Zara Mujthaba – Music and Tourism in the Maldives

Podcast

In the second episode of Norient’s podcast Long Take: Life as an Artist, Maldivian singer, producer, and artist Zara Mujthaba shares insights into her musical journey and life on Thulusdhoo island, her involvement with the influential Maldivian collective Dinba Family, and her perspective on the evolving tourism industry in the Maldives. She remains hopeful for the future of music in the Maldives and sees potential in the younger generation of artists. Listen to this episode on Spotify or on YouTube.

As an independent female artist in the Maldives, Zara Mujthaba, has paved the way for others, releasing solo albums that focus on life and social issues. Her performances blend Soul, Blues, Jazz, Rock, and R&B and can be experienced in some of the Maldives’ tourist resorts. Beyond performing, Zara shares her expertise by teaching children at the «Maldives Music and Arts Center» and has mentored emerging artists at the third season of «Maldivian Idol».

Zara is closely tied to the Dinba Family, a highly respected musical collective in the Maldives founded by Ishaantey Shiuz Mohamed. The Dinba Family fosters collaboration among artists, aiming to blend traditional Maldivian sounds with global genres like reggae, jazz, and rock, offering a creative space free from commercial pressures. This collective includes various artists who work together to preserve Maldivian cultural sounds while integrating global music influences like reggae, jazz, and rock. Dinba music songs have been sung by various artists most notably Haisham, Affan, Thabi, Mifu, Aasha, Muaadhu, Shappay, Maizan Ahko, Unoosha, Fahthu, Haifa, Dheema, Appi, Shiuz, Lalith, Esa, Tholib, Shaani, Nileysha, Hasko, Thothi, Andhala, Bathool, Yamin, Nish, Shalabee, Shuaib, Ahmadey, Laisha, Jaisha, Saina, Rizu, Din hassan, Adil [Baaga], Aleef, Nishwan [Bokitos], Ishaam, Yani & Javidh. Zara’s work with Dinba has allowed her to explore a range of collaborative projects while maintaining artistic freedom, reaching broader audiences and strengthening her role in the Maldivian music community.

Credits

Host: Thomas Burkhalter
Sound: Daniel Jakob, Melodies In My Head
Mix and Mastering: Daniel Jakob
Graphic Design (Cover): Pamuditha Zen Anjana
Editorial support: The Norient team and Rebecca Favale

The podcast «Long Take: Life as an Artist» dives into deep conversations with artists from across the globe, focusing on musicians and sound creators. Hosted by Norient founder, anthropologist, writer and audiovisual artist Thomas Burkhalter, it explores the personal journeys of these artists – their aspirations, successes, challenges, creative processes, and perspectives on the world. The podcast is minimally edited, offering authentic portrayals of each artist, revealing the person behind the art. It serves as a valuable, freely accessible resource for anyone researching music, sound, culture, and politics.

The podcast is funded by

Biography

Thomas Burkhalter, PhD, is an anthropologist, multidisciplinary artist, and writer from Bern, Switzerland. He is the founder and director of Norient and the Norient Festival. Burkhalter has co-directed documentary films, including Contradict (Berner Filmpreis 2020, Al-Jazeera Witness), and created AV/theatre performances. He is the author and co-editor of several books, such as Local Music Scenes and Globalization: Transnational Platforms in Beirut (Routledge) and The Arab Avant Garde: Musical Innovation in the Middle East (Wesleyan University Press). His experimental radio feature, Gqom Edits – A Durban Visit, was nominated for the Prix Europa in 2017. Burkhalter teaches regularly at universities, leads workshops for arts institutions, and, since 2022, has produced the Norient Mixtape for Swiss National Radio SRF3. Currently, Burkhalter's focus lies on his new music/AV duo, Melodies In My Head, and the podcast Long Take: Life as an Artist. Burkhalter’s work combines personal and global perspectives, often in close collaboration with artists and thinkers from across the world. Follow him on Instagram, Research Gate, Academia.edu, Bandcamp, Spotify, or Meta.

Published on October 30, 2024

Last updated on January 15, 2025

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Mohamed Rai – Water, Drumming and Silence

Podcast

by Thomas Burkhalter

In the third episode of Norient’s podcast Long Take: Life as an Artist, we meet Mohamed Rai, a session drummer, handpan musician, and former scuba dive instructor from the Maldives. He tells me what it means to work as a musician in the many tourist resorts, and he talks about his love for water, waves and silence. His friend Hanan drops by and leaves to catch the ferry. Listen to this episode on Spotify or on YouTube.

Mohamed Rai started drumming when he was three years old, encouraged by the musicians in his family: his grandfather Ibrahim Ahmed (Molhudhoo Thuthu), and his uncle Nashid, front man of the well-known band Zero Degree Atoll, who passed away in 2016. Mohamed studied graphic design in Sri Lanka. He left the dense capital Malé and today lives on Thulusdhoo island, where he runs an Airbnb (that I recommend) and recently opened the music venue/restaurant The Shore Shack. We talk about the lack of respect artists receive within the community and how important people like his physics teacher Shifaz aka doctor, who became a session musician were, to give him the courage to pursuit his own path. And Mohamed talk about his love for the silence, the waves, the birds of Thulusdhoo, and the changing soundscape of Malé.

Find all outtakes in this playlist.

Credits

Host: Thomas Burkhalter
Sound: Daniel Jakob, Melodies In My Head
Mix and Mastering: Daniel Jakob
Graphic Design (Cover): Pamuditha Zen Anjana
Editorial support: The Norient team and Rebecca Favale

The podcast «Long Take: Life as an Artist» dives into deep conversations with artists from across the globe, focusing on musicians and sound creators. Hosted by Norient founder, anthropologist, writer and audiovisual artist Thomas Burkhalter, it explores the personal journeys of these artists – their aspirations, successes, challenges, creative processes, and perspectives on the world. The podcast is minimally edited, offering authentic portrayals of each artist, revealing the person behind the art. It serves as a valuable, freely accessible resource for anyone researching music, sound, culture, and politics.

The podcast is funded by