Rabih Beaini

Lebanese-born producer and DJ Rabih Beaini (formerly known as Morphosis) specializes in grainy, imaginative analogue techno. In the past year however, his Morphine label has telescoped in on key (often overlooked) voices in avant-garde electronic and outernational music.

As Morphosis, Beaini has been crafting away in the nether-regions of the techno underworld since the 90s. Having cut his teeth as a DJ, a move to Italy in 1996 proved the catalyst to start experimenting in the studio. And he really did experiment – few people craft the sort of emotional, exploratory techno as Beaini has for labels like Sistrum Recordings (Detroit), M>O>S (Amsterdam), and Styrax (Berlin). His two most recent albums, Albidaya on Lebanese label Annihaya and Dismantle/Music For Vampyr on Honest Jon’s, follow his critically acclaimed 2011 debut LP, What Have We Learned, on Delsin.

Beaini’s genuine musical ability and a range of influences—from krautrock to new wave—seep into his inventive, dark, and emotional productions and immersive DJ sets. These influences also find their way into Beani’s productions with the Upperground Orchestra, a multi-headed improvisational ensemble that explores the terrain between electronica, techno, and improvisational jazz.