Watching Music

Watching Music tells the story of an invisible country whose name doesn’t appear on any map, but which Lili, Noé, Céline, and Rami have always traversed. A country made of vibrating amplifiers, guitars leaning against a wall, percussion, cables intertwined like paths, studios where light takes on a different texture, stages where everyone breathes together, living rooms where a single note can transform the atmosphere. A country where the common language is… sound.

Lili and Rami Mekdachi photographed this country. Concerts. Tours. Festivals. Rehearsals. Days and nights of recording with family, at Basement Studios in Pigalle or 4th Street Recording Studio in Santa Monica; suspended moments with superstar Joshua Hong at the Artistic Palace in Paris; musical sessions in Seattle, London, and Beirut, in studios one returns to as if visiting friends. The photographs in Watching Music were born from these places, where time seems to stand still, where a single note can make the air vibrate, where memory merges with listening.

Music connects those who play, those who listen, those who record. Like perfume, it cannot be seen or touched, yet it permeates everything. Invisible, yet of absolute power, it unlocks memories, encounters, and luminous moments. When one musician meets another from a different culture, from a distant land with an unknown history, they immediately find common ground: a rhythm, a melody, a breath. Where language separates, music connects.

This book celebrates, through images, this invisible land, this land of sounds, gestures, and lights, where Lili, Noé, Céline, and Rami Mekdachi have always journeyed.

Lola James Harper fragrances and candles are inspired by rare places: from museums to galleries, from recording studios to artists’ homes; including the scents created for the Parisian fashion museum Palais Galliera, the legendary concept store Colette, and the recording studio of the iconic rock band The Smashing Pumpkins in Chicago.

Lola James Harper’s products are available in Paris (Bon Marché, Merci, Archives…), London (Paper Mache Tiger), Los Angeles (Guerilla Atelier, Teller), NYC, Tokyo (Omotesando, Isetan, Restir, Tsutaya), and Seoul (Andaz Seoul Gangnam, Kith, 29CM).