More Here Now

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More Here Now
More Here Now

Making field recordings is like tapping into an alien world. For our writer, it feels less like experiencing, more like becoming time itself.

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Design: Ali Sayah

DIY or Die: Budapest Beneath the Surface

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DIY or Die: Budapest Beneath the Surface
DIY or Die: Budapest Beneath the Surface

Episode 11 of the «Timezones» podcast series delves into Budapest’s independent arts and music scene in the wake of the latest Hungarian parliamentary elections in April 2022.

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Quote: Lilla Lőrinc
Design: Šejma Fere
Sound: Gábor Kovács

The Unending Trials of Finding a Better God

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The Unending Trials of Finding a Better God
The Unending Trials of Finding a Better God

In this sonic fiction, our writer depicts the Moroccan avant garde band Nass El Ghiwane as straying birds in search of a different life.

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Design: Ali Sayah

Norient Playlist 10/22: Budapest

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Norient Playlist 10/22: Budapest
Norient Playlist 10/22: Budapest

Listen to this playlist with a selection of tracks from the city’s underground producers.

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Design: Maria Uthe
Sound: Fullogic

Norient Playlist 09/22: Beirut

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Norient Playlist 09/22: Beirut
Norient Playlist 09/22: Beirut

Listen to this playlist of artists from Beirut. This selection features new and older releases by musicians across musical genres.

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Design: Maria Uthe
Sound: Sharif Sehnaoui

No End and No Beginning

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No End and No Beginning
No End and No Beginning

An introductory text to the Online Special «Norient City Sounds: Beirut». Special curator and writer Rayya Badran asks: what are the sounds of the aftermath of a collapse?

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Sound: Omar Itani

10 Video Clips from Beirut

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Ten Video Clips from Beirut
10 Video Clips from Beirut

Ten music videos that can give you a sense of the breadth of musical genres coming from Beirut, Lebanon and the diaspora today. The selection focuses on productions made from 2020 to 2022, all of which explore personal or political matters.

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Sound: Omar Itani

In the Core of the City, at the Exact Midpoint of the Night

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In the Core of the City, at the Exact Midpoint of the Night
In the Core of the City, at the Exact Midpoint of the Night

This poetic text by Carine Doumit is inspired by «The Night Came About», a film co-written by the author and filmmaker Mira Adoumier. It recounts the fictional encounter of two characters from the film, following an equivocal transformation of Beirut at night.

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In Defense of Loud Music

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In Defense of Loud Music
In Defense of Loud Music

In this essay, artist Joe Namy discusses the culture of car sound-systems which exists in Beirut and across the world to delve deeper into the meaning of bass and its role in community life.

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Sound: Jana Saleh

Thank You for Holding

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Thank You for Holding
Thank You for Holding

Invoking the struggle of women composers and producers in the city of Beirut, Lebanon, producer, DJ, and performer Lilian Chlela produces a mix that reflects the breadth and richness of their music whilst highlighting the challenges they must overcome.

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Sound: Jana Saleh

I Am in the Middle of the Sea, Deal with It

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I Am in the Middle of the Sea, Deal with It
I Am in the Middle of the Sea, Deal with It

Singer and composer Sandy Chamoun draws from an array of musical genres from the region and beyond in this spellbinding mixtape where she assembles tracks that give voice to feelings of pain, loss, and rage.

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Sound: Jana Saleh