02/05/2026
I’ve been discovering the sounds of West Asia (aka the Middle East) in the past couple of years and tbh barely scratched the surface. Music goes DEEP in these regions.
The emerging electronic scenes match the energy for certain genres I love. Hard hitting, percussive, tribal drums in a 4x4 drum pattern between 130-145bpm = house, uk funky, hardgroove & garage.
Beautiful synthy sounds from instruments like the Mijwiz bring a hypnotic, repetitive melody. It has a heavy dubstep / dnb feel to it which my ears connect with. Plus the Arabic language is genuinely stunning to listen to in song form.
The last 4-5 years has seen the growth of new scenes from the children of the diaspora which is amazing to see. It’s foundation setting for a solid future. There’s been a wave of Arabic producers entering the global Dj circuit as sounds and events take over spaces, line ups and gain attention in western cities. In my opinion and personal experience, this was unimaginable 10 years ago.
A person who has opened the door for my personal discovery has been Ibrahim Abu-Ali aka , an LA based DJ of Palestinian heritage who’s technically one of the best DJs I’ve been fortunate to see in the flesh.
I came across his videos during lockdown where he’d reveal samples used across hip hop tracks which I found insightful & interesting. Now a Global DJ getting booked everywhere representing his culture and the culture of others proudly.
I bought Habibeats debut EP the other day, every track is 🔥 but this one with .vig and features the vocalist El Far3i caught my attention immediately.
🔉 DJ Habibeats, Aku and El Far3i - Shaabi Shutdown
Producers / labels light up my inbox with more of these sounds please - [email protected]
⏯️ Day 121 of 365 tunes 365 days
