Date: December 07, 2020

Venue: Online

Time: 16:30

Ages: All Ages

Organized by: Hayaka + Warsha Theatre GroupShaping our Future

The opening performance of the 13th edition of Hakaya in its 2020 digital format

Paying tribute to masterful storytelling and lyrical encounters, Hakaya Festival is back for its 13th edition from the 5th to the 10th of December.

Hassfrah is a unique conglomeration of women who bring together female folklore songs from the Palestinian and Jordanian heritage. Reviving the stories and songs of their mothers and aunts they summon their past renditions and preserve them for future generations.

Join the live-stream on Monday 7th December from 6:30 Amman time/4:30 UTC time

Date: October 28, 2020

Venue: Online

Time: 12:30

Ages: All Ages

Organized by:Oslo World Festival

Shaping our Future

Oslo World 2019 had utopias as its theme. In connection to the topic, the festival invited professionals from all over the world to create a utopian manifesto – a work to promote ideas and strategies to combat discrimination, racism, corruption and inequality in the cultural sector.
In 2020 we feel the urgency to get together again. The ambitious goal of rethinking the cultural sector can not be achieved by ourselves. This workshop will therefore be co-hosted by wonderful allies (festivals and cultural organizations) across the globe.

The first version of the manifesto was released this spring, with objectives the sector should have, and a number of concrete action proposals to help us reach these objectives. It touches on topics such as fair application processes, equal pay for equal work and strategies against racism in the field of art. The need to continue, to revise, add and keep the discussion on how to achieve a fairer cultural sector alive, is still here. Therefore, during this year’s festival, representatives from the music industry across the world will meet digitally, to exchange experiences from the past year and to update the content of the manifesto.

The workshop will be digital and happen in multiple languages, inside a virtual 3D space, created by Estraad and Sentralen.

1. The first phase of the workshop will take place in regional rooms, in a range of languages.
2. The second phase of the workshop will take place in English, in multiple transnational rooms.
3. The third phase of the workshop will take place in English, in one global room, where participants will be able to see the final findings of this collaborative Manifesto.

In between the sessions, delegates can “hang out” in different networking areas, chat and connect, through their avatars.

The delegates will be asked to discuss the following five topics:
– Gender Equality
– Anti-discrimination
– Accessibility
– Class and economic equality
– Climate emergency

The workshop is created by Oslo World in partnership with Balansekunst and TrAP. Thanks to the support of FrittOrd and Music Norway. In collaboration with Al-Balad Music Festival, Favela Sounds, IMESUR, MARSM, Nyege Nyege, Riddu Riddu, Rock al Parque, Sukiyaki Meets the World, Suoni Mobili, Visa for Music, Keychange, Global Toronto, Druga Godba, Norsk Jazzforum, Beirut Jam Sessions, International Indigenous Music Summit, Fira B!, Mercat Musica Viva de Vic, Arabesques.

Date: October 16, 2020

Venue: Online

Time: 18:00

Organized by: Marsm + SOAS Kurdish Society

The Only Trees (Online Screening) +  Q&A with director Şêro Hindê

Marsm is proud to announce our streaming collaboration with SOAS Kurdish society for:

About The Only Trees – الأشجار الوحيدة – Darên bi tenê:

A fascinating documentary exploring the “dengbej” musical heritage of the singers, poets and storytellers from Northern Syria’s Rojava region. Featuring a stunning scenery of poetic landscapes, the film is interlaced with stories of Kurdish and Assyrian songs that narrate the long history of love and suffering of this semi-autonomous region. With a polyethnic population of Kurds, Assyrians and Armenians, witness a new generation of storytellers from Komina Filma Rojava film collective, as they pay tribute to the men and women keeping the stories, dance, heritage and lives of Rojava’s people alive through their songs.

Date: August 24, 2020

Venue: The Magic Garden

Address: The Magic Garden, 231 Battersea Park Road, SW11 4LG

Time: 18:00

Ages: Any age

Organized by: MARSM + Continental Drifts

The Magic Garden, 231 Battersea Park Road, SW11 4LG

LEBANESE CULTURAL EVENING AT MAGIC GARDEN PUB MONDAY 24TH AUGUST (https://buff.ly/2XUQljg)

+ ONLINE STREAMING EVENT TUESDAY 25TH AUGUST

FEATURING:

– LIVE MUSIC!!! from El Far3i-الفرعي of 47SOUL, Saied Silbak & Flamingods plus more tbc

– A delicious Lebanese meal served in the traditional style in a beautiful socially distanced venue in Battersea.

– Art Exhibition & Sale

– Charity Auction with MBE Chris Tofu

– Speakers

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Book your table now: https://buff.ly/2XUQljg

£30 PER PERSON. DONATIONS ARE NOT REFUNDABLE.

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Lebanon stands shaken, devastated and stripped. Besides facing a collapsing economy and a deadly pandemic, Beirut has been hit by an apocalyptic explosion that has left the city at the brink of collapse. MARSM UK has come together with Liminal Arts and numerous actors from the UK’s festival scene to urgently raise funds and stand in solidarity with the Lebanese people.

Hosted by The Magic Garden pub in Battersea, we invite you to join us for a celebration for our ‘one night only’ Lebanese cafe and make a useful contribution to those countless thousands that are rebuilding their lives.

Proceeds will be donated to the Lebanese Red Cross (additional causes to be confirmed soon).

This fundraising event is part of a larger 3-week fundraising campaign. If you would like to make a 1-off donation, please use this main link below:

www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/londonbeirutfundraiser

Date: July 10, 2020

Venue: https://www.facebook.com/pg/arabartsfestival

Time: 20:00

Ages: Any age

Organized by: Liverpool Arab Arts Festival + MARSM UK

Hailing from one of the most musically rich cities in the Levant, Hello Psychaleppo is the brain child of Aleppian electronic music producer and visual artist Samer Saem Eldahr who bring an intimate live performance to Liverpool Arab Arts Festival.

His groundbreaking first album “Gool Lʼah” released in 2013 pioneered the music genre of Electro-Tarab which VICE Magazine describes as “a pastiche of twitchy electronic sounds and golden age Arab pop music of the 1950s and 60s.

It is alternately danceable and cathartic, melancholic and apocalyptic. Itʼs Massive Attack meets Abdel Halim Hafez.” With a string of successive releases, Hello Psychaleppo’s music is deeply rooted in Arabic and Bedouin music traditions, captivating listeners with melodic strains of Tarab threaded seamlessly together with elaborate and unbelievably catchy electronic arrangements.

This event is brought in partnership with Liverpool Arab Arts Festival.

Date: July 09, 2020

Venue: https://www.facebook.com/pg/arabartsfestival

Time: 19:00

Ages: Any age

Organized by: Liverpool Arab Arts Festival + MARSM UK

Walead Ben Selim and Moroccan musical collective N3rdistan pay a visit to Liverpool Arab Arts Festival for a live performance to launch their first digital festival.

The piece they will be performing is the story of exiled people who have come from elsewhere with their mystical songs, unsettling text and compelling rimes. Guided by these mystical tunes and the abrasive flow by the charismatic Walead Ben Selim, N3rdistan elaborates a resolutely bold fusion, which is unusual, and serenely avant-garde.

Between rock, trip hop, electro, oriental-beat with world influences, this quartet mixes with ease digital power, ancestral Arabic poetry, the targeted singing intermingling here and there with the melodies of a Qanoon and African Keys. Without falling into the trap of ethnic-electro this firey sonorisation serves as an engine to this group producing the most highly musical journey of the moment.

N3rdistan is today producing an exciting show, which is on the border between Oriental beat and Electro-urban, using Ethnic music notes on personal texts and famous freedom poets (Mahmoud Darwich, Gibran Khalil, Nizar Qabbani …) tweaking world samples and sounds, questioning the meaning of life or digital exile. N3rdistan incites the discovery of new musical horizons.

Walead Ben Selim

Born in Casablanca in 1984, Walead Ben Selim was a bright and inquisitive student who rebelled at an early age. At school he founded with Houssine aka Wu-Sen, one of the first rap group of Morocco, ‘Thug-gang” joined by Widad Broco the first women rap artist of the Arabic world, which then became “TG Crew”, a dozen groups playing rap, dance, Graff. Moroccan rap was thus at his beginning and Thug Gang played a critical and abrasive hip-hop, oscillating between the need for limits, and social uprising. With time they became the flag bearers for their friends but also for the Moroccans youth suffering from lack of liberty and new forms of artistic expression. Together they won the ‘tremplin’ for young musicians in 2001 and the Moroccan hip-hop championship.In 2011 after travelling and cultural exchanges with Africa, Asia, and Europa, Walead called upon Nidhal JAOUA a multi-instrumentalist to create a digital synopsis of his musical experiences to build the foundations of the group with Widad, joined by Cyril Canerie a studio drummer, of Internationnal renown and Khalil Hentai (Epi), the group became finally formed in May 2014 before being selected for the “Inouîs de printemps de Bourges” in 2015.

N3rdistan

Trans generational and transgender, appealing and incredibly mystical, N3rdistan is on the frontier of electronic music, rap and Arabic poetry. On stage, N3rdistan is a ball of energy, which get stronger as the minutes go by, the melodies sometimes aggressive, sometimes gentle are sung by unusual voices in which the ease surprises and destabilises, an explosion of colours.

“An electro-urban project with its tools in Oriental inspiration. They show their determination to remember actions by past generations in causes, which are still topical today. N3rdistan ‘s message is timeless” – NovaPlanet

“N3rdistan the future of alternative Moroccan music”

Libération Ma

This event is brought in partnership with Liverpool Arab Arts Festival.

Date: July 06, 2020

Time: 20:00

Ages: Any age

Organized by: MARSM UK

Renowned Lebanese composer, Oud master and singer, Marcel Khalife is commonly regarded as one of the leading musical icons within the Arabic speaking world.

In celebration of Marcel Khalife’s 70th birthday, join us as we stream ‘Voyageur”, an engrossing audio-visual documentary that covers the life and journeys of Marcel in a way never seen before. In this film, the camera travels with Marcel as he shares his compositions with audiences around the world, while debating the intricacies of political, religious and social influences in the region. Going beyond his creative legacy, the film also encompasses the bigger political and social changes surrounding the years 2002-2004, reflecting on the state of affairs both in Lebanon and the Arab world.

The film features appearances from renowned Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, whose poem “أنا يوسف يا أبي” (Oh my father, I am Joseph) was put to music by Marcel to the dismay of some religious clerics (leading to the controversial trial against Marcel in 2003). With commentary and analyses by Elias Khoury (a prominent Lebanese novelist and intellectual) and May Mnassa (the award-winning Lebanese novelist and critic), “Voyageur” is an unparalleled story behind Marcel’s life and legacy.

The film will be live on 6th July, 2020: 8PM BST / 10PM JERUSALEM TIME / 9PM CEST / 10PM AMMAN TIME / 11PM UAE

This screening is brought to you in collaboration with Al Balad Music Festival, Al Balad Theatre, Amman Jazz Festival, Arabesques, Beirut and Beyond International Music Festival, D-CAF Festival, Marcel Khalife, NYUAD Arts Center, The Arab British Centre, Yabous Cultural Centre and WAW al Balad.

Date: June 25, 2020

Venue: Online: https://www.facebook.com/marsmuk

Time: 19:00

Ages: Any age

Organized by: MARSM UK + The Mosaic Rooms

Online via Facebook Live

Tune in for this live set from sound artist Hello Psychaleppo presented in partnership with Mosaic Rooms. In this Living Room Session, Hello Psychaleppo will play tracks from his latest album Ya Turur, along with new compositions. Experience the sounds of the artist’s electronic music, rooted in melodic strains of Tarab (an emotionally charged form of Arab musical performance widely popular during the 19th and 20th century, the most famous performer of which is Umm Kalthoum) as well as 1950 and 1960s Arabic music.

The set will be followed by a live Q&A with Hello Psychaleppo about his inspirations.

VICE Magazine described his 2013 release Gool L’ah as, “A pastiche of twitchy electronic sounds and golden age Arab pop music of the 1950s and 60s. It is alternately danceable and cathartic, melancholic and apocalyptic.’

Hello Psychaleppo is the brainchild of music producer and visual artist Samer Saem Eldahr. He has released three full albums, Gool L’ah (2013), HA! (2014) and Toyour (2017).

Date: June 01, 2020

Time: 20:00

Ages: Any age

Organized by: MARSM UK

Event Type: Online

Accessibility: Fully accessible

– Live link to be published on the Marsm Facebook page at 8PM BST on Monday 1st June 2020 and will be available until Monday 15th June 2020, 11:59PM BST –Brought to you by MARSM UK as part of our new online initiative, ‘MARSM Online’ is an exciting platform of multimedia projects, spotlighting the richly diverse arts & culture from the Middle East and North Africa. 

Kicking off with our Music Movie Mondays, join us online as we feature some of the most riveting and astute music documentaries from across the Arabic-speaking world. Every first Monday of the month. Available for free, for all, from anywhere via www.marsm.co.uk.

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ABOUT THIS MONTH’S FILMDirector Atef Ben Bouzid’s debut film Cairo Jazzman is a captivating political music documentary about the critically acclaimed Cairo Jazz Festival and its founder Amr Salah. Dedicated to the Egyptian people, the film provides a rare insight into the functioning of civil society and astute observation of the struggles and obstacles of everyday life in Cairo. Operating on a non-profit-basis and with limited funding sources, the Cairo Jazz Festival has grown into a unique platform which brings together local and international musicians united in their love for jazz and their desire to share, cultivate, and pass it on to the next generation. 

The film will feature appearances by Oum, Naseer Shamma and many other amazing musicians. 

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In collaboration with Al Balad Music Festival, Al Balad Theatre, Amman Jazz Festival, Arabesques, Arab British Centre, Beirut and Beyond International Festival, D-Caf Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival, NYU Abu Dhabi and Waw al Balad.

Date: May 20, 2020

Venue: Online: https://www.facebook.com/NYUADArtsCenter/live/

Time: 22:30

Ages: Any age

In partnership with The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), and in collaboration with Arabesque Festival and D-CAF Downtown Contemporary Music Festival we are bringing you a unique online event.

The Arab world’s only Grammy winner Fathy Salama collaborates with the inspiring Egyptian Sufi chanter Mahmoud Tohamy, in a performance that is followed by a live Q&A session.

The UAE Premiere of Sufism vs Modernism was performed to a sold-out crowd in September 2019, bringing the sounds and rhythms of traditional Sufi chanting and contemporary Egyptian jazz together in a unique harmony of Arabic sounds.

Salama is an Egyptian composer, arranger and musician, well known for his hits in Cairo during the 1980s and a key figure in the revival of Egyptian traditional music. He is best known for his band Sharkiat, which has performed over 2,000 times at the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals.

Sheikh Mahmoud Tohamy is a regular performer on both the Eygptian and international scene as is the son of renowned Munshid singer Sheikh Yassin Al-Tohamy. He received his musical training under his father and Sheikh Al-Arif Billah.

About The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi

Presenting music, theater, dance, film and interdisciplinary performances that defy definition, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi is a performing arts center that presents distinguished professional artists from around the world alongside student, faculty, and community productions. The Arts Center draws on the resources of NYUAD to create a dynamic space for research, investigation, and the active pursuit of knowledge and wisdom for audiences as well as visiting artists. The Arts Center is proudly supported by Mubadala, ADCB, and Swyp as lead sponsors and GAC as sustainer sponsor.

Date: March 13, 2020

Venue: The Jago

Address: 440 Kingsland Rd, Dalston, London E8 4AA

Time: 22:00-03:00

Ages: 18+ (Gov. ID Required)

Organized by: MARSM UK + Hishek Bishek

Paying homage to the Middle East’s popular music history, Hishek Bishek is a pulsing club night dedicated to the region’s vibrant sonic (sub)cultures. From chart-topping Iraqi & Lebanese dancefloor hits, Palestinian electronic dabke, the newest releases from Cairo’s underground and nostalgic synthed-out 90’s classics, Hishek Bishek has become a vibrant staple in London’s late-night club scene.

– Our last edition sold out in advance, please purchase tickets in advance to avoid disappointment –

Now in its 18th edition, Hishek Bishek UK – هشك بشك heads to Dalston’s The Jago for a special 2-floor edition! Revelling in the sounds of darbuka, MENA beats and percussive rhythms this edition is a Chaabi houseparty meets the sounds of a listening lounge. A musical soundtrack to have you dancing all night long.

Downstairs: Hishek Bishek Resident Dj SuperMike
Upstairs: Lounge area

Date: March 07, 2020

Venue: ULU

Time: 21:00-01:00

Ages: 16+. Under 18s to be accompanied by a guardian

Organized by: MARSM UK + War on Want

War on Want, MARSM UK and Movimientos Present: Wara & Kallemi.

A dynamic double bill showcasing some of the most powerful Latin American and Palestinian acts on the scene. From piercing Cuban conga to unapologetic Arabic hip-hop, dembow and folklore, this electrifying lineup celebrates the revolutionary power of music from Latin America to the Middle East.

WARA
Playing deep into the rhythms of urban Latin America, Wara is an award-winning musical outfit that fuels its signature sound with bass-heavy dembow, biting synths and hip-hop.

Led by producer and composer Eliane Correa, the band formed in 2010, and has since become known for powering a Latin American narrative that celebrates regional music cultures such as mambo and cumbia. With backgrounds spanning from Cuba to Congo, Venezuela and Chile, Wara’s performances are a musical homage to their heritage; provocative and potent, a Pan-Latin powerhouse that’s paving a way of its own.

Kallemi (كلّمي) Band Member Showcase
One of the most exciting bands to emerge out of Palestine’s burgeoning indie and alternative music scene, Kallemi makes their UK debut with individual showcases by its members.

Rasha Nahas | La Nefera | Jasmin Albash

Emerging from diverse musical paths, three powerful women celebrate their roots, heritage and future. Through microtones and flows that pack a punch to distorted rock guitars and soulful synths, Kallemi was born on the path between Basel and Ramallah, and hasn’t turned back since.

DJing on the night will be the special guest Leila Moon.

Date: March 02, 2020

Venue: London Palladium

Address: 8 Argyll St, Soho, London W1F 7TF

Time: 19:00

Ages: All Ages

An Umm Kulthum Musical Production brought to you by Mona Khash Productions & AM Management.

Marketing and PR done by Marsm.

Dubbed Egypt’s 4th Pyramid, Umm Kulthum is the woman whose musical legacy sculpted Arab history and engraved women’s voices into the consciousness of the Arab world. This powerful musical covers her most mesmerising works spanning from the 1920’s up to the 1970’s, culminating in her iconic performance at Paris’ L’Olympia. Making its highly anticipated worldwide debut, this is the story of the female voice that outshone time.

Egyptian Delta, turn of the century. The religious leader of the village of Tammay al Zakkariyya, takes his daughter to sing in a village mawlid, where she stuns crowds with the strength of her voice. As she gets older, he dresses her as a Bedouin boy to perform, before taking her to Cairo to develop her career, where she is surrounded by the great composers, intellectuals, musicians and political thinkers of Egypt’s Golden Era. It is here that she meets the Sorbonne educated poet, Ahmed Rami and a love story begins. Loved by all and owned by none, Umm Kulthum’s admirers vied for her affections and praise with their attention and with their compositions. Her songs of love and yearning express the many forms that love can take; its pain and complexity. This play and musical tribute tells a story of a woman who did it her own way in a world of men; constantly rising against currents of change, transforming her music, her image and her style, to become a legend: Umm Kulthum, The Star of the Orient.

Songs including Inta Omri, Alf Laylah, Fakharouni, Al atlal a will be performed live.

Language: Dialogue acting in English & music sung in Arabic

Date: March 01, 2020

Venue: Electric Ballroom

Address: 184 Camden High St, London NW1 8QP

Time: 19:00-23:00

Ages: 14+. Under 16's must be accompanied by an adult and may be asked for photo ID

Organized by: MARSM UK + El Wekala Global

Articulating the many elements of contemporary Egyptian society that drive their generation, Cairokee’s music balances rock and spacious electronica with hints of pop and chaabi. Their anthemic calls for freedom, self-reflection and societal changes are an innate reflection of their phenomenal song-writing abilities and fan base, and have placed them at the top of Egypt’s most popular contemporary musical acts

Their latest and sixth album “Ugly Duckling” was launched in March 2019 and builds upon “Cairokee’s Parallel Universe” established in their song “No2ta Beida” (White Dot). It is a space through which they invite all the “outcasts” to break free from patriarchal and societal shackles, traditions and restrictions. All that cannot be discussed is put on display through the “ugly” truth on this album. Musically, the album builds on their indie, pop and rock traditions flirting with electronic influences. 

Special support guest: JULIANA YAZBECK
Born to Lebanese parents, Juliana draws on her mixed cultural upbringing to create her signature sound: an unlikely but mesmerising fusion of spoken word, otherworldly electronics, and haunting Levantine vocals. Her debut record SUNGOD is a political and spiritual cry; unapologetic and raw, Juliana’s lyrics challenge the effects of colonisation on cultural identities and its impact on the current state of love, relationships and gender inequality.

Date: February 28, 2020

Venue: Jazz Cafe

Time: 21:00

Ages: 18+

Organized by: MARSM UK + Jazz Cafe

Launching their anticipated new album 'Rima - ريما', the renowned Syrian/German electronic trio returns to London for a headline show.

MARSM UK & The Jazz Cafe are proud to announce all-conquering electronic trio Shkoon‘s biggest London show to date at The Jazz Cafe. Combining Arabic scales and folklore with classical harmonic structures and electronica, their new album further develops the band’s celebrated sound to include deep house, downbeat, dub and hip-hop. Powerful melodies and rhythms from Syria and the Middle East meet the pulse of North German electronica, while piano, violin, synthesizers and percussion take the audiences into a trance-like state that is as captivating as it is danceable.

‘Rima’, the title song of the debut album is inspired by a story from Arabic folklore, in which a mother tells peaceful tales to her child as the world sinks into chaos.

El Jehaz الجهاز joins on support. Reshaping the boundaries between traditional Arabic music and electronica, producer El Jehaz has become a key player in the digitalised rebirth of Mijwiz and electronic Dabke, an unstoppable folkloric music phenomenon from Jordan and Palestine.

Date: January 25, 2020

Venue: Cadogan Hall

Time: 19:00

Ages: All Ages

Described as the ‘new Sayed Darwish’, songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Hamza Namira has become one of the leading figures in Egypt and the Middle East’s music scene.

A luminous expression of resilience and ambition, Namira uses his work to explore and engage with the wider social issues of today. With his unique combination of Egyptian contemporary pop and traditional folk, rock and powerful ballads, he has sold out concerts in Alexandria, Cairo and London, while also performing internationally and across the Arab World.

He released his fourth album Hateer Min Tany in 2018, reaching over 150 million views on YouTube with “Dari, Ya Albi”. Since 2016 he has presented the TV programme ‘Remix’ on Alaraby TV where he collaborates and remixes songs with some of the Middle East’s most exciting acts (47Soul, Autostrad, Zap Tharwat…).

Hamza’s Cairo-based ensemble of the finest instrumentalist will be flying to London for this special performance at Cadogan Hall, as they perform Hamza’s own pieces, as well as songs from his TV programme (Remix) which has found much success across the Arab world.

Our events are well attended and often sell out. We therefore recommend purchasing your tickets in advance to guarantee entry.

Date: January 24, 2020

Venue: Elektrowerkz

Time: Last Entry - 2:00am

Ages: 18+ (Gov. ID Required)

Organized by: MARSM UK

Paying homage to the Middle East’s popular music history, Hishek Bishek is a pulsing club night dedicated to the region’s vibrant sonic (sub)cultures. From chart-topping Iraqi & Lebanese dancefloor hits, Palestinian electronic dabke, the newest releases from Cairo’s underground and nostalgic synthed-out 90’s classics, Hishek Bishek has become a vibrant staple in London’s late-night club scene.

Now in its 17th edition, Hishek Bishek UK – هشك بشك has become a household name revelling in the sounds of darbuka, MENA beats, percussive rhythms and a musical soundtrack to have you dancing all night. Returning to East London to start off 2020 with a bang, this night will feature a double DJ headline bill of two of the Middle East’s finest party starters. As always, we say “Ahlan Wa Sahlan!” to our regulars and warmly invite anyone curious enough to attend – welcome to the Arabic party you wish you knew about earlier.

On the decks:

– SuperMike & DJ Rabih Jamal –

Special edition as this power duo team up for a seamless musical journey across the Arab world including top of the chart Lebanese hits, Egyptian Mahraganat, Syrian Dabke, underground Rai, 90’s cheesy classics and alternative grooves.