Bilna’es unveils latest compilation ‘Only Sounds That Tremble Through Us’

On May 30th, Bilna’es, the creative collective based between Ramallah and New York, will release Only Sounds That Tremble Through Us, a striking two-part compilation that delves into the resistance of Palestinian cultural and musical erasure. The album offers a powerful reflection on the role of sound, voice, and body as forms of political resistance, embodied through song, dance, and oral poetry.

The compilation is the latest evolution of May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth, a long-running project by the collective, initially presented at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2022. This ongoing work, which began in 2010, collects the voices and gestures of everyday people singing and dancing in public spaces across Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, capturing a sense of collective memory and cultural continuity in the face of geopolitical upheaval.

The album is split into two discs: the first features works by Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme (both part of the collective themselves), and the second includes contributions from an eclectic mix of Palestinian and New York-based artists. Highlights include pieces by Julmud, DJ Haram, Muqata’a, and Hykal, each responding to the themes of resistance and the resilience of fractured communities. Through its innovative curation, the album positions the act of making music as a potent form of refusal, of reclaiming space and identity.

In the project’s liner notes, the artists reflect on the power of communal song and dance as acts of embodiment—forms of expression that transcend the boundaries of language and geography. “These fractured communities are resisting their own erasure and laying claim to space, self, and collectivity once more,” they write, underscoring the profound political dimensions of their work.

The compilation also draws attention to the significance of the “negative” in Palestinian cultural expression—a term that resonates deeply with the label’s name, which translates to “in the negative” in Arabic. This concept highlights the idea of absence as presence, of building meaning and identity from the margins.

With Only Sounds That Tremble Through Us, Bilna’es continues to push boundaries, creating a platform for artistic experimentation that speaks to the political, visceral, and material possibilities of sound. The album invites listeners not only to reflect on the lived realities of communities across the Middle East, but also to engage with the act of listening itself—making space for stories that have long been silenced or forgotten through oppressive means.

Set against a backdrop of both sonic innovation and cultural reclamation, this album is a testament to the ongoing efforts of Palestinian artists and musicians to preserve and elevate their heritage in the face of adversity.