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.