Songwriting in the Throes of an Uprising

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Songwriting in the Throes of an Uprising
Songwriting in the Throes of an Uprising

The 2019 October protests in Beirut took place after singer/songwriter Mayssa Jallad returned to Lebanon. This short essay reflects on the role of songwriting and singing as tools for resistance and derision during the uprising.

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Sound: Jana Saleh

We Want More Britney! A Dance Party in Pre–COVID-19 Beirut

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We Want More Britney! A Dance Party in Pre–COVID-19 Beirut
We Want More Britney! A Dance Party in Pre–COVID-19 Beirut

In this short essay, Rabea Hajaig recalls his experience as a Friday-night DJ at Bardo, the famous, now closed, queer bar in Beirut, Lebanon, its dance floors awash with a complex interplay of music.

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Soothing Apocalypse

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Soothing Apocalypse
Soothing Apocalypse

The Indonesian summer is very hot. It’s when our writer shelters at home listening to music, only to realize that the state between slumber and consciousness can not be as innocent as it used to be.

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Design: Ali Sayah

Norient Playlist 08/22: Durham

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Norient Playlist 08/22: Durham
Norient Playlist 08/22: Durham

Listen to this playlist of artists from Durham and their current releases. This selection by Durham-based artist Debt Stalker is a collection of tracks that compliment both the physical terrain of the city and the ever-changing DIY electronic music scene in the region.

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Design: Maria Uthe
Sound: Suzi Analogue, ZenSoFly

Under Clear Starry Nights

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Under Clear Starry Nights
Under Clear Starry Nights

Listening to live music outside can be a life changing experience. For our author, it set nothing less than the pathway of his life.

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Design: Ali Sayah

Norient Playlist 07/22: Montevideo

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Norient Playlist 07/22: Montevideo
Norient Playlist 07/22: Montevideo

Listen to this playlist of artists from Montevideo and their current releases. With his selection of talented artists, Montevideo-based music producer and DJ Pobvio attempts to show the diversity of the Uruguay underground music scene.

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Design: Maria Uthe
Sound: Ojosfinos

Norient Playlist 06/22: New York

Norient Playlist 06/22: New York
Norient Playlist 06/22: New York
Norient Playlist 06/22: New York

Listen to this playlist of artists from New York and their current releases. It’s a selection of things that NYC-born and based sound practitioner Geng PTP has been returning to, over and over again.

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Design: Maria Uthe
Sound: Chynna

Origin Is Not a Shallow Part of Identity

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Origin Is Not a Shallow Part of Identity
Origin Is Not a Shallow Part of Identity

With the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, our Poland-based writer realized that much of her favorite experimental music that was considered Russian is actually from Ukraine. Did she unwittingly practice «musical imperialism»?

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Design: Ali Sayah

Making Persian Music More Accessible to Outsiders

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Making Persian Music More Accessible to Outsiders
Making Persian Music More Accessible to Outsiders

The audiovisual artist Shaahin Peymani and his family share a long history of migration from Iran to Germany and back. Here he maps the route from his German grandmother’s migration diary alongside one of his own compositions.

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Design: Maria Uthe

One Way Passage to Tehran

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One Way Passage to Tehran
One Way Passage to Tehran

The audiovisual artist Shaahin Peymani and his family share a long history of migration from Iran to Germany and back. Here he maps the route from his German grandmother’s migration diary alongside one of his own compositions.

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Design: Maria Uthe

Diaspora Comes Home

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Diaspora Comes Home
Diaspora Comes Home

A round-up of the cosmopolitan classical musical culture in Iran. Starting with music scholars of the Qajar era (1796–1925) and ending with the global music scene of the 21st century, from both the diaspora and from home.

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Design: Maria Uthe
Photo: Dastgam Association
Sound: Aftab Darvishi, Mahsa Vahdat, Ali-Naqi Vaziri