Featuring brothers Jordan and Sam Dehko, Dehko is a Detroit-based music group specializing in electro and base house. The duo’s music also features flourishes of Arabic sound, inspired by their Middle Eastern heritage.
From folk to commercial pop music, Middle Eastern music is diverse. Here is a selection of contemporary Middle Eastern musicians representing traditional and modern styles.
1. One of the most established Arab rappers, The Narcycist, a.k.a. Narcy, communicates the experience of being Iraqi in the West through hip-hop. Born in Dubai, Narcy now lives in Montreal, Canada.
2. Offering a more experimental sound, Omar El Abd AKA Omrr is an Egyptian producer known for the recent album, Devils For My Darling, released on Russian imprint Dronarivm. For eight tracks, Omrr shares a love story in the form of dream-like audioscapes.
3. Ammar 808 offers a chance to hear how traditional musical styles have developed in the 21st century. Musician Sofian Ben Youssef takes inspiration from rhythms traditional to Gnawa, targ, and raï, and unleashes ferocious beats using drum machines and synthesizers.
