The label's latest release, Nechazz – Pieces of a Dream (Habibi Funk 036), is a perfect example. Recorded in Amman, Jordan, between 1988 and 1989, the previously unreleased recordings sit somewhere between smooth R&B, jazz, and pop, much of it recorded in one of the band members' living rooms.

The story of how the recordings resurfaced is almost as good as the music itself. Habibi Funk first heard about the Beirut band Andromeda when musician Walid Itayim posted one of their cassettes on Facebook.

When the label reached out to Walid, he invited them to hear it in person next time they were in the city; sadly, before they had the opportunity to visit, Walid passed away. Years later, Habibi Funk retold the story to his best friend, Munir, who was sorting through Walid's old collection and was able to track down the cassette.

They loved what they heard and set out to find the musicians behind it, which led them to Basim Said. In conversation, Basim mentioned that he'd left Beirut for Amman in 1982, a detail that turned out to be the missing link: it was Basim, alongside Khaldoon Nasser and Kassim Sabounchi, who'd written and recorded those unreleased songs all those years ago. Last year, he finally shared them with Habibi Funk, and now, decades after they were first put to tape, those songs became Nechazz – Pieces of a Dream.

But Habibi Funk doesn't only search the past for their sonic muses. The label also works with contemporary artists whose music shares the same sense of timelessness that draws them to their reissues. One of those artists is Kazdoura, the Toronto-based duo, Leen Hamo and John (Johnny) Abou Chacra, whose music blends Arabic songwriting with funk, jazz, rock, and psychedelic.

Leen began singing from a young age while studying violin, and music theory before moving to Canada, where she became involved with the Canadian Arabic Orchestra. While Johnny discovered music through his father's record collection, picked up the guitar as a teenager, and later found his way into jazz, funk, Afrobeats, and the saxophone. The two met at an open jam in Toronto shortly before the pandemic, but their meeting was brief, and their first collaboration came later.

Following the Beirut port explosion in 2020, Johnny helped organize a fundraiser for Lebanon, where he invited Leen to perform. Seeing each other in a different musical setting made something click. They began playing together, initially reinterpreting classic Arabic songs before gradually developing their own sound.

During lockdown, the two spent more time together, and Leen began writing songs that reflected her journey from Syria to Canada. Johnny helped turn those ideas into arrangements, and in 2021 they released their first single, “Wain وين.”

Since then, Kazdoura has built a sound that doesn't try to separate Arabic music from Western influences, but instead works to have the two exist together. Their songs use Western instrumentation, while moving freely between funk, jazz, and Arabic musical traditions.

Their relationship with Habibi Funk had been developing for years before becoming official. At the venues where Kazdoura first established themselves, Habibi Funk records were often played before and after their sets. In 2022, the label's founder met the band in Toronto and later featured their song "Titi titi تيتي تيتي" on one of his playlists. Now, four years later, Habibi Funk is releasing Kazdoura's upcoming album.

An album that, thanks to Habibi Funk's knack for uncovering timeless sounds, we couldn't help but want to spotlight on our stage.

For their A COLORS SHOW, Kazdoura performed “Taa,” a song from their upcoming project about being stuck in a difficult period of life; whether that means depression, heartbreak, or feeling unable to see a way forward. The song acknowledges that change can be difficult, while insisting it’s still worth pushing through. A song they look forward to sharing as they kick off their tour in Europe.

Music can be found in every corner: at a concert, in a living room in Amman, at a jam session in Toronto, on the COLORS stage. Sometimes, it just takes someone to recognize it.