Artists
These are some of those beloved by MazaJ.
Beats and arabiZms
mahmoud refat’s excellent cairene electronicist label
the mighty and righteous dubalizer, plays the meanest
dombak this side of Jerusalem
hip-hop casa style
the dark heart of arabist jump up….
lebanese turntablist
rootsy gnawa, chaabi dance
who am i? a specialist in counter-hegemonic brown
sound……….and he’s not wrong.
Zeid Hamdan / Lebanese Underground
beiruthi producer’s label feat. RGB, Scrambled Eggs
and more.
Eklektik Arabesk-konFUSION OrAsia
urdu / arabic house fusions
chic leb art-pop outfit
arfa and the boys london rai
marakech vs hackney, phat arabesque
contentious mancunian sonic jihadi
de-nile-ator and purveyor of saa’idi roughed up beats
hard edged estern breaks crew
beat mangling strike against geography………and a hard-core scholar and gentleman
tunisian mashed electronica
turkish legend of aural pleasures: breathing god…
the original purveyor of halal-hop, beats with finesse
Sound Art / Improv / Composition
The real pioneer of electronic music. Egyptian
composer who transformed zar sounds back in
1944, before Pierre Schaeffer’s widely cited “first”
performance of electroacoustic music.
essential lebanese improv label run by mazen kerbaj…
lebanese-swiss audio / video works. ideas thrown with the
utmost precision
international free improvised music festival in Lebanon
egyptian musicologist and avant-garde folk/classical
composer. No comprehensive site for him, but here’s a lead.
syrian musicologist of ancient religious traditions, and
composer, creator of the Bacchanten project.
No official site, but here’s a lead…
sound artist whose works seek to enhance
spatial awareness through sonic intervention. And he does.
the superb lebanese improvisor who brought us duet for
trumpet and israeli bombardment.
cairene artist, enfant terrible and multimedia agitator.
Look and learn.
Cairene producer. MazaJ has much love for this man and
his stripped down aesthetic. Check The Physical Volume.
Electronic pioneering Iranian composer.
Audio-visual artist and NOMAD originator.
guitar improvisor attracted by the mean
of time?
improv alto sax and experimental cinema
first gen american-assyrian and all out scronk
percussion improvisor – check the Al Maslakh with Brotzman.
Shops
General shops for downloads CDs, DVDs and books.
zenithshoponline.com
arabcdstore.com
arabica-musica.com
arabymusic.com
aramusic.com
maqam.com
trehantiri.com
Online Broadcast
Arabic music MP3 sites
Arabic TV and Radio
Backflip
Public directory linking to many arab music resources.
Radio Mazaj, but nothing to do with us!
Theory (General)
Arabic music discussion forum in English.
rec.music.arabic
infoplease.com
Good starting points for general introduction to arabic
music web resources and your contributions are welcome.
Yes, we know, but it’s not that bad!
Bibliography of important books on arabic musics.
Reprint of work by this important Lebanese musicologist
and oud player.
Short list of key classical recordings.
Nice resource which lets you see and hear the maqams,
with musical examples.
Al Bab
Good regional breakdowns and scholarly references.
Theory (Instrumental)
Oud / Maqam
Authoritative overview of the maqam demonstrated on oud.
Ney Method
Mahmoud Effat’s reference source for ney players, recently
translated into English.
Musicology project to decipher the tuning of ancient egyptian flutes.
Great resource for ney scores, transcriptions of works
by famous neyzen.
Darbuka
Quick and dirty introduction to rhythms.
International darbuka network.
Good on-line resources for percussion.
If you really want to understand instrumental tunings
and scale analysis.
Organisations
Keep an eye on dodgy media!
Egyptian Cultural Centre, London
Egyptian Centre for Culture and Art
