{
  "id": 4093212,
  "title": "'There’s no such thing as an Arab sound': Meet the DJ spotlighting the Middle East’s underground music",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/theres-no-such-thing-as-an-arab-sound-meet-the-dj-spotlighting-the-4093212",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-29T03:04:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/music-stage/2026/08/29/theres-no-such-thing-as-an-arab-sound-meet-the-dj-spotlighting-the-middle-easts-underground-music/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Egyptian writer, DJ, and radio host Nihal Al Aasar is dedicated to uncovering alternative narratives and capturing the cultural pulse of the Middle East's diverse communities. Raised in Cairo and now based in London, Al Aasar uses radio as an outlet to express her views and fuse her love for music with her anti-propagandist stance.\n\nAl Aasar's journey into radio began at a dinner party in 2022, when she was playing various genres of music and someone recommended checking out NTS Radio, an international community of music lovers founded in London in 2011. Intrigued, she was invited to do her own live show on NTS, where she started her own show called Nile to Bank.\n\nHer show features a mix of traditional DJ sets, art, and experimental-oriented sets, showcasing underground contemporary music scenes from different Arab countries. She aims to eliminate cultural borders through her track selections and invite guests and activists to discuss regional issues on air.\n\nAl Aasar believes there's no such thing as an 'Arab sound' and wants to represent the vibrant music scenes from different Arab countries. She highlights the rap scene in Morocco, electronic and rap music coming out of Palestine and Jordan, and deep industrial breakbeat music in Egypt, among others.\n\nFor Al Aasar, art and music don't exist in a vacuum, and her platform allows her to draw attention to cultural scenes as well as the wider circumstances shaping them. She sees a parallel between her practice and that of artists from the 1950s and 1960s, whose creative work was closely intertwined with their politics.",
  "summary": "From essays on geopolitics to music sets that highlight hidden Arab talents, Egyptian writer, DJ and radio host Nihal Al Aasar is all about unearthing alternative narratives and capturing the cultural pulse of the region’s diverse communities . Raised in Cairo and now based in London, she writes in response to the many changes, wars and socio-economic issues sweeping the Middle East over the past…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "'There’s no such thing as an Arab sound': Meet the DJ spotlighting the Middle East’s underground music",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/theres-no-such-thing-as-an-arab-sound-meet-the-dj-spotlighting-the",
        "published": "2026-08-29T03:04:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}