio it would have been much faster and more organic. But I don’t know if the music would have been better. Everyone I worked with has very high standards, and we’re all very happy with what we made.”

After the start of the war in Syria, Samer Saim Eldahr left his hometown of Aleppo for Beirut. He recently launched a record label, Syrial. Photo courtesy of Hello Psychaleppo.

Those musicians include Hamed Sinno, Yafa Bakri, Bou Nasser, Dima Orsho, and others. While some have achieved global fame, other “Cipher” collaborators are primarily known within the Arab world. But, said Eldahr, whatever their level of popularity, all of the musicians featured on the album are reinventing genres and are poised for a new era of exposure and experimentation.

Leyya Mona Tawil, who is curating Hello Psychaleppo’s upcoming concert in Philadelphia and directs the experimental music platform Arab.AMP, also believes that Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) performers around the world are breaking new musical ground. She credits their growing popularity to the SWANA region's presence in the news cycle. 

“When you witness the strength of the people of Syria, Palestine, Sudan, and so on, I imagine that the international public must wonder: What else comes from these places?” she said.

For Eldahr, there’s an emotional quality to some of his music and that of his collaborators that people respond to. “It’s that feeling that there's an apocalypse, but you're okay,” Eldahr said. “Like you're just watching it happen all around you, but you’re chilling. You’re still alive.”

Eldahr’s sound has deep roots in tarab, the ancient mode of musical performance that can be heard across the Middle East and North Africa. Tarab derives its singular cultural importance from its intended effect on listeners, to place them in a state of trance-like rapture. Eldahr describes tarab as having a “psychedelic” quality—inspiring his stage name. By combining traditional lyrical and vocal motifs with unexpected chords and dance rhythms, he hopes to create the same feeling as legendary Egyptian tarab singers Umm Kulthum and Mohammad Abdel Wahab. “I’m always trying to reach that point of ecstasy in my music.”

The lack of international attention paid to contemporary Arab and North African artists—and their conspicuous absence from TikTok and other platforms where aspiring musicians proliferate—was a major driver behind Eldahr’s decision to launch his own record label.

Eldahr says he routinely hears from fellow musicians, who have talent but lack the tools, skills, or financial resources to produce and record their music. And while he tries to find the time to help young musicians with the technical side of production, his new label Syrial will be able to do much more—including helping to secure much-needed funding, particularly for Syrian musicians. Eldahr plans to start signing artists by the beginning of 2025, once the work of promoting his new album is behind him.

While for the moment, Eldahr calls Oklahoma City home, he says he isn’t actually sure what “home” means anymore. “How do you replace what you’ve lost? If I went back to Aleppo, it would be a new city that I know nothing about. The faces and places have changed,” he said. “How do you recover from that? I’m still searching for the answer.”  

As for his August 10 concert, hosted by Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, Eldahr will be traveling to Philadelphia, where he’s scheduled to get the dance party started with a live set at One Art Community Center. Tickets can be purchased here.

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A Media Fellow at Al-Bustan News, Nisa Qazi is a writer and editor based in Delaware County, PA.