Snakeskin Interview: “We always find the best way to move forward”

It’s been a flagship year for music out of Lebanon. Ruptured Records, a catapult for many local artists to reach audiences all throughout the world. Rupture has also opened a portal for these same audiences to explore the Lebanese underground scene outside the label’s discography, too. The latest example, SANAM, who marked 2025 with their debut release for Canadian mainstays, Constellation Records, with Sametou Sawtan.

Like all DIY scenes, there’s cross-pollination and Julia Sabra and Fadi Tabbal have been two crucial voices from Rupture and, by extension, the Beirut underground, both constantly making music across a variety of projects. Sabra, in a solo capacity and as leader of the excellent Postcards who released their latest LP, Ripe, earlier this year, while Tabbal has produced an array of solo records (this year’s I Recognize You from My Sketches being the latest) and also in collaboration.

One of those collaborations is Snakeskin, where Tabbal and Sabra combine to make atmospheric electronica with great emotional depth. Following last year’s They Kept Our Photographs, the duo returned in October with We Live In Sand (full review here).

Like They Kept Our Photographs, We Live In Sand is a real-time commentary of the conflict that continues to overshadow the duo’s native Lebanon. It’s heavy weather but through the Snakeskin vessel, Sabra and Tabbal combat it with catharsis. These songs, empowering as the duo find hope through despair.

Coupled with Postcards’ Ripe, on the back of We Live In Sand, Sabra has experienced a flagship year of her own, which has also included a raft of shows across Europe with Tabbal as well as tours with Postcards and, most recently, several solo shows in Portugal. Following these shows, she and Tabbal answered a series of questions about We Live In Sand and the process behind one of the year’s most moving releases.

S13: Do you remember the moment when music impacted so deeply that it inspired you to also become artists? 

Fadi Tabbal: “I don’t think becoming an ‘artist’ was something I was consciously aspiring at any moment in my life. But I do have three albums that undeniably shaped me as an artist today.

[Firstly], Achtung Baby (1991) by U2, I was nine years old and it was the first time I heard something that did not rely on guitar hero solos (my older brother was a lot into metal music). It also introduced me to the wonderful awe-inspiring world of Brian Eno (as he is a co-producer on the album). [Secondly] Ok Computer (1997) by Radiohead, this reinforced the concept of ‘sound as mode of composition’. [Lastly], Illinois (2005) by Sufjan Stevens taught me to be playful while focusing more on the importance of arrangements in composition.”

Julia Sabra: “I don’t think I ever had that moment – I was practically born into music. I don’t remember a time where I didn’t want to be a musician. I was born into a very musical family, and I sang, played piano and guitar from a very young age. The transition from just enjoying playing music and singing to music as a means of artistic expression happened gradually with my band Postcards, and especially when we started working with Fadi who really pushed us artistically and sonically.”

S13: With Fadi having worked with Postcards over the years from the production side of things, do you think it was inevitable that you would form a project like Snakeskin? 

FT: “Well from the first time I heard Julia sing back in 2012, I fell in love with her fragile and emotional voice. Since then, it’s been my goal to push that voice in all the different sonic directions that I can think of. I think it was only a question of time for both of us to venture together in the ambient / electronic direction that has shaped most of my solo work.”

S13: It’s a quick turnaround from last year’s They Kept Our Photographs. Was We Live In Sand it written at the same time, or is your approach in Snakeskin to work on one album at a time?

JS: “We had zero strategy! We just happened to be at a residency in Bern, while touring TKOP that had come out that month (October 2024). And we had just lived three weeks of intense war. So we got to Switzerland, and the music poured out. There was no plan, but within a week we realised we had an almost finished album. And our friends at Ruptured and Beacon Sound were very excited to release it quickly.”

S13: Was the recording process any different this time around?

JS: “Completely. Because we were in Prozess Kultur in Bern with nothing to do all day but be in the studio, it really allowed us to disconnect completely. Our lives in Beirut are so busy we usually meet up once or twice a week when we’re writing and end up having a finished record within a few months. But this time it was very concentrated. Fadi also slept in the room that we used as a studio. So he’d be up at like 5am and start composing. We’ve never had so much time for just making music before, it was exhilarating. And there was so much grief and emotions that needed to come out, especially being far from our loved ones during a full-blown war.”

S13: It’s the most harrowing, direct pieces of music either of you have made. Did being so explicit on this album make the experience more cathartic? 

JS: “I think this kind of happens naturally; I’ve noticed it before in my other projects. After the Fire, Before the End, the Postcards album we did after the Beirut port explosion, had some of the most straightforward, direct lyrics I’ve ever written. I feel the same about some songs on my solo or even on They Kept Out Photographs (like Bodies for example). It’s not a conscious choice, but sometimes what we’re living is so terrifying and real it requires no extra layers of language. The first words that come out express the feeling most accurately. And it feels right to keep them that way and not rework them.”

S13: Thematically, Snakeskin has always felt like a real-time diaristic endeavour. Is your approach any different with this band in comparison with your other projects?

FT: “I approach all my different projects in different manners. It helps me not to stick to a repetitive formula. But also, when you work with a singer-songwriter it is very important to be aware and sensitive to them. The song is always the main goal, and they are the ones that are presenting it.”

JS: “I think it’s the same in all my projects. Every album is a snapshot of a certain period of my life, and because it’s Lebanon, it’s usually tied to some big traumatic event…”

S13: It’s hard to pinpoint one specific moment because all these songs have such great emotional depth. However, constantly listening, and it feels like each song could have been written in the sequence that it’s presented on record. Was this the case?

JS: “Almost! I think the music was written in this order: Ready, We Live In Sand, October Sun, The Fear, Blindsided, Olive Groves, Black Water, In the Pines. But the lyrics were mixed. Ready and We Live in Sand were some of the last lyrics written.”

S13: Sonically, it’s a big shift from your previous works, too. I can’t think of a more “headphones listen” release this year. Was this the intention or did it just work out that way?

JS: “Because we weren’t in our studio and in another country, we had access to limited gear, and that restriction defined the sound. It wasn’t a conscious decision. We usually start working and analyse later.” 

S13: Can you tell us what the inspiration was behind the artwork?

FT: “This is the second time we work on the artwork with our friend (and great artist) Mohamad Abdouni. We do not interfere in his process – we send him the music, explain how we made the album and general themes, and he just comes back with the most accurate depiction that we would never have thought of.

S13: It’s probably not something you think about, and while it most certainly is a direct influence, does being creative through so many projects keep your minds occupied from what’s going on around the country and region?

JS: “In a way, yes. Being creative is the only way we stay sane. But also, we’re processing all these things through our music, so it’s not escapist. It’s real, and it’s quite cathartic.” 

S13: Do you consider yourselves positive people, and by extension do you think there’s hope for a better future?

FT: “Despite the fact that we come and live in a difficult and traumatic place, I think we are pretty positive. We always find the best way to move forward by sharing our interests, knowledge and love. Relying on community. We always try to reach a better future, even if we know that it’s an ongoing battle. Of course it can get hard, but it’s even more of a reason to carry on.”

We Live In Sand is out now via Beacon Sound / Ruptured Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.