Hailing from Mauritania, Noura Mint Seymali’s “Tzenni” (the Hassaniya Arabic word meaning “to turn” or “to spin”) is immediately intriguing and alluring. The song quickly morphs into fusion of traditional Moorish griot music, Western pop, blues, even psych-rock—aided by the guitar stylings of her husband, Jeiche Ould Chighaly. Seymali (who began her career at the tender age of 13, as a back-up singer for her …
Lebanese composer and music producer Zeid Hamdan is behind some of the country’s biggest regional and alternative bands. “Balekeh” is a song from 2011 performed by his band, Zeid and the Wings, from their album Aasfeh. Here, he takes the already soothing pop tune down just a perfect soulful notch with the acoustic version—”with a few ghosts on back vocals.” Beautifully saccharine, the music video …
Dubai-based Brownbook Magazine celebrates the 22nd issue of their “urban guide to the Middle East” with a focus on North Africa—all done up in their recently-debuted redesign. The fresh look includes a new Arabic-inspired font that blends seamlessly with text (primarily in English) for a magazine with a style as worldly as the stories it features. At three years in, the bimonthly publication’s content covers …
