Voices from Shubbak Festival 2021: Recent Episodes
Shubbak Festival
Tune in to the podcast of Shubbak Festival 2021 - the UK's largest biennial festival of contemporary Arab culture which connects you to new, unexpected and established Arab artists. In this four-part series, DJ Nooriyah will speak to the brilliant artists featured in this year's festival line-up about how their art tackles some of the most pressing topics of our time. Join her for a deep dive into digital activism, the history of Arab Hip Hop, love and all its facets, and finally, the significance of the emotional relationship between audiences and artists in music - also known as 'tarab'. The show features an eclectic mix of exclusive interviews, sounds from the artists' performances, and the voices of the audience attending this year's Shubbak Festival.
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Tarab has no exact equivalent in the English language, so the most common words used to capture its meaning are “ecstasy,” or “transcendence.” Widely encountered in medieval texts on music and musicians, it is still current today and refers to certain styles of music, particularly an aesthetic associated with the 20th Century that is rooted in Egypt and the East-Mediterranean Arab world. But tarab isn’t just a form of music. It also refers to a state of being and since medieval times it has been renowned for the ecstasy-inducing power it has on its audience, be it through lyrics of joy or sorrow. In this episode of Shubbak Festival's podcast, DJ Nooriyah will dive into the power of tarab as a way of experiencing music and fully surrendering to the moment. Her guests include the leader of the London Syrian Ensemble, Louai Alhenawi and the world-renowned oud musician and composer Adnan Joubran.
Love, lust and identity take centre stage in this episode of Shubbak Festival's podcast. DJ Nooriyah speaks to Selma Dabbagh editor of We Wrote in Symbols, a celebration of the erotic writing of women of Arab heritage who write about love and lust with artistry and skill. It features a wide-range of stories: a wedding night that takes an unexpected turn, a woman on the run meeting her match at Dubai Airport, and a carnal awakening occurring in a Palestinian refugee camp. DJ Nooriyah also chats to lisa luxx, a queer writer, performer, essayist and activist of British Syrian heritage whose one-woman verse play, Eating the Copper Apple, explores themes of love, identity, family and heritage.
Arab Hip Hop is taking over South West Asia and North Africa. From the UAE to Morocco, the genre has inspired a new generation of artists. Spurred on by social media and online streaming sites that have provided artists with a platform, Arab Hip Hop is being hailed internationally for its attitude and cutting-edge sonics. It's the stage on which the consciousness, identity and art of a generation is being expressed. This year’s Shubbak Festival hosted some of the hottest new wave Hip Hop artists, including The Synaptik, Felukah, Bint7alal and Philip Rachid aka Soultrotter. In this episode, DJ Nooriyah sits down with them to hear their stories and what music really means to them.
In this episode of the Shubbak Festival podcast we are exploring politics, identity, and social media. With the restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic we all looked for ways to cope. For many, artistic expression was pivotal in passing the long hours spent indoors with no escape. For artists, this was no different; creativity battled boredom, frustration, and loneliness. Without access to public spaces, some of the artists showcasing their work at Shubbak Festival utilised all they could at their disposal. The most important tool of them all? An internet connection. DJ Nooriyah speaks to Abdulisms, Toufik Douib and Balqis Al Rashed to understand just how important the digital sphere is in their art and activism.
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