As the world continues to take more and more notice of Arab voices in music, one platform that has paid particular attention in recent times is Boiler Room’s SYSTEM mix series. After Egyptian producer Dijit’s rainbow representation of the music and culture of his homeland, Tunisia’s Marwa BelHaj Youssef has been given the spotlight this time round.
A resident at Ma3azef and Greek online radio station, Movement, Marwa is not slouch when it comes to selection, but for her entry into the SYSTEM series, she has put a selection of - in her words - “distorted and deconstructed sounds from the Arab world and beyond.”
In fact, we’re going to give Marwa the floor and explain…
“I’m always trying to express myself via my bipolar mixes to strike a balance between the beauty and the violence of sounds. In this mix, identity was my approach when using hypnotizing Arabic vocals. I have a healthy addiction and obsession with the savage energy and intensity of noisy experimental sounds blended with contemporary music. This mix has been made with love to support many Arab Labels & Artists of whom I'm really proud. In the spirit of identity and to represent a range of artists from one style to another, I made my selection without any boundaries. Like music, identities should have no limits.”
