Mideast Tunes: Promoting Music For Change

By: Nesima Aberra

Musicians are some of the most underrepresented activists, according to Esra’a Al Shafei, creator of Mideast Youth, which is why in March 2010 her team launched its newest online project, Mideast Tunes.

Especially with the political unrest in the Middle East region, activists have been using social networks, art, writing and blogging to spread news. Al Shafi said music is an equal form of self-expression but because so many notable bands were underground, they were going unnoticed by most of the world. To her, it was “super obvious to look into the music scene” because of all the messages and widespread influence it has in the world.

“I’m a huge music fan. I don’t know a lot of people who aren’t influenced by music,” Al Shafei said.

The site showcases musicians from all over the Middle East that sing about politics, justice, freedom, human rights under the theme of “music for social change.” The styles range from hip-hop and heavy metal to alternative to rock and users can browse through the bands by country and genre.

Al Shafei said there are around 250 artists on the site and the countries with the most are Iran with 63 bands and Palestine with 60. Some of the standout artists she likes are Smouldering in Forgotten, a Bahraini heavy metal band, Arabian Knights, an Egyptian hip-hop group and L.TZACK, a rapper from Morocco. All the artists’ profiles have their bios, links to other social networks and music previews.

There is also a feature on the site called Re-volt Radio, hosted by Hass, that seeks to “bring[s] awareness to “real” music and local talents” as well as a free MidEast Tunes iPhone application.

The music on Mideast Tunes mixes various cultural music, languages and beats, celebrating a globalized world with pride for the artists’ roots. Al Shafei said they aren’t very selective with what music they feature as long as it fits the theme of social change and is not just pop music.

Elan Magazine got an exclusive look at the new, revamped version of Mideast Tunes that hopes to go live later this summer that will create a more interactive, exciting musical experience. A new redesign with map of the countries, an embedded music player, playlists and a personalized user profile with sharing capabilities and statistics are all features to come. The site may also allow users to upload their own music as well with a certain level of moderation.

“Right now, it’s all about what we like, but now it’s more transparent and about the user,” she said of the upcoming changes.

What’s important about the project is that there are no ads and everything is free, because Al Shafei said that would go against the values of the project and take away the feeling of freedom. Instead, the project will be crowd-funded and asks bands and users for support through donations.

“We didn’t want to monetize something that is given away for free…At the end of the day, we can’t say ‘music for social change’” she said.

The uniqueness of Mideast Tunes has already gotten it positive feedback and recognition from media liked TIME Magazine and CNN, but Al Shafei said it is still a small site that is growing and will continue to bring more attention for Middle Eastern musicians.

“We really feel we have a lot to offer to these bands aside from just profiling them,” she said.