Beirut Blues-Rock band The Wanton Bishops return with their new and upcoming album Under the Sun

Seen today as one of the leading bands in the Middle East, Beirut Blues-Rock band The Wanton Bishops are set to release their forthcoming album Under the Sun on Friday 17 November 2023.

The Wanton Bishops, though a band, is predominantly the vision of one man – Nader Mansour, a Lebanese music artist from Beirut.

"Nader’s music began to signify his homeland in Lebanon, the people of Lebanon, and his personal life journey"

Discussing the release of his upcoming album Under the Sun, The New Arab sat down with Nader to discuss The Wanton Bishops’ journey so far and aspirations for the new generation of Lebanon, via the opening of Mansour’s recently opened DaDa bar in Beirut.

Reflecting on the Wanton Bishops’ album milestones

Formed in Beirut in 2011, the Wanton Bishops are a Lebanese Blues-Rock band led by Beirut-born Nader Mansour. Having initially pursued a degree in Economics and Finance, Nader soon after changed careers and pursued his passion for music by enrolling in the Parisian CIM Ecole de Jazz, the first Parisian jazz and contemporary music school in Paris, France.

In 2012, The Wanton Bishops’ first-ever album Sleep with The Lights On was released. Following the release of the album, which has been referred to as a “Delta Blues record inspired by the likes of RL Burnside and Muddy Waters,” Nader voyaged the profound south of America to discover the origins of Mississippi blues.

The experience Nader witnessed triggered a musical eye-opener, as he returned to Lebanon a transformed individual with a newly inspired musical foresight.

At this point, Nader’s music began to signify his homeland in Lebanon, the people of Lebanon, and his personal life journey.

On Friday 17 November 2023, The Wanton Bishops’ new album titled Under the Sun will be released.

The album features the recently released single Do What You’re Told, a journey into political mass manipulation, hypnotic technology, and heavy consumerism reimbursing for a genuine and true sense of belonging and connection.

The song can be interpreted as some form of political speech, which according to Nader, “the world hears every single day, ” igniting fear to accomplish results and insecurities for control.

That said, the single includes high-octane electric guitar tunes, spectral vocalisations and psycho-immersed keys. Adding to this, Nader showcases megaphone-esque vocals with riot-activating lyrics touching on forced communal constructs, Big Brother-style monitoring, force-fed capitalism and news propaganda.

Commenting on the single, which was first released on 28 July 2023, Nader explained that the song is a “showcase of the exponential effects of politics on people in the Middle East in general and Beirut, Lebanon in particular.”

Nader further added: “The song can be applied to other countries in the world and not just countries in the Middle East. It’s a story of what politics looks like when you’re dealing with the rich versus the poor.”

Do What You’re Told gives a glimpse of what to expect from the upcoming album. Released via Gnu Roam, and distributed via Kartel Music Group, other songs of the album include:

Don’t You Touch The Radio

Beirut

Ya Habibi

God’s Own Remedy

We Are One

Gonna Be Fine

Run Run

Fallen Angel

Jericho

DaDa Bar: Reconstructing Lebanon and a sense of responsibility for the new generation of Lebanese civilians today

Located in Badaro, one of Beirut’s most appealing neighbourhoods, Nader’s newly opened DaDa bar has come to represent a new party haven for the new generation of Lebanon.

The bar, which has musical leanings, has come to represent many new beginnings for Lebanon. One representation is the reconstruction of Lebanon, especially after the triple blow of the COVID-19 pandemic, the massive explosion of Beirut’s city port on 4 August 2021, that caused extensive damage, and a crippling financial crisis.

“For the first time, I felt the need to be vigilant of the next generation. This generation did not grow up with the Stockholm Syndrome that our parents had to face with warlords"

Commenting on the vision of the DaDa bar, Nader explained that with the opening of the new bar, he felt a sense of responsibility for the new generation of Lebanon. 

“For the first time, I felt the need to be vigilant of the next generation. This generation did not grow up with the Stockholm Syndrome that our parents had to face with warlords," says Nader.

"To this day, our parents are stuck with the Stockholm Syndrome that the warlords governing us have given us. We witnessed what happened with the war, so it was an acknowledgement that made me sit down and think, how can we be liberated from that?

"It’s our, including my, responsibility to actually direct the new generation towards something new, especially after the Beirut explosion in 2021.”

Zainab Mehdi is a Researcher and Freelance Journalist specialising in governance, development, and conflict in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Follow her on Twitter: @zaiamehdi