Michel Elefteriades

“Nowheristan is a political, economic, social and cultural project that I produced in 2005. It’s a project to build a new nation that exceeds the borders of cultures and languages through which we can unify the whole world based on common values among all peoples.

We hope one day it will become Everywheristan instead of Nowheristan.  

My political activities started when I was 15-years-old. It wasn’t my choice. Those who arrested me that time are to blame. I had distributed flyers of extracts from Karl Marx’s book Das Kapital and others from the communist party’s manifesto.

The father of one of my classmates was an official of the Lebanese Forces militia. He arrested me, and I was tortured. That’s how it started.  

They released me but I decided to fight to stop other people being arrested because of their ideology. To stop armed tyrants from oppressing other people.

I joined the Lebanese army when I was 18-years-old. I was then exiled to France.

When I returned to Lebanon, I formed the Unified Movements of Resistance. I recently wrote a book on this.

Two assassination attempts were made against me. I ended up living in Cuba and it was there I decided to quit politics and work in the music industry.  

Music has always existed in my life, even when I was a fighter. If someone is a musician, he acts like someone on the battlefield. Of course, we use arms when we fight, not the guitar or the piano. But a musician is different from other fighters who are not musicians.

I resorted to politics and arms when my music couldn’t do the job, when our lives were threatened. Singing can’t help in this case. It can’t stop the aggression.

But I’ve never stopped singing. When the country is stable, my music creativity increases.

I produced no music from 2005–2009 as the situation in Lebanon was full of tension. I was busy doing something else. There are other priorities sometimes.

You can’t be writing poetry and composing music when your country is under attack. 

Music played in the Music Hall is not only Lebanon’s music, but the whole world’s. Because I’m in Nowheristan.

I have bands from the five continents, representing all cultures. Bands that play African, Spanish, Italian, German, English and Indian music. All this is played in the Music Hall.

We have no boundaries. We want good music. We’re now trying to bring an American hip hop group to sing in the Music Hall.

Nothing can deter us. There is good sound in all styles of music, in every culture and region.

You can find good music in every town. It’s not limited to a specific continent or race.”