Youssra’s debut album No'oum Nasyeen shows a labor of love and attention to dynamics and detail. It is immaculately orchestrated and textured, drawing the listener into a quirky and whimsical world, reminiscent of a soundtrack for an Egyptian version of a Jean-Pierre Jeunet film.

Satti - Arees El Shamal (Jordan)

Ahmed Yaseen aka Satti is a hip hop artist based in Jordan. His 19 track album involves many collaborations with different artists and producers of the scene such as Bu Kolthoum and El-Far3i. The sound of his album is not quite political, yet he tackles problems in the whole region and not only in Jordan through his album’s groovy old-school beats.

Gast - Coast (Egypt)

Experimental and diverse, Gast delivered his experimental EP Coast sprinkled with Zeina’s (not DJ Zeina) psychedelic and heart wrenching vocals. The electronic EP shows influence from post rock, dance music and even some synth pop through melodies evoking the 80’s. The EP travels through periods of emotional obscurity to reach light in the last danceable and hopeful track. The artist’s work truly breathes emotional expression.

Muqata’a - Dubt Al-Ghubar (Palestine)

Muqata’a (Boycott) is a rapper/producer based in Ramallah, who makes music to fight for his country’s freedom. Dubt Al-Ghubar is a glitchy hip hop album that is inspired by the Israeli occupation. His sound is aggressive as he uses it to fight back the sound of occupation he hears everyday.

Tinariwen - Elwan (Mali)

Tuareg band Tinariwen embrace their so called “Desert Blues” sound, a mixture between the African style and psych guitar riffs that give a funkier edge to their tunes. Elwan reflects the band’s political views and the struggle of the Tuareg people to achieve social and political equality.

Fulltone - Wise People (Egypt)

Egyptian producer Fulltone has had a great year, with two releases reaching Beatport’s top 10 deep house tracks at the same time. One of the artists on the forefront of the current Oriental house trend, Fulltone’s live sets where he performs with his band have gained recognition in the country as well as among artists abroad who come and visit the Sandbox festival. This year’s Wise People EP released with Orient Art is among our favorite of the year. It utilizes the artist's instrumental background for melodies, while he still maintains the power and balance of his sound engineering/production for the beats and encircling elements. Well done, sir!

Bu Kolthoum - Bo’Bo’ (Syria)

Bu Kolthoum is a rapper, music producer, and film director who has been revolutionizing political rap in the Middle East. His new album Bo’Bo’ was completely produced, mixed, and mastered by him. His sound can easily be distinguished amongst other Middle Eastern rappers because of the old-school sound accompanied by tearing bass-lines.

Coke Machine - My Friend (Egypt)

The shoe-gaze influences of The Raveonettes and The Jesus and Mary Chain are prominent in Egyptian indie band Coke Machine's My Friend EP. The dream-pop duo show a maturity in their sound following on from their debut release Something To Do in 2014. The two track EP feels like a road trip with the top down somewhere in the 80s.

Omar Souleyman - To Syria, With Love (Syria)

This latest from Omar Souleyman comes with the Mad Decent Label, making him labelmates with big names like Major Lazer and Jack U. His electronic-dabke fusion is what distinguishes him amongst other artists in the region and drew him strong recognition that took him to perform in Boiler Room.

Bash - Gefrankt (Egypt)

Coming from a blues background, minimal/house producer BASH was a regular in the Cairo house scene before going off to Berlin, where he played in many clubs such as Chalet and Ipse alongside heavy names in the scene. He has also worked with record labels such as Partisan. While it takes some artists a few releases before reaching quality, Bash’s debut on UK label Signatune Records shows subtlety and elegance, with all tracks being perfect tools for any dancefloor. The producer’s choice of samples and synthesis echoes the sounds of the city in which he has lived; the Berlin inspiration and indent is clearly visible. Without meeting this producer, his music will directly tell you he is a groovy fellow.

Tree9 - Wra Hdoud Al Saed (Tunisia)

After meeting by coincidence on the border of a waterway, Nébil Mannai and Mathieu Schmitt started jamming using a guitar and a double bass. This is when they discovered a harmony between them and Tree9 was born. They kept working until they composed their first soothing jazz album containing bright brass with warm guitar and double bass sounds.

Zuli - Numbers (Egypt)

Egyptian underground producer Zuli has been on a roll this year. After taking over Fact Mag’s Mix 612, he came out with his second EP Numbers on Lee Gamble’s UIQ label. Six tracks appear on the vinyl release dominated by a kind of methodic industrial grime and a vast array of field recording that take the listener on an unpredictable journey.

Blufrank - I'm Fine (Egypt)

Finding its way to the UK-based label Anti Skate - an independent label operating since the 70's - enigmatic producer BLUFRANK's EP I Am Fine, recorded in home studios between Cairo and Luxor, delivers bouts of neo-psychedelic splendour. A stellar four track release fielding experiments within the province of avant-pop electronic extravagance.

Chyno - The Misled (Lebanon)

Observing Lebanon’s social struggles, the Syrian/Flippino Beirut based rapper Chyno uses his talent to address such determinants. In this nine track album, Chyno tackles problems such as unemployment, drug dealing, and politically-affiliated gangs. The album’s sound is groovy and tight.

$$$Tag$$$ - Fractals (Egypt)

Dollar, dollar, dollar, tag, and lots of other dollars. Or is it just tag? When Egyptian DJ/producer Asem Tag isn't dropping techno in the middle of the night, or living up to his moniker with a down and dirty hip hop set, he's creating intricately textured sound art riddled with intense deconstructed beats and bass. His 2017 cassette release Fractals on UK based imprint Seagrave personifies this side of his musical sensibilities with a ferocious yet minimal nine track experimental effort. One really asks himself how any of the tracks or sounds here were created, and if he didn’t just record insects, which is maybe why he dubs the genre as Leftfield/IDM. At times, the producer lays out elements in an abstract space, deconstructed and decomposed with no clear structure or form, and then gathers them all together strangely, grouping all these dissonant elements into one time-based, breathing, roaring body of noise.

Zone+ - Baia (Bahrain)

Bahraini Dubai Based artist Zone+’s Baia EP was released on Mathew Dekay and Lee Burridge’s label All Day I Dream. The EP is a great example of the trending Oriental house sound, using emotive strings sourced from region and a strong focus on melody and harmony over groove.

Marwan Moussa - bel monasba (Egypt)

Marwan Moussa is an Egyptian rapper/producer who marries loopy lyrics with a mixture of cutting edge and old-school production, and has moulded an aesthetic that is regionally distinct and always interesting. Though he has been teasing us with singles all year, the currently L.A. based Marwan just dropped his debut album bel monasba, which merges elements of trap, jazz, old school hip-hop and even reggae, for a super enjoyable and intriguing listen that breaks down a lot of preconceived notions about regional hip hop, and defines him as one of the smarter producers out there.

Asifeh - Datura (Palestine/Austria)

Asifeh, also known as Stormtrap is a producer and MC from Ramallah, Palestine. The artist has a huge online following. Her last album Datura features 22 short tracks, exploring the different facets of the artists. The album travels alongs the spectrum of experimental music and processes. It was self released on BandCamp.

Nadah El-Shazly - Ahwar (Egypt)

Half woman, half angel: Nadah El-Shazly. This producer/vocalist has been making waves with her new album, released on UK record label Nawa Recordings, and wit her live performances. Ahwar is a six track breakthrough album released on London based record label Nawa Recordings. It includes an eerie choir all recorded from her own harmonies, dissonant melodies, and a plethora of live and electronic instruments influenced from jazz, Arab and world music, all to create El-Shazly’s hauntingly beautiful juxtaposition. This is truly at the artistic and aesthetic forefront of contemporary electronic Arab music.

Yasmine Hamdan - Al Jamilat (Lebanon)

Vocalist of Soap Kills, Lebanese virtuoso and diva: Yasmine Hamdan. With an original tone that is delicate yet solid, she has been able to cement herself among the top artists to come out of the region. Her 2017 album Al Jamilat, which was released on Los Angeles based label Ipecac Recordings, explores the more gentle side of the artist, vis a vis the work with her band Soap Kills. The album includes live instrumentation such as strings, as well as synthesizers; both give rich textures accompanying her celestial voice, which at times is even doubled within itself. The work includes twelve diverse tracks to please anyone looking for an easy listen or an emotional expedition.

Bosaina - New York April – July 2013 / Two Names Upon The Shore (Egypt)

From coming into prominence as front-woman of electro-clash outfit Wetrobots, to forming dreamy trip hop duo Quit Together with Zuli, to becoming the first Egyptian to graduate from the renowned Red Bull Music Academy, and more recently moving into full blown performance pieces, the Egyptian vocalist and producer has been on quite the meandering career. This year she travelled back in time to New York, between April and July 2013 to when she recorded a series of outrageously soulful piano pieces laced with emotion-heavy field recordings. The double EP was released on Discrepant Records.

Eli Atala - Café Creme (Lebanon)

With his latest release on Beyrouth based label Fantome De Nuit Records, Eli Atala proves to be one of the leading house producers in Lebanon. The EP includes two tracks and a remix from Rolbac, who’s released on labels such as Einmusika, Kindisch and others. Atala’s original mixes steer more towards the true form of deep house, with serene chords, lush pads and a groovy bassline. The remix has more of a progressive deep house beat, taking less of a lo-fi approach vis a vis the original mix. While this style of house would be mainly associated with sounds trending in hubs such as Berlin, Atala injects Arabic vocal samples to add his own touch and incorporate his origins in a way different from the trend around oriental house.

Adham Zahran - Space Consciousness (Egypt)

Alexandria based artist Zahran has been releasing raw and warm house music for almost a decade with various international record labels. His body of work has always evolved, and he has never failed to maintain a constant release schedule. One of the two albums he has released this year is Space Consciousness, a ten track masterpiece released with House is OK that takes you on a voyage through the eerie and more alternative shades of the artist. Space Consciousness includes ambient tracks suited for the first hour of the night or for your Friday lullaby, others for a solid house warm up, a couple of emotional journeys for the closing, slow mind bending tracks that take you to your preferred alternate state of being, and finally a bass-heavy remix by Intro Chinaski meant to ignite the peak hour of the night. The album is versatile, moving and however trivial the name of the genre may have become, this is real deep house.

Fatima Al Qadiri - Shaneera (Kuwait/US)

The internationally acclaimed Senegal-born, Kuwait-raised, Brooklyn based composer and conceptual artist Fatima Al Qadiri came out with the five track EP Shaneera this year and it may be her best release to date. Shaneera is conceptually about an "evil queen" that defies "binary status quo gender roles," a character that Qadiri appears as on the EP's cover art. The lyrics are a mixture of Kuwaiti and Egyptian Arabic, and are half-improvised, half sourced from various Grindr chats and online drag comedy skits. Musically, it’s a bold and aggressive dance record, combining Arabic drums and scales with western dance music beats.

El Rass - El Riyada Wal Adab (Lebanon)

El Rass is a mysterious rapper from Lebanon with a seriously eclectic mix of musical influences. His album El Riyada Wal Adab is a mix of trap dark as ink with grim production and spoken word soundscapes. Definitely one of our more obscure finds this year.  

Haram - When you Have Won, You Have Lost (Lebanon/US)

This is hardcore punk like you've never heard before. Lead by Lebanese-American vocalist Nader Haram, the New York based band's debut album has made a huge impact worldwide and features politically charged Arabic prose on discrimination, identity and self-discovery.

Rozzma - Donya Fakka (Egypt)

Rozzma is a mysterious time-traveling being whose last time on Earth was durig the pharaonic times. He has come back to initiate the Cairo rave bass scene, wearing Tutankhamun’s gold mask as he attempts to bring back some of the royal pizazz that Egypt once possessed. Rozzma’s debut EP Donya Fakka highlights the different aspects of Rozzma’s music while remaining loyal to the core of the weirdness that makes his music stand apart from the electro chaabi that people like to compare it too. The EP jumps from tripped out and unnervingly reverb soaked soundscapes to strobing, adrenaline filled rave bass.

Hello Psychaleppo - Toyour (Syria/US)

Samer Saem Eldahr AKA Hello Psychaleppo hails from Aleppo, a Levantine city of ancient and deep musical heritage. He takes these musical traditions of the Orient, like mawwals, weaving them into layers of lush electronic beats from trip hop to electro to drum and bass, resulting in a fresh sound he calls "Electro Tarab." Currently based in Minneapolis, Eldahr released his third full length album this year. Toyour is a concept piece that draws deeply from the book Muntiq al-Tayr, or The Conference of the Birds, written by 12th century Sufi poet, Attar of Nishapur.

Arabs With Synthesizers - Resident of Nowhere (Jordan)

Hailing from Amman and founded in 2015 by producer and audio engineer George Rizeq, Arabs With Synthesisers (exactly what it says on the tin) also features Zaed Na’es, Basel Naouri and has garnered quite a following in the region over the last year or two, culminating in their 2017 EP release Resident of Nowhere on UK dance label Elastic Dimension Records. Think Board of Canada with an Arab twist.

Mado $am - On My Way (Egypt)

Hailing from Suez, little known rapper Mado $am exploded into the Egyptian hip hop zeitgeist at the end of the year with the freshest of trap albums. Taking a page from west coast production, but laying on them an infectious string of Arabic mumble rap, $am collaborates with a host of local producers and rappers to formulate what may be the first of its kind album in the country.

If you think we missed anything, inbox us your suggestions!