Julius Masri is a Philadelphia based multi instrumentalist, and performer/composer for the city's  dance  community at large. His  music focuses on improvisatory methods and syncretic / linguistic  exchanges  within  various  musical languages including Jazz, Metal, AfroCuban, Experimental Noise, and Arabic music. Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, he moved to the States in 1990 and picked  up drumming a year later. He studied with Philadelphia instructors Carl Mottola, Elaine Hoffman-Watts, and as an  undergraduate  at Bard College, with AACM's Thurman Barker, Richard Teitelbaum, and Joan Tower. Julius plays drums, circuit modified Casio keyboards, Oud, Kamancheh  (aka Rabab, Spike Fiddle), and various other instruments.

 

He currently performs  in groups  such  as  grind/crust metal bands Night Raids, nomad war machine, free jazz groups Sirius Juju, spectral forces,  and Dromedaries, trombone and synth duo Superlith, and  more.  He has  performed with Henry Grimes,  Jamaaladeen Tacuma, bobby zankel, Thurman  Barker, jaap blonk, randi potoppidan, members of the  Sun Ra  Arkestra. Festivals performed include near eastern studies festival at princeton university (2024), Sonic Circuits DC (2013, 2016), High Zero Baltimore (2016), Maryland  DeathFest  (2015, 2017), Shadow Woods Metal Festival(2017), The Outsiders Improvised & Creative Music Festival (2016, 2018).

 

Julius is a Recipient of the 2022 White-Flowers Fellowship for Composition at the Yaddo Artist Residency in saratoga springs NY, the 2022 university of the arts creative research and innovation grant, and project funding via pew center for arts & heritage, as well as swarthmore college and the andrew w. mellon foundation.