SHIRAN & BAKAL // The Eisenberg Review Interview
Photo by Daniel Elster
Some projects feel like they were waiting to be made. Electro Baghdad, the new full-length from SHIRAN & BAKAL, carries the weight and wonder of ancestral memory—fusing traditional Iraqi melodies with analog synths, hand percussion, and bass-heavy production built for the dancefloor. It’s music that bridges generations and geographies, shaped by the duo’s shared heritage as children of half-Yemeni, half-Iraqi families born in Israel, and driven by a clear sense of purpose: to honor and reimagine the sounds passed down to them.
Their first EP, Electro Hafla, filtered Yemeni traditions through club textures, earning praise for its infectious energy and reverence for the source. But Electro Baghdad cuts deeper, reaching into the raw emotional terrain of Iraqi folk song—where grief, joy, heartbreak, and healing often live side by side. Songs like “Ah Ya Layla Yumma” and “Sghayiroun” are reinterpreted with care, keeping their lyrical intensity intact even as their sonic surroundings shift into something wholly modern. Across the album, BAKAL’s immersive production and SHIRAN’s commanding vocal work give these songs new life—designed not just to be heard, but to be felt in the body.
I talked with the duo about their evolving creative process, the emotional layers behind these reinterpretations, and the art of making tradition feel alive and present.