To date, the artist has not been identified. Discogs lists the entry as "[Unidentified Artist] – Roula 1995 (Test Pressing)." It is now one of the most sought-after "lost" records of the 90s, with a mint copy allegedly selling for $1,200 on a private Facebook group last year. There is a second, entirely separate context. Roula is a common feminine given name in Greece and the Levant (Arabic: رولا). In 1995, Lebanon was five years into its slow, painful reconstruction after the 15-year civil war ended in 1990. Beirut was a construction site, but also a cultural flashpoint.
But perhaps that is the beauty of it. In an era where every song, image, and text is algorithmically tagged and categorized, remains stubbornly, beautifully un-categorized. It is a mystery that belongs to the seekers.
Magazines like Al Hasnaa and Monday Morning were trying to re-establish a sophisticated, French-inflected Arab identity. A photo editor named Roula (surname lost to time) produced a now-famous editorial for the October 1995 issue of Beirut Mode .
