Lebanese music producer and hitmaker Sleiman Damien has worked with some of the biggest names in Arab pop music, from Georges Wassouf to Haifa Wehbe. He’s also attracted to the region’s indie scene, working with Dana Hourani and Zef. Esquire Middle East sat down with him to understand how he’s bridging both worlds.
How would you introduce yourself to someone at a dinner party if they ask what you do?
I just go with “I make music”, mainly because there’s some level of ambiguity around what a producer does exactly in this day and age. So rather than carefully list every hat I wear, I prefer tying my role into the end product.
What’s the track you’ve made that everyone has heard?
I’ve been really blessed in terms of musical output and reach for the last few years, so it can be slightly difficult to pinpoint an exact record that’s done dramatically better than the rest. However, I can say that on the Arabic pop front, Nassif Zeytoun’s “Bel Ahlam” and Abeer Nehme’s “Bala Ma Nhess” have both been massive highlights for me in the past year. I’m truly humbled by the amount of love these songs have gotten. Especially, since they both managed to reach and resonate with demographics that generally lack exposure to Arabic music. At the indie end of the spectrum, I loved watching Zef & Stephanie Atala’s “El Bekle” climb regional charts and compete with more conventional records from industry heavyweights.
And the one not enough people have heard?
That’s another tough one. At the end of the day, a good song is a good song. However, working with new, up-and-coming and independent artists always carries the risk that good songs sometimes get drowned out by the daily flux of better funded, better marketed content. I’ve had quite a bit of success helping niche songs by artists with limited audiences cross over. But sometimes it just doesn’t happen. The ones that fall through the cracks are the ones I’d very much like people to hear.
How do you operate in both the Arab pop industry and the indie industry? They seem like they’d have very different ways of working, even down to the ethos.
That’s a great question. I’m always very mindful to not discriminate based on current artist status because it changes instantly. We’re seeing streaming platforms making less and less conservative editorial decisions, playlists getting infinitely more diverse than they used to be a few years ago and social platforms allowing creators and musicians to quickly gather large audiences if they make the algorithm happy. My role in all of this is to make sure the song’s a banger, that the artist’s emotional message is properly and elegantly conveyed and that it’s sonically accessible to the targeted demographics. However, with established artists it can sometimes be an uphill battle trying to push them towards experimentation without alienating them or their listenership. Whereas new talents are happy to push the envelope. The challenge here becomes twofold, and I’m put in the daunting position of sort of protecting the artist from themselves without limiting their creativity and imagination.
Do you see yourself one day picking a side?
I don’t see there being any sides in the future. Musical consumption is trending towards more democratization. If you look closely at North Africa, and the hip hop scene in Egypt specifically, this has already happened to a large extent. We’ve all witnessed incredible young talents dominate charts that have previously been welcoming to a select few. Even the Levant is well on its way towards blurring the lines between our traditional understanding of what indie and pop are. And I intend to be on the frontlines.
Is there anything you draw from other musical scenes? I feel like this mix of EDM and pop works well across our neighbouring countries. I’m thinking of the Balkans as well.
I’m in a permanent state of R&D, listening to hours of music from all over the world every day and dreaming up new ways to integrate what I learn into what I do. As with all things in life, I believe diversity to be the driving factor behind musical innovation. I draw a lot from Electronic Music because it offers a lot of creative elasticity, but it doesn’t stop there. With music being more accessible than ever, there are myriads of rhythms, sounds, genres and musical practices at our fingertips.
Do you have a dream collaboration – inside or outside the region – that you haven’t done yet?
There are tons. I’m still relatively young and I feel like there is a lot to explore. I really want to get more into hip hop. A lot of the new rappers in Egypt are on my bucket list, so are some big pop acts I haven’t had the pleasure of working with yet. I’d love to collaborate with a lot of the massive US artists as well, I don’t think any producer would say no to that, but that still might be out of reach for now. The way I see it happening is through a collaboration with a regional artist, since a lot of industry effort is being spent towards the inevitable crossover of Arabic music into the global mainstream.
What’s something no one knows about you?
It’s not a big secret, but anxiety is a big part of my life. I suffer from GAD and it can sometimes be debilitating, especially in a line of work where there is so much on the line for a lot of people. Fortunately, with treatment and with the emotional support I get from my loved ones, it’s a monster I can efficiently keep at bay most of the time. I’m mentioning this because anxiety is astonishingly widespread amongst industry professionals and musicians in the region, but almost always kept under wraps or downplayed. If anyone reading this identifies with that statement, I just want you to know that you’re not alone and that it gets better.
What’s next for you this year?
Right now, I’m closing my year with two of my favorite regional artists on opposite ends of the industry spectrum, Haifa Wehbe & Dana Hourani. I’m in full focus working on their albums and I’m super excited about both.
And in ten years?
Still making hits, hopefully. There is little that feels better than creating something that resonates with people, not to mention millions of them. I live for it. Releasing music under my own name as an Artist/Producer is definitely part of the ten-year plan as well, I need to get around to it. Maybe film scoring too at some point in my career? The reality is that there is so much that I want to do, I’ve got a great support system and it looks like I’m in the right place at the right time so far. Hopefully I won’t be a grumpy old man who complains about the musical taste of teenagers by then.