Marcel Khalife: Voyageur

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This film is no longer available. Our music documentary in July was 'Marcel Khalife: Voyageur', which was available to watch for free, for all, from anywhere, from July 06 – 30. Renowned Lebanese composer, Oud master and singer, Marcel Khalife is commonly regarded as one of the...

Playlist #13: All Women’s

Click here for the full playlist on YouTube, Listen on Spotify or play below The representation of women from the Arabic-speaking world as singers or musicians evokes questions about stereotypes and gender roles. In reality, some of the first to be recorded with the rise of...

Playlist #12: Jazz

Click here for the full playlist on YouTube, Listen on Spotify or play below Arabic Jazz can be traced back to the 1950’s and 1960’s, when now iconic jazz musician Egyptian Salah Ragab broke from the military orchestra. Founding the legendary Cairo Jazz Band, Ragab’s seminal...

EP 1: Liliane Chlela

We launch our podcasts with a discussion with Beirut-based electronic music producer, sound artist and hybrid DJ Liliane Chlela. Known for her masterful manipulation of sound and technology, Liliane’s unique pieces significantly contributed to the electronic music scene in Lebanon. From her mesmerising performance at...

Playlist #11: Indie Rock

Click here for the full playlist on YouTube, Listen on Spotify or play below Rock was adopted in the Arab world from the moment of its emergence as a genre. However, it is only in the last two decades that we see a real boom in...

Artist Feature: Hello Psychaleppo

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text] Electro-Tarab: Electrifying a century-old Arabic tradition   “What is it that you actually do?” was a question that producer and audio-visual artist Samer Saem Eldahr (aka Psychaleppo) took many years to be able to answer. Now recognised as a leading figure in the development of the electronic...

Playlist #10: Gnawa

Click here for the full playlist on YouTube, Listen on Spotify or play below Gnawa music, as it is known in Morocco, Diwan in Algeria and Stambeli in Tunisia is a deeply spiritual music played throughout North Africa. Two main instruments associated with this genre are...

Cairo Jazzman

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This film is no longer available. Our music documentary in June was Atef Ben Bouzid’s debut ‘Cairo Jazzman‘, which was available to watch for free, for all, from anywhere, from June 01 – June 15. This captivating political music documentary about the critically acclaimed Cairo Jazz Festival and its...

Playlist #9: Songs in the Time of Corona

Click here for the full playlist on YouTube, or play below As the lockdown is being eased, we thought we’d visit some of the brilliant musical adaptations made by artists under lockdown in the Arabic-speaking world.  In many of these songs, musicians used their creative energy to...