Damascus has been called the City of Jasmine for as long as anyone can remember. French-Algerian electronic collective Acid Arab and Syrian musician Wael Alkak name their new single “Yasmine Alsham” after the flower that defines the capital, bringing Alkak’s birthplace into every bar of the arrangement. Born in Damascus and trained in classical percussion at the national conservatory, Alkak played with the Syrian National Orchestra before relocating to Paris in 2012 during the civil war. He nearly became Acid Arab’s first keyboard player when the French-Algerian collective was forming. Instead he built his own electro-chaâbi project, wiring bouzouk and Levantine folk melodies into synthesisers and drum machines. His first solo album, Neshama, drew from the revolutionary anthems of the 2011 Syrian protests. Acid Arab, built around DJs Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho, brought him back in on “Ya Mahla” for their 2023 album ٣ (Trois), a track whose lyrics saluted Arab revolutionaries and the word “freedom.”

“Yasmine Alsham” is the lead single from Resonance, Acid Arab’s fourth album, due 19 June on Crammed Discs. It arrives while Damascus is rebuilding its music scene from scratch. Since the fall of Assad in December 2024, underground raves have been springing up in deserted shopping malls on the outskirts of the capital. Diaspora DJs are returning to play for crowds experiencing a dancefloor for the first time in 15 years. Alkak has been travelling back regularly since last April, playing sets rooted in Syria’s chaâbi tradition and jamming with emerging artists.

Acid Arab construct their framework on acid house, 303 basslines, and techno structures, traditionally feeding them through gasba, dabke, and raï traditions sourced from across North Africa and Turkey. Alkak shifts the geography to the Levant. He introduces a different musical grammar to the sequence, deploying bouzouk improvisations, Syrian street rhythms, and folk melodies native to Sweida and the Hauran.

Resonance spans 16 tracks and gathers voices from across the Arab world and beyond, featuring guest appearances from Yasmine Hamdan, Sofiane Saidi, Cem Yildiz, and Najwa Nimri. Acid Arab take the material on tour through the summer, including sets at Nuits Sonores, Fabric, Fuse, and Electric Castle, ahead of a headline date at the Zénith in Paris in January 2027.

Stream and listen to “Yasmine Alsham” HERE