Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997) is often remembered as the “King of Qawwali,” for his extraordinary voice and memorable performances. A singer, composer, and musical director from Pakistan, he brought Qawwali, a tradition of Sufi devotional music, to international audiences…

For a bit of energy and inspiration, from the Columbian singer-songwriter, Juanmes, one of the best-selling Latin artists of all time… “I ask God that should I die, let it be of love or because of love.”

Born in London, but with deep roots in The Gambia, Sona Jobarteh is a virtuoso of the Kora, the traditional instrument of West African Griot families, an instrument traditionally handed down from father to son. She is an amazing musician – carrying forward West African musical traditions and exploring modern adaptations – as well as a humanitarian activist working on educational reform in Africa…

And check out, “Gambia,” a celebration of the 50 year anniversary of Gambia independence.

We will not exhaust the musical traditions – and new music currents – of the Middle East any time soon. Let me share a few angles, traversing time and space and genre…

From North Africa, where Amazigh (indigenous) and Arab cultures have mixed for 1500 years, Tinariwen is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the region of Azawad, where southern Algeria meets northern Mali, in the southern Sahara. Considered pioneers of desert blues, the group’s guitar-driven style combines traditional Tuareg and African music with Western rock…

From Egypt, Mahraganat, a fusion of electronic music, rap, and Arab song out of Cairo’s marginalized neighborhoods in the shadow of the Arab Spring…

Fairouz, the iconic vocalist of Lebanon, the “Bird of the East” as she is sometimes called, with a musical career spanning the 1950s to quite recently, is one of the best-selling artists of the Middle East and the world. With an Assyrian father and a Maronite Christian mother, Her background is a measure of the diversity of the region…

For a close look at the Oud, the lute that plays an important role in much of Arabic music, and a mark of the Middle Eastern diaspora, llisten to the music of Rahim AlHaj. He studied music in Baghdad, before fleeing Iraq in the 1990s…

And maybe just one more video – from a benefit concert in Berlin in the aftermath of October 7th, with the Jewish-Israeli singer, Noa, and the Arab-Israelis singer Mira Awad, popular stars and activists who have worked for peaceful coexistence in Israel and Palestine…

There is much more to explore! For contemporary music, see ArabSounds.net. For an introduction to musical traditions of the Middle East, see this short piece from Interlochen public radio or read the helpful introduction to Middle Eastern music at Wikipedia.

From Moroccan superstar Saad Lamjarred’s, “Lm3allem” or The Master has been a huge hit since it appeared in 2015. The video is set in Marrakech, Morocco. Lamjarred’s lyrics mix Moroccan Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic, making the song accessible to Arabic speakers around the world. A sign of the diversity of cultures of the Middle East – and of the Arabic language…

A full exploration of the musical traditions of the Middle East is beyond our expertise! But we can start with music of the Ottoman Empire – classical Ottoman and traditional Ottoman music had an influence across the Empire, which controlled much of what we call the Middle East, North Africa, and south east Europe. Note the prominence of the oud, the fretless lute, a music scale distinctive from western music (including quarter tones halfway between notes), complex rhythmic structures, and the prominence (though not in this example) of the solo vocalist…

The music here is a version of the traditional Turkish folk song, “Kâtibim” (“my clerk” or “my secretary”), or “Üsküdar’a Gider İken” (“while going to Üsküdar”) about a woman traveling to Üsküdar with her secretary. I can’t speak for the visuals in the video, which are cobbled together from historical Ottoman sources of the 18th and 19th c. The song has been adapted and revised and performed in thousands of new contexts. Take this version for example, with Turkish zither (qanam), West African kora, and Turkish and Pakistani singers, Sumru Ağıryürüyen and Zoe Vicajji. A beautiful version, well worth a listen…

Or, for a classic – Umm Kulthum. For one of the most famous songs from one of the most famous singers in the Arab world. Umm Kulthum, born of the Nile Delta, daughter of an Imam, rose to prominence in the 1930s. For forty years she was a powerful international presence, spreading classical Arabic music throughout the Middle East and around the world. She was known for her passionate style and improvisation. When she died in 1975, millions of Egyptians turned out to honor her.

This video is from a 1967 performance in Paris. “You Are My Life” (Enta Omri), one of her most famous songs. The English subtitles explain the love story….

Or for something more contemporary… Cheb Khaled & Diana Haddad – Mass Ou Louly -Diamonds & Pearls

From the 2023 Indian Hindi-language film, Dunki…

A catchy tune from the Brit indie band, Cornershop. They took their name from the stereotype of British Asians running corner shops. The 1997 song, “Brimful of Asha,” was a breakthrough hit for them. The version below is a recent remix. “Asha” refers to the Indian film star Asha Bhosle and Bollywood film music, as well as the Hindi word for “hope.” A delightful example of Indian influences in contemporary Brit pop…

A song for contemporary India? Listen to this electronica remix of the Indian national song. “Vande Mataram” by MIDIval Punditz. The lyrics come from a 19th c. poem written in “Sanskritised” Bengali, which praises “Mother India.” It had a prominent place in the independence movement and was recognized by the Indian National Congress and later the Indian assembly as the “national song” of India, although India also has a national anthem, “Jana Gana Mana”…