The Opener is The FADER’s short-form profile series of casual conversations with exciting new artists.

Browsing through nabeel (نبيل)’s releases is like flipping through a close friend’s family album. Each piece of cover art from releases by the Iraq-born, Virginia-based melodic fuzz artist born Yasir Razak is a time-worn photograph of his family; his music videos repurpose home movies from the early years of his life, from his birth in Baghdad to his immigration to the United States just six months later. To reconcile these homes, nabeel (نبيل) charts a map of his heart with shoegaze and slowcore as poles; it's the tension between where he's been and where he is now that undergirds the music, and makes it too strong to be a mere conduit of nostalgia.

You don’t need to know Razak’s backstory — or even understand Arabic, the language he sings in — to feel the crackling sincerity powering his music, but it does help (helpfully, translations for all his songs are posted on his Bandcamp page). On his most recent self-released EP ghayoom - غيوم, Razak’s questions of identity become both broader and more personally incisive. On opener “resala - رسالة,” (“letter”) Razak mourns the absence of a person who’s still alive. “On your birthday / I was scared to call / Because there’s no space / Left inside of you,” he sings, his burdened voice a fragrant bud that emerges triumphant from layers of crunchy distortion.

Razak’s oaky voice is most compelling when it takes on a subtle weariness. “khatil - خاتل” (“hiding”) is a stomper in the tradition of Dinosaur Jr. that looks back on a life defined by the burdens of masculinity, and wasal - واصل (“got it”), the project’s poppiest moment, turns existential despair into a crowdpleaser: “I found me some hope / But I don’t know what happened… the moon disappeared and took my dreams with it.”

This November 5, nabeel (نبيل) will play his first London show at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Before that we asked him for some photos from behind-the-scenes of his stateside tours, and got his opinions on Shin Godzilla, Pink’s debut album, and other hot topics.

I had a friend named Tomas in elementary school, and he had a rich uncle who owned box seats at some giant venue in DC, and he got us tickets to see the Backstreet Boys Millennium Tour….
I was obsessed with the Backstreet Boys and seeing them (even just as specks in the distance) was soo exciting to me, haha. They had a weird moving / floaty stage that would come out into the crowd, and I just remember freaking tf out when they got even kind of close to us

Shin Godzilla! I never thought I’d be a Godzilla head but here I am. It’s such a good movie!! I think I’m learning to enjoy blockbusters.

“First Place” by Bieber (the whole record is insane)
“Shmaali” by Yasmine Hamdan (can’t wait for that album!!)
and “i just banged a snus in canada water” by Jim Legxacy

Probably something corny like follow your dreams. As with most clichès, it can be easy to dismiss or write off. But i think it’s just way too easy to get stuck thinking your life has to be what it currently is and that there’s no way to move closer to the life you want to live…if there’s something meaningful you want to get out of life it’s always worth at least trying.

I don't know if it’s necessarily my favorite piece of advice but my granddad had this saying in Arabic that i think is hilarious: "الي يأكل خرة خلي شيل خاشوگته ويا"
It translates to “if you’re going to eat shit, you better carry your own spoon with you." It’s kind of like a “you’ve made your bed, so sleep in it” type idea.

A guest list for our New York show! Otherwise it’s just random movies or books I want to check out.