As continued conflict and repression roil their home countries, members of Europe’s Middle Eastern and North African diaspora are also confronting harsh rhetoric and violence in their host countries. But an expanding cohort of musicians and DJs in exile is helping foster connections and joy among fellow immigrants and a broader audience through a vibrant musical nightlife and online presence.
Recurrent Arab “club music” parties and festivals – such as the monthly Hishek Bishek in London and Sahra in Berlin or the annual Nawafiz in the Netherlands – are becoming anticipated cultural fixtures. Showcasing a hybrid of local and folk traditions melded with popular global genres and electronic beats, these events embody what’s been called “glocalization.” The lyrics – and the fans – are multilingual, flowing seamlessly between Arabic and smatterings of French, English, German, and Spanish.
Audience appreciation for such music is soaring and diversifying, partly thanks to streaming services and social media. This has led to new record labels starting up, such as Habibi Funk in Germany. Lebanese musician Charif Megarbane, who issues songs under the label and has performed at London’s Jazz Cafe, told Time magazine he was delighted at having “such a varied audience.” An English fan who confessed to being “obsessed” with his music found her way to it via Spotify and a Turkish music festival in France.
As New Lines journalist Oumeïma Nechi wrote this week, music festivals and club events are hubs where “Diaspora musicians are blending tradition and rebellion” – and also where “Music meets activism.” The spaces give voice to the community’s optimism and worry about political change back home. They also evoke a nostalgic love and pride in homelands and cultures left behind.
“Before … there was a tendency to hide one’s identity a bit,” Tunisian-born DJ Haroun Ben Hmida told Ms. Nechi. But now, Arab artists and their audiences have “reclaimed their identity and have started uniting together, seeing each other, working on projects together.”
One example of “seeing each other” is the musical duo Shkoon, which pairs a Syrian refugee, who was part of the large wave of migration to Europe a decade ago, with a classically trained German musician. Shkoon’s eclectic approach aims to counter Islamophobia and dissolve cultural barriers, group member Ameen Khayer told Middle East Eye. “When we … perform our music,” he said, the audience is “not only Arabs, or not only Germans, … multiple nationalities are joining.”
Through its shared melodies and memories, the appeal of Arab diaspora music among immigrants and host communities in Europe is enlarging perceptions of blending and belonging.
