Iconic MENA Album Covers of the Past Decade

You’ve heard the old saying “Don’t judge an album by its cover,” but an album’s artwork is simply asking to be judged – designed to be judged. It can turn heads and pique familiarity. It can misrepresent the music inside, or complement it perfectly.

Some album covers even surpass the music itself in popularity, becoming iconic elements of pop culture - how many times have you spoken to someone wearing a t-shirt of iconic album cover art like Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ or Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’, only for them to ask, “What album?” And for albums from the MENA region, we’re starting to see that same phenomenon play out all over again.

The SceneNoise team has faithfully curated a list of album artworks from the past decade of music from the MENA region that are renowned for their design and unique in their representation of the music.

The criteria for selecting these albums were based on the ability of the design or image to capture the album's sound and mood, and to reflect the artist's sonic identity through visual elements. Iconic status was also a key factor, as some of these covers have become etched in the collective consciousness of music listeners, making you almost hear the music just by seeing the cover. 

LIST:

El-Morabba3 - El Morabba3

Mashrou’ Leila - Ibn El Leil Calligraphy: Ghaleb Hawila

Illustrations: Fouad Mezher

Marwan Pablo - Last Piece of Art  By Abanoub Ramsis

Karim Osama - Awdet El Ibn El Dal By @Mohamdy.psd

Cairokee - The Ugly Ducklings

Shabjdeed - Sultan By Hussein Nassereddine 

Mousv - Maqsoum 

L'morphine - Gala 

DADA - M.I.M

El Rass - Idarat Al Tawahosh 

Julmud - Tuqoos 

Muqata'a - Kamel Manqoos

Nadah El Shazly - Ahwar

Mariam Saleh, Maurice Louca, Tamer Abu Ghazaleh - Lekhfa

Tamer Abu Ghazalah - Thulth

Nancy Mounir - Nozhet El Nofous

Hello Psychaleppo - Gool L’ah

Dina El Wedidi - Slumber