Berlin's AL.Festival to Spotlight West Asian & North African Artists

While we like to talk of the Middle Eastern music scene as its own entity, cast away from the dominant mainstream music of the west, more and more ears have been tuning into the music of the region; from radio shows to festivals, there are spaces opening up for Arab artists.

One such space is Berling’s AL.Festival which emerged last year with a focus on the contemporary music scene of the WANA (West Asia & North Africa). This second annual edition is set to feature a series of live acts, DJ sets, and workshops curated by Europe In The Middle East-The Middle East In Europe (EUME) and the International Research Group On Authoritarianism and Counter-Strategies (IRGAC). The first day of the festival was hosted last Thursday, October 14th, with the second night set to be on Tuesday, 2nd of November.

Artists set to perform in the festival include Al Akhareen, hip-hop/jazz duo that include French-Syrian flutist, Naïssam Jalal; Palestinian rapper, singer, beatboxer and producer, Osloob; Palestinian hip-hop group, DAM; Greek  jazz fusion selectress, curator and host at Radio AlHara and Disco Tehran NYC, Dimitra Zina; Berlin-based, Colombian Afro-Caribbean/jazz/tribal DJ and curator, Edna Martinez; Berlin-based Syrian non-binary hip-hop rapper, songwriter and performer, Enana; Syrian artist, Hasan Kai; Berlin-based psychedelic rock and funk band, Jamila & The Other Heroes; Syrian electro-chaabi band, Neshama; hip-hop duo, Okydoky & MC Semnov; Palestinian pop/folklore writer, Mashaa Hilwi; and Georgian industrial DJ, Zuhour.