Having a voice has never seemed more vital at a time of political unrest and cultural unrest. This occurs at a critical time for Habibi. The band's first EP in more than four years and crucially the first one with lyrics in Farsi, is "Cardamom Garden." For the band, who are keenly conscious of music as both a natural part of their ancestry and an expression of their own identity, this new path has been long overdue. The EP mixes the flare of their culture with a carefully honed vocabulary of universally accessible songs arranged in a fresh pop style that avoids formulaic structures and is engaging and very danceable.
The album "Cardamom Garden," which includes three original songs and a Farsi rendition of the 1960s hit "Green Fuz," was produced in Brooklyn and was mixed by Heba Kadry. Yahya Alkhansa, a Tehran native who provided tonbak percussions, brought their sound even closer to its Middle Eastern roots.
Lenny Lynch, the guitarist for Habibi, and Jamalifard are both from Detroit, but they didn't meet until they were both residing in and performing in the Brooklyn scene, where they naturally cultivated a mutual connection around their love of Middle Eastern weird music. They brought on Karen Isabel (drums) and Leah Beth Fishman (bass), two artists they had become friends with through a DIY music hub, even though they all came from different parts of the world before settling in New York..

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