Nabeel (band)

Nabeel (نبيل) is the name of singer/songwriter Yasir Razak's Iraqi-American independent musical project based in Richmond, Virginia. Nabeel is known for blending indie rock, grunge and shoegaze while paying homage to Iraqi musical traditions, with most of his songs sung in Arabic. In 2025, Nabeel opened for California shoegaze band: LSD and The Search for God in Brooklyn, and performed at MACROCK XXVIII in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Backstory

Yasir Razak's family moved from Iraq to Virginia in the 1990s where he spent his childhood watching MTV and engaging with the Virginia DIY scene. In college, Razak attended performances at venues such as Crayola House in Harrisonburg, Virginia.[1] In 2018, Razak started a synth-pop musical project with his friend Travis Legg called TV Sunset [2] He would write music for the band on a Casio SA-76 toy keyboard which he received as a gift. TV Sunset allowed Razak to become more comfortable with writing and creating music. Razak met Jake Golibart (lead guitar), Kyle Grim (bass), Danny Gibney (drums/producer) and Dane Ludwig (drums) in Harrisonburg, VA and in 2021 this group created the first Nabeel song: Ras Alsanna (رأس‭ ‬السنة).[3] Nabeel's third EP: ghayoom (غيوم) released in 2025.[4]

Discography

Singles/Eps

  • ras alsanna - (رأس السنة) (2022)
  • samaa' baithaI - (سماء بيضاء) (2022)
  • lazim alshams - (لازم الشمس) (2023)
  • khowly - (خاولي) (2023)
  • shams - (شمس) (2023)
  • najoom - (نجوم) (2024)
  • resala - (رسالة) (2025)
  • ghayoom (غيوم) (2025)[5]

References

  1. ↑ Lam, Cordelia (2025-07-23). "Nabeel's dreamy alt-rock is finding a way back home". NME. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  2. ↑ August 2025, Words: Daisy Carter Photos: Chez Goodspeed 6th (2025-08-06). "Get To Know… nabeel (نبيل)". DIY. Retrieved 2026-02-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Raza-Sheikh, Zoya. "Nabeel (نبيل) is seeking harmony between Iraqi culture and Virginia's indie music scene". Crack Magazine. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  4. ↑ Staff, Wonderland (2025-07-24). "nabeel (نبيل) Discuss Their New EP, ghayoom (غيوم)". Wonderland. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  5. ↑ Morris, Damien (19 July 2025). "Albums of the week: Jim Legxacy, Alex G, Panic Shack, Dennis Bovell". The Observer.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.