Saudi Rhythms Launches Digital Library of Folk Music Recordings

The Music Commission launched Saudi Rhythms, a project to build a digital music library from field recordings captured under the Saudi Trouq programme in the Asir region, with the aim of preserving Saudi musical and performance heritage and sharing it locally, regionally and internationally.

The commission said the library will be derived from original recordings documented on site through Saudi Trouq, developed with the Theatre and Performing Arts Commission and other Ministry of Culture entities to support local talent, encourage innovation and enable artists to draw on Saudi heritage in contemporary work.

The programme conducted more than 50 field visits, recorded over 200 hours of material and documented more than 60 musical colours, producing in excess of 10,000 audio and documentary assets. The project will package these recordings into sound libraries, starting with a traditional bundle containing 80 musical colours and a contemporary bundle containing 50 musical colours, which producers and artists can use across various genres.

Saudi Rhythms will organise, classify and present high‑quality sound packs alongside documentary material that contextualises the recordings, with the objective of broadening access to Saudi musical forms for creators and facilitating collaboration with international artists. The commission indicated that the Saudi Trouq programme underpins the project’s source material and methodology, focusing on field documentation of folk performance arts and their transmission into accessible, reusable audio libraries for creative use.