"East of Any Place" is a treasure trove of songs we stumbled upon alongside Rogér Fakhr's acclaimed 2021 album "Fine Anyway". These tracks, hidden for decades and only shared by a handful of people, offer a glimpse into Rogér's musical genius and the vibrant scene in Lebanon during a time characterized by civil war and social upheaval. This release serves as a complement to "Fine Anyway" and includes studio tracks that did not make it onto the previous album.

About 2 years ago we released an album by Rogér Fakhr called "Fine Anyway" on Habibi Funk. It was the result of afternoons spent in Issam Hajali's jewelry store on Mar Elias Street in Beirut. We had started working on the idea of re-releasing some of Issam's music and he suggested his first album "Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard", which he had recorded before forming his band Ferkat Al Ard. At one point Issam mentioned that he actually had some of Rogér's music stored on cassette in his basement - but he warned that he couldn't play it for us until Rogér gave the green light. Eventually, after some hesitation, Rogér happily gave the green light. During this time, there were a number of ongoing projects and we somehow neglected to inquire further. But Rogér's name kept popping up in conversations with musicians of the same generation in Beirut. Whether Ziad Rahbani, Munir Khauli or anyone else was talking about him, every single mention was almost inevitably followed by high praise for his music and recognition of his talent. The discrepancy between the fact that he is so highly regarded among his peers while somehow not being part of Lebanon's researchable music history (at least for us!) of the past decades confused me, and at one point we simply asked Issam for Rogér's contact.