Kazdoura confirm second album on Habibi Funk with new single “Bukra”

Toronto duo Kazdoura will release their second album, Markab, on 4 December through Habibi Funk.

New single “Bukra” (Tomorrow) is out now.

Syrian vocalist Leen Hamo, and Lebanese multi-instrumentalist John Abou Chacra met in Toronto in 2020. They first found an audience reworking Arabic classics before deciding to write their own material. Their debut, Ghoyoum, became the first Arabic-language album to win a JUNO Award. Since then they’ve played a COLORS session and sold out shows around the world.

“Bukra” is the album’s lightest moment so far. It imagines meeting an old flame again, whether a lover, a place or someone no longer around, and asks what might happen if you simply started over tomorrow. It was co-produced by David Matta and mixed by Tom Nixon, with Abou Chacra on guitar, bass, synth and saxophone.

Markab means vehicle, and the duo describe it as a more settled, confident record than its predecessor. Hamo says she worked through much of her earlier emotional turmoil on the first album, while Abou Chacra says they now know what direction they’re heading in. The sound combines Arabic maqamat (Bayat, Rast, Nakriz, Hijaz and Kurd among them) with psychedelic and Anatolian rock, Afrobeat, Gnawa and jazz. Altın Gün, Men I Trust and Kit Sebastian are named as influences.

Most of the album was recorded in two phases: ten intensive days in Victoria, British Columbia in July 2025, then sessions in Toronto through the winter and spring of 2026.

It features eight originals alongside two covers, the traditional “Ya Maria” and Elias Rahbani’s “Ya Nassini”. “Taa,” “And then?” and “Ala Mahlak” have already been released.

Ghoyoum album cover header:
Sleeve design by Luke Warmth.
Sleeve concept by Kazdoura.
Photography by Ali El Moudia.