Music

Provocative music video leads to arrests in Iran

Iran has arrested two music producers for working on Sasan Heidari Yafteh's new music video, "Tehran Tokyo."

Al-Monitor Staff | Iran | Mar 12, 2021

A still from Sasan Heidari Yafteh's music video "Tehran Tokyo" shows the singer, known as Sasy, dancing with popular American porn actress Alexis Texas and other scantily dressed backup dancers.

Egyptian dancers call for protecting belly dance

Several belly dancers in Egypt are leading a campaign to preserve their traditional dance from whom they describe as intruders that have sexualized the dance performance.

Youssra el-Sharkawy | Egypt | Dec 9, 2020

A Chinese dancer warms up before performing at a belly dancing school in the Egyptian capital Cairo on December 12, 2012. This picture was taken during a belly dancing festival with international performers from China, Russia, Lebanon, Tunisia and Britain. The festival organisers said they had received phone threats during the event, while some people, dreading the rise of Islamists to power, have expressed concern over restrictions to public freedoms posing a threat to Egypt's national dance. AFP PHOTO/PAT

Protests break out in Iran after death of famed singer

Mohammad Reza Shajarian was a renowned singer and composer of classical music. He also notably supported the 2009 protests in the country.

Al-Monitor Staff | Iran | Oct 9, 2020

Fans of Iranian singer, instrumentalist and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian gather outside the Jam hospital in Tehran where he has died on October 8, 2020. - Singer, instrumentalist and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, who died today aged 80, embodied traditional and classical Iranian music for more than half a century both at home and abroad. A national treasure in his homeland, Shajarian nevertheless maintained difficult relations with the authorities in Tehran throughout his career, first under the rei

Turkish music sector in hot water due to pandemic, arbitrary restrictions

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on Turkey's music industry that is already experiencing tough times due to a ban on alcohol advertising that has prevented companies from sponsoring events and festivals with their brand names.

Paul Benjamin Osterlund | Turkey | Oct 9, 2020

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 26: Atmosphere at the J Balvin concert sponsored by Guess at Kucukciftlik Park on July 26, 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Levent Kulu/Getty Images for Guess)

Gazan child raps about broken dreams under siege

Abdel Rahman Salih al-Shanti, an 11-year-old rapper from the Gaza Strip, has made international headlines, with English rap songs evoking Gaza’s wars and sufferings under the Israeli blockade.

Taghreed Ali | Palestine | Aug 25, 2020

Lebanon's Baalbeck Festival moves world audience with dramatic online performance

Lebanon's beloved Baalbeck Festival has survived various challenging times, and this year was no exception.

Marita Kassis | Lebanon | Jul 7, 2020

Maestro Harout Fazlian conducts rehearsals ahead of the Sound of Resilience concert inside the Temple of Bacchus at the historic site of Baalbek in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on July 4, 2020. - The Lebanese philharmonic orchestra performed to spectator-free Roman ruins in east Lebanon, after a top summer festival downsized to a single concert in a year of economic meltdown and COVID-19 pandemic. The Baalbek International Festival was instead beamed live on television and social media, in what its direc

Gaza band plays music to uplift spirits, bring hope

The Street Band plays music for free in Gaza's public places, in a attempt to help Gazans forget their daily sufferings.

Sanaa Saida | Originals | Jul 7, 2020

Hammad Atwa, a Palestinian man who makes lutes, known in Arabic as an "Oud", works on a musical instrument at the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on February 19, 2014. Hammad sells his handmade lutes for 300 American dollars a piece. AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Jailed musician dies after nearly yearlong hunger strike in Turkey

Grup Yorum's Ibrahim Gokcek died two days after suspending his “death fast."

Al-Monitor Staff | Turkey | May 7, 2020

Facing the music of the Holocaust in Turkey

Turkey has long claimed that it has saved many Jews twice in history, but how true is that?

Matt A. Hanson | Turkey | Apr 1, 2020

Don't say it with music: Egyptian MP drafts new penalties for racy lyrics

After the controversy over lyrics of a popular song, an Egyptian lawmaker drafted a new law that would put singers behind bars for talking dirty.

David Awad | Egypt | Mar 20, 2020

Don't let the music die: Istanbul's nightlife grinds to halt due to COVID-19

Istanbul's taverns and halls close their doors as the residents of the metropolis stay in due to the coronavirus outbreak in Turkey.

Kenan Behzat Sharpe | Turkey | Mar 20, 2020

Members of popular Turkish folk collective approach death on hunger strike

Turkey's iconic Grup Yorum has not been able to perform since 2016 and a number of its members have been jailed on dubious terror charges.

Paul Benjamin Osterlund | Turkey | Mar 18, 2020

Rap becomes battle cry of Iraqi protests

Rap music has exploded among young Iraqi protesters, who bring the music with them to energize their demonstrations.

Omar al-Jaffal | Iraq | Mar 11, 2020

Egypt bans 'music of the slums'

Egypt's powerful Musicians Syndicate bans mahraganat music and asks streaming giants to take down the songs with "unethical lyrics."

Menna A. Farouk | Egypt | Feb 20, 2020

How artistic freedom of expression shrinks in 'new' Egypt

Nine years after a revolution that had "freedom" as a primary demand, censorship of the arts and music is back in full force with added restrictions on organizing cultural events in Egypt.

Shahira Amin | Egypt | Jan 23, 2020

Music

Provocative music video leads to arrests in Iran

Iran has arrested two music producers for working on Sasan Heidari Yafteh's new music video, "Tehran Tokyo."

Egyptian dancers call for protecting belly dance

Protests break out in Iran after death of famed singer

Turkish music sector in hot water due to pandemic, arbitrary restrictions

Gazan child raps about broken dreams under siege

Lebanon's Baalbeck Festival moves world audience with dramatic online performance

Gaza band plays music to uplift spirits, bring hope

Jailed musician dies after nearly yearlong hunger strike in Turkey

Facing the music of the Holocaust in Turkey

Don't say it with music: Egyptian MP drafts new penalties for racy lyrics

Don't let the music die: Istanbul's nightlife grinds to halt due to COVID-19

Members of popular Turkish folk collective approach death on hunger strike

Rap becomes battle cry of Iraqi protests

Egypt bans 'music of the slums'

How artistic freedom of expression shrinks in 'new' Egypt

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