SHIRAN & BAKAL open a new chapter in their collaborative journey with “Sghayiroun,” the lead single from their forthcoming album Electro Baghdad, out 27 June via Batov Records. Known for fusing traditional Iraqi and Yemeni musical roots with contemporary electronics, the Tel Aviv-based duo draw on their shared heritage—both born to half-Iraqi, half-Yemeni families—to reinterpret deeply personal and historical material for a new generation.

“Sghayiroun” (“Little One”) sets the tone for the album, pairing emotionally potent lyrics—about longing for a beloved family member—with a hypnotic mid-tempo groove. SHIRAN’s expressive vocals, sung in Iraqi Arabic, sit atop pulsating basslines, saz-like synth textures, and BAKAL’s tightly constructed electronic framework, which weaves in traces of qanun, ney, and Dabke-inspired percussion.

Electro Baghdad expands on ideas first explored in their 2023 self-released Electro Hafla EP, and builds on SHIRAN’s acclaimed solo work, praised for its dynamic reinterpretations of Yemeni traditions. While earlier projects leaned into Yemenite Arabic melodies, this new material turns toward Iraqi songs passed down in family gatherings—preserving their emotional depth while re-contextualising them with analog synths and contemporary bass-driven production.

Released via Batov Records, a London-based label with a strong reputation for genre-defying Mediterranean and global sounds, the single reaffirms SHIRAN & BAKAL’s place at the forefront of Middle Eastern electronic fusion: artists who honour tradition not through replication, but through reinvention.

“It’s a personal album for us,” they note, “connecting past and present, tradition and future—but also something that can move people physically and emotionally.”

You can stream, listen to and pre-order the album HERE