Yasmine Hamdan is a Lebanese singer, songwriter and actress. Yasmine
became known with Soapkills, the duo she founded with Zeid Hamdan - no
relation - while she was still living in Beirut. The first album
released by Soapkills was Bater (1999). Soapkills was one of the very
first independent electronic bands in the Middle East, and its
innovative approach exerted a lasting influence. To this day, Yasmine
Hamdan is considered an icon of underground music across the Arab
world.
After moving to Paris, Yasmine collaborated with CocoRosie. She teamed
up with Mirwais (who was part of French electronic new wave band Taxi
Girl in the 80s, and produced/co-wrote some of Madonna albums), with
whom she recorded the Arabology album (2008), under the Y.A.S. moniker.