The rise of the riot grrrl movement can be traced to musicians and zine creators Tobi Vail, Allison Wolfe, Molly Neuman, and Kathleen Hanna–founders of the bands Bratmobile and Bikini Kill, respectively. From its inception, riot grrrl was ideologically rooted in the concept of a girl-led collective and actively resisted the elevation of individual figureheads. Instead, its founders encouraged young women to create their own music, art, writing, and forms of protest. This DIY ethos empowered those who had never played an instrument or written creatively to pick up guitars or pens and express themselves. Women punk enthusiasts crafted fanzines that quickly evolved into interactive platforms for radical political dialogue and genre-defying creative expression by self-identified riot grrrls, fostering a vibrant culture of subversion and solidarity.
Through their music and textual productions, riot grrrls launched a pointed critique of capitalism and consumer culture while foregrounding feminist issues such as rape, assault, and the physical and psychological abuse of women. Riot grrrl zines frequently featured confessional autofiction, satirical graphic art, exchanges between creators and readers, and discussions of gender and emerging queer theory. This loosely connected, nomadic community, typically composed of individuals between the ages of 13 and 25, often experienced marginalization and alienation from the mainstream cultures in which they lived. Zines played a critical mediating role, facilitating consciousness-raising encounters between writers and readers that transcended regional and national boundaries. These exchanges fostered a sense of intimate solidarity–or, in riot grrrl terms, “girl love”–among participants. The movement’s emphasis on revealing lived, personal experience as a marker of authenticity echoes strands of second-wave feminism, particularly those that championed realistic and autobiographical writing as key tools for feminist consciousness-raising.
As Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna explains,
“In writing [zines], I have had to think a lot about how to share information without acting all bossy or being condescending. … Just cuz I’m an addict/alcoholic (what-fuckin-evah) doesn’t mean I think I can speak for everyone in terms of addiction. It seems to me that each addict functions within his/her own context in terms of race, gender, location, class, personality, access, etc. . . . So it would be ridiculous for me to try and write a ‘manifesto’ or a ‘universal account’ of how addiction works.”
Here, Hanna anticipates and pre-empts external critique that she speaks from a privileged, universalist position as a white woman. Crucially, however, this acknowledgement follows her revelation of personal experience—and indeed, her claimed expertise—regarding addiction. The culture of privilege-checking cultivated in riot grrrl zines, while rooted in a desire for accountability and inclusivity, gives rise to what Mimi Thi Nguyen (2012) describes as a “troubling politics”. In this framework, traumatic experience—when reframed as the product of systemic oppression—serves to bolster claims of authentic marginality, effectively translating lived experience into a form of expertise. This dynamic complicates the relationship between personal narrative, political authority, and identity within the riot grrrl movement.
This according to “Killing ourselves is not subversive: Riot grrrl from zine to screen and the commodification of female transgression” by Emily Spiers (Women: A cultural review 26/1-2 [2015] 1–21; RILM Abstracts with Full Text, 2015-83472).
In the video below, zine publishers and artists describe riot grrrl (and zines in particular) as their entry point to different forms of activism and expression in the 1990s–the video was part of the Alien she exhibition at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
In contemporary Africa, new electronic music can generally be classified into two distinct categories. The first involves artists who adapt mainstream genres like house, techno, or electronica, giving them a local twist. These artists incorporate samples of traditional music into the structural framework of these genres, creating a fusion that resonates with specific social groups and aids in creating cultural identity. This approach often includes elements such as traditional or Afrofuturist stage costumes, further reinforcing the connection to local heritage. The second category stems from technical limitations. These artists, often working without access to live musicians, turn to digital tools to create traditional-sounding music that aligns with the structures of electronic genres. Their goal is not to target global club scenes, but rather to address the need for musical accompaniment in traditional performances. Many of these genres emerged at weddings, where they blended respect for cultural traditions with a desire for innovation, reflecting the celebration of the couple, their families, and the community.
In northern Uganda, the fusion of Acholi music with electronic elements has led to the emergence of a new genre called Acholitronix. The term is a blend of “Acholi” and “electronic,” and it has gained significant traction in global alternative electronic music circles, largely due to two influential albums released by the Kampala-based Nyege Nyege Tapes label: Otim Alpha’sGulu city anthems (2017) and the compilation album Electro Acholi’s kaboom (2019). Another key figure in the Acholitronix movement is Akena P’Layeng Okella, better known as Leo Palayeng (pictured above). Palayeng began playing the inanga harp at the age of six, shortly after his father was killed during the war between the Ugandan government and various armed factions in northern Uganda. His early experiences as a musician shed light on how musical traditions transform in societies affected by trauma and sociopolitical upheavals, both during the colonial era and more recently through the civil war.
As an Acholi musician, Palayeng’s life has mirrored the changing dynamics of his community, as he has been an active participant in its cultural evolution. In the late 1990s, Palayeng joined a theater group where he performed dance routines set to rumba and rap music. During this time, he began recording his first rap songs and became a radio announcer. He also explored music production using early sound software like Fruity Loops 3.45, eventually producing his first Acholi electronic tracks.
Since beginning his career as a producer in the early 2000s, Palayeng has embraced a musician-researcher approach to his work. He actively records and archives the musical traditions of various Acholi instruments, often incorporating them into his own compositions. To document and preserve Acholi musical heritage, Palayeng travels to the outskirts of Ugandan cities to capture the sounds of traditional music and instruments. This archival effort holds deep significance for Palayeng–not only does it instill a sense of pride in his own Luo cultural heritage, but it also serves as a wellspring of inspiration for his future work. His creative process typically begins with acoustic samples, which he then layers with an electronic aesthetic. This aesthetic is defined by the integration of MIDI instruments and additional samples alongside the traditional recordings. One of the defining features of Acholitronix is the use of call-and-response, a central element of Acholi music. Another notable aspect of this genre is the shift in tempo—where traditional rhythms are often sped up, with tracks rarely dipping below 160 beats per minute, marking the transition from acoustic to electronic with a noticeable acceleration.
Cover art for an album by Emiliano Motta and Leo Palayeng.
Cover art for Otim Alpha’s Gulu city anthems album (2017).
Reflecting on this creative adaptation, Palayeng explains, “I decided to blend traditional Acholi rhythms with electronic patterns. The process of creating the first larakaraka loops wasn’t easy—it took a lot of time. I started by recording traditional drums and calabash sounds to create samples for Fruity Loops add-ons, which I then installed onto my computer. I was able to capture the true essence of Acholi sounds with a focus on quality. One night, after a long session in the disco hall, the club closed, and I found myself deep in thought. I decided to create a simple project using a Fruity Loops sequence. I cranked the BPM up to 158, then dropped the calabash samples into the MIDI sequence, making them feel like they were being played live on stage. Boom! That was it. The loops for wedding celebrations and other electronic Acholi tribal patterns I used to play on the inanga came rushing back to me.”
This according to “Leo Palayeng: Bridging the gap from traditional to electronic Acholi music” by Rémy Jadinon (African music: Journal of the International Library of African Music 11/4 [2022] 90–106; RILM Abstracts with Full Text, 2022-22008).
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Following the fall of Sài Gòn (now Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) on 30 April 1975, the experiences and contributions of South Vietnamese war veterans were largely erased from public memory. In recent years, efforts to address this erasure have included the rediscovery of pre-1975 Vietnamese music, particularly Nhạc vàng (“yellow music”), which refers to popular songs of South Vietnam, many of which were composed before 1975. Capturing the realities of war and the lives of Vietnamese soldiers (người lính), Nhạc vàng offers a valuable historical perspective, shedding light on the struggles and hardships faced by South Vietnamese soldiers. Deeply embedded in the Vietnamese diaspora, its enduring melodies provide a crucial link to their ongoing struggles and memories within today’s geopolitical landscape. Over time, Vietnamese music—ranging from contemporary popular songs to poignant war ballads—has evolved into a powerful tool for preserving the voices of those silenced by history. For many South Vietnamese veterans, music became an emotional refuge, helping them navigate fading nostalgia and the painful memories of the Vietnam War.
Pre-1975 Nhạc vàng album cover art. Courtesy of Saigoneer.com
For many U.S. soldiers, popular music played a crucial role in shaping their experiences of the war. A Kentucky rifleman who spent his tour trekking through the central highlands of Vietnam recalled Nancy Sinatra‘s These boots are made for walkin’ as a defining song. A tunnel rat, who used to blow smoke into Viet Cong tunnels, remembers Jimi Hendrix’s Purple haze. For an African American marine reeling from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it was Aretha Franklin’s Chain of fools. And for countless others, songs like Country Joe and the Fish’s I feel like I’m fixin’ to die, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Who’ll stop the rain, and The Animals’ We gotta get out of this place became anthems of their war experience. Popular music was central to the American experience in Vietnam, bridging the gap between troops and the home front, while providing a soundtrack to the emotional complexity of the war they were thrust into. Music was an often overlooked yet crucial part of the conflict, influencing the experiences and memories of every group of Vietnam veterans.
Music also played a crucial role in shaping public perception of the Vietnam War in the United States, as songs reflected both support and opposition to the conflict. Unlike the professionally produced music of World War II, Vietnam-era songs were embraced by the public and became central to cultural gatherings such as folk festivals, college dorm sing-alongs, and peace rallies. The war exposed deep societal divisions, with music serving as an emotional outlet for discontent, anger, and the desire for peace–contrasting sharply with the patriotic themes of previous conflicts. Both anti-war and pro-war movements used music to express their sentiments, with supporters of the war favoring country music while opponents turned to folk and rock to amplify their voices. The powerful emotions embedded in these songs made the Vietnam War distinct in its musical and cultural impact.
Furthermore, activist musicians like Phil Ochs (pictured above) provided a more nuanced and critical perspective on the war than what was typically found in mainstream media. His songs often addressed controversial aspects of the Vietnam War that were otherwise overlooked or suppressed. Ochs’ music was raw and uncompromising, standing out among his contemporaries. Despite being a key figure in the 1960s anti-war movement and a prolific writer of topical songs, Ochs remained less commercially recognized than other folk icons like Bob Dylan or Joan Baez. His most productive years coincided with the peak of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, a time when his popular music served as a powerful critique of the war.
This according to “Échos rescapés: Redocumenter la musique vietnamienne d’avant 1975–Pistes sonores historiques et mémorielles [Rescued echoes: Redocumenting Vietnamese music from before 1975–Historical and memorial soundtracks]” by Kathy Nguyen, Lieux de mémoire sonore: Des sons pour survivre, des sons pour tuer, ed. by Luis Velasco-Pufleau and Laëtitia Atlani-Duault (Paris: Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, 2021, 137–172; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2021-107659), and We gotta get out of this place: The soundtrack of the Vietnam War by Doug Bradley (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2015; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature 2015-18652).
The 50th anniversary of the fall of Sài Gòn, marking the end of the Vietnam War, was celebrated on 30 April 2025.
The track below exemplifies the sound of pre-1975 Nhạc vàng.
Below is a link to Phil Ochs performing on Canadian television on 27 September 1965.
At the age of six, blues musician Freddie King (known as the “Texas Cannonball”) received his first guitar and began taking lessons from his mother, Ella Mae King, and his uncle Leon King. Soon after, he earned enough money to buy a Roger guitar from a local music store by picking cotton. After his parents divorced, the family moved to Chicago, where a sixteen-year-old King sneaked into a blues club one night and sat in with the house band, which included the legendary Howlin’ Wolf. While working in a steel mill, King played in the evenings with Earlee Payton‘s Blues Cats, the Little Sonny Cooper Band, and with guitarist Jimmy Lee Robinson and drummer Frank (Sonny) Scott in the trio Every Hour Blues Boys. In 1953, he also participated in studio sessions for Parrot Records, among others, though none of the recordings were ever released. Despite being rejected by Chess Records due to his vocal resemblance to B.B. King, Freddie King released his first record, Country boy, in 1956 on the independent El-Bee label. The single, which featured a duet with Margaret Whitfield and Robert “Junior” Lockwood on guitar, garnered little attention.
By 1960, Freddie King had signed with King-Federal-DeLuxe, a label that also represented blues and soul artists like James Brown. Alongside pianist Sonny Thompson, King produced recordings such as Have you ever loved a woman and Hide away (1960), the latter becoming an instrumental crossover hit between blues and pop. Producer and record company owner Syd Nathan expertly capitalized on this crossover success, helping King achieve lasting commercial success. From 1961 to 1963, King sold more records than any other blues artist, including B.B. King, toured extensively in concert halls and nightclubs, and performed at numerous jazz and blues festivals. In 1963, King moved to Dallas to reunite with his wife and six children, who had returned to Texas the previous year due to the challenges of the music business.
Watch Freddie King’s 1973 concert in Paris.
King signed with Cotillion Records in 1968, where he recorded two albums: Freddie King is a blues master in 1969 and My feeling for the blues in 1970. During this period, he also embarked on extensive concert tours through England, where he was backed by members of the English blues group Steamhammer. King’s music had a significant impact on the blues rock scene of the time, influencing rock guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor, who incorporated his style into their own bands.
This according to a new entry on Freddie King by Volkmar Kramarz in MGG Online.
Image credit for the first photo: Michael Putland/Getty Images
The library of the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) in Paris is home to an extensive collection of writings on music from the Arab world, a region stretching from the Atlas Mountains to the Indian Ocean. This series of blog posts highlights selections from this collection, along with abstracts written by RILM staff members contained inRILM Abstracts of Music Literature, the comprehensive bibliography of writings about music and music-related subjects.
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New, alternative, or underground music in the Arab world is not quite underground. It might be hidden, but in plain sight. Local in expression, it is global in its reach. Its new sounds defy and redefine the old. It protests it. It embraces it. It carries the youth’s inclination to break from norms as well as their yearning to belong. Classifying music as “new” in the Arab world can be fraught with assumptions indeed. From creating DJ samples that draw young clubgoers in Tunisia and protest hip hop in Ramallah to the remixing of ṭarab music in electronic music scenes, young Arab musicians are not short of imagination. These repertoires–the music of a young generation–reveal a whole new world.
In Tunisia, the words of rapper Hamada ben Amor became an anthem for the revolution, while in Libya, rapper Ibn Thabit gained prominence in 2009 for his critiques of the Gaddafi regime. In Egypt, the band Cairokee merged the Egyptian old with reggae beats and rock drums. In Lebanon, Mashrou’ Leila’s lyrics defied societal norms of gender and sexuality. In Morocco, Arabic and Berber became rap’s first tongue, and the local gnawa and chaabi came to incorporate elements of reggae and rock. Across the region, young women musicians have taken center stage, defying stereotypes and asserting the slogan ṣawt al-mar’aẗ ṯawraẗ صوت المرأة ثورة (a woman’s voice is a revolution). Outside of the Arab world, alternative, underground, and new music scenes have emerged among immigrant communities, notably in Europe and North America. Local and diasporic musical scenes connect on streaming platforms and Instagram pages, through YouTube clicks, “like” buttons, and TikTok “repost”.
Mashrou’ Leila from Lebanon.
New or alternative music styles proliferated across the region in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring, which provided an outlet for youth to express their frustrations with prevailing sociopolitical realities and articulate their aspirations for the future. As a revolutionary ethos dominated public discourse, activists created alternative public spaces for dissent, where they expressed their views on political and social issues and created art and music. These new musical forms became the soundtrack of popular movements, largely sustained by youth ages 15–29, a demographic constituting approximately 30 percent of the population of the Arab world in 2019.[1]
A performance by the Lebanese alternative rock band, Who Killed Bruce Lee, at the Institut du Monde Arabe in 2017.
Academic studies of emerging styles and scenes have remained limited as scholarly engagement is marked by long research periods and publication processes. However, other genres of writing have successfully captured and commented on these musical phenomena in real time. The annotated bibliography of journalistic, artistic, and academic writing below presents select titles that document, and in some cases analyze, the rise of the stylistic innovation that characterize the music of a new, young Arab generation.
Written and compiled by Farah Zahra, Associate Editor, RILM
[1] Arab Barometer, “Youth in Middle East and North Africa”, https://www.arabbarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/ABV_Youth_Report_Public-Opinion_Middle-East-North-Africa_2019-1.pdf
Annotated bibliography
Brehony, Louis. Palestinian music in exile: Voices of resistance (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2023). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2023-22405; IMA catalogue reference].
A historical and contemporary study of Palestinian music in exile in the Middle East, spanning half a century in disparate and undocumented locations. Based on seven years of research in Europe and the Middle East, stories show creatively divergent and revolutionary performances and compositions springing from conditions of colonialism and repression, and contributing to a transnational aesthetics of resistance. Interviews were conducted with musicians in Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Gaza and the West Bank, and Turkey, including musician Rīm Kīlānī, singer and composer Tāmir Abū Ġazālaẗ, singer Rawān ʿUkāšaẗ, composers and ʿūd players Saʿīd Silbāq and Aḥmad al-H̱aṭīb, percussionist Fāris ʿAnbar, and guitarists Aḥmad Ḥaddād and Tāriq Ṣalḥiyyaẗ, among others.
Burkhalter, Thomas, Kay Dickinson, and Benjamin J. Harbert (eds.). The Arab avant-garde: Music, politics, modernity (Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2013). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2013-8734; IMA catalogue reference]
From jazz trumpeters drawing on the noises of warfare in Beirut to female heavy metal performers in Alexandria, Arab culture offers a wealth of exciting, challenging, and diverse musics. The plethora of compositional and improvisational techniques, performance styles, political motivations, professional trainings, and intercontinental collaborations that claim the mantle of innovation within Arab and Arab diaspora music are examined. Engaging the “avant-garde”–a term with Eurocentric resonances–disturbs that presumed exclusivity, drawing on and challenging a growing body of literature about alternative modernities. (publisher blurb)
Clémente-Ruiz, Aurélie. Hip hop: Du Bronx aux rues Arabes [Hip hop: From the Bronx to Arab streets] (Paris: Institut du Monde Arabe; Gent: Snoeck, 2015). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2015-89747; IMA catalogue reference].
Issued as part of the exhibition Hip Hop, du Bronx aux Rues Arabes organized by the Institut du Monde Arabe in 2015. Hip hop is approached not simply as a genre but as an aesthetic, a lifestyle in perpetual evolution and a continuous transformation. Articles by multiple authors covering various topics and aspects of hip hop history and its adaptation by contemporary Arab artists are included.
Caubet, Dominique and Amine Hamma. Jil Lklam: Poètes urbains [Jil Lklam: Urban poets] (Mohammedia: Senso Unico Éditions; Casablanca: Éditions du Sirocco, 2016). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2016-56443; IMA catalogue reference].
The Moroccan music scene that emerged in the mid-1990s has become a crucial part of the overall cultural scene of the country. Rappers, slammers, reggae musicians, creators of metal music and nonmusic genres such as graffiti and break dance have all initiated an urban movement that mixes genres and contributes to a multicultural Morocco. The evolution of discourse emerging from the underground scene to the public sphere is explored, with attention to the lyrics of songs expressing a young generation’s interest in taboo subjects, cool music, and tough texts. Eloquent, humorous, sensitive, angry, and poetic, this creative and rebellious generation expresses, in multilingual tongues—vernacular Amazigh mixed with French, English, and Spanish–its love for its homeland along with its desire for dignity, freedom, and a better future. This generation adapted the U.S. counterculture’s ethos of do-it-yourself and solidarity while using new technology and social media to share its music. Interviews with experts on the new music scene, a selection of song texts shared in their original language and translated to French, and rich iconography are included. (publisher blurb)
Daoudi, Bouziane and Hadj Miliani. Beurs’ mélodies: Cent ans de chansons immigrées du blues berbère au rap beur [Beur melodies: One hundred years of immigrant song from Berber blues to Beur rap] (Paris: Séguier, 2002). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2002-17097; IMA catalogue reference].
More than any other form of expression, North African immigrant song recounts the often painful chronology, frustrations, hopes, and imaginings of thousands of men and women who came to France beginning in 1890. North African artists are unique in the French musical landscape, expressing themselves through multiple musical vectors such as chanson, rock, rap, reggae, and raï. (translated from the publisher blurb)
Deval, Frédéric. “Les échelles du Levant” [The scales of the Levant] Qantara 54 (hiver 2004-05) 21–23. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2004-47631; IMA catalog reference].
An interview with the Lebanese composer and pianist Zad Moultaka about his composition techniques integrating elements of Western art music and the Arab maqām. The piece Zarani for piano, ʿūd, and darbūkaẗ is analyzed.
Domat, Chloé. “L’effervescence de la scène ‘indé’ libanaise” [The effervescence of the Lebanese indie scene] Qantara 91 (printemps 2014) 22-23. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2014–96209; IMA catalog reference].
The Lebanese indie music scene has seen the flourishing of groups drawing on multiple musical sources. Born spontaneously in an eclectic musical landscape, the scene’s musicians have appropriated underground spaces which they maintain through new technologies and away from the commercial music industry. (translated from the article’s introduction)
El-Sakka, Abaher. “Mohammed Assaf: Portre-parole d’une jeunesse mondialisée” [Muḥammad ʿAssāf: A spokesperson for a globalized youth], Le monde arabe existe-t-il (encore)?, ed. by Chirine El Messiri. Araborama 1 (Paris: Institut du Monde Arabe; Seuil, 2020) 52–55. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2020-76899; IMA catalogue reference].
In 2013, the young Palestinian singer Muḥammad ʿAssāf from Gaza rose to fame as the winner of the second season of Arab idol, a singing talent TV program produced by MBC TV. His background as a refugee from a Palestinian camp resonated with audiences, evoking a sense of empathy and solidarity. Since his victory, ʿAssāf has toured internationally and served as a goodwill ambassador for UNESCO and UNRWA. Through his tours and performances, he used media, youth culture, and his artistic talent, to reach audiences beyond national boundaries.
Palestinian singer Muḥammad ʿAssāf performs on Arab Idol.
El Zein, Rayya. “Resisting ‘resistance’: On political feeling in Arabic rap concerts”, Arab subcultures: Transformations in theory and practice, ed. by Layal Ftouni and Tarik Sabry. Library of modern Middle East studies (London; New York: I.B. Tauris, 2016) 83–112. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2016-56445; IMA catalogue reference].
Explores the ways in which young Arab rap artists navigate the contradictions in the urban and public spheres in everyday life. The discourse of resistance permeating scholarship on rap and hip hop in the Arab world is critiqued and perceived as an expression of neoliberal power. Within the context of the rap scenes in Beirut and Ramallah, political feeling is expressed through objection, confrontation, repetition—a set of processes that hinges on collective action and solidarity rather than individual agency. Interactions, as such, should not be labeled as political but should be approached as subversive in their own terms. Conclusions are based on ethnographic studies conducted in Beirut and Ramallah, where interviews and conversations were conducted and exchanges between artists and audiences were observed.
Houssais, Coline. “La Tunisie entre rap et rage” [Tunisia between rap and rage] Qantara 99 (printemps 2016) 22–23. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2016-60281; IMA catalog reference].
The Tunisian rap scene has become the forum for a youth generation deprived of their revolution. Neglected by political power, young Tunisians turn to rap to express their frustrations and aspirations. The documentary Tunisia clash (2015) directed by Hind Meddeb covers the rap scene during and in the aftermath of the 2011 Tunisian Revolution. (translated from the article’s introduction)
Isherwood, Gustav. “The hip-hop resistance: Forging unity in the Arab diaspora”, Review of Middle East studies 48:1-2 (2014) 24–33. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2014-86897; IMA catalogue reference].
Examines the role of hip hop in motivating, supporting, and unifying political resistance movements and revolutionary activity in various Arab countries.
Mezouane, Rabah. “Alger qui rappe, Oran qui raï” [Algiers raps and Oran plays raï] Qantara 26 (été 1999) 22–23. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1999-66771; IMA catalog reference].
Describes the rap music scene in Algiers and the raï music scene in Oran. In each city, young singers and musicians are shaping the sounds of Algerian popular music and reaffirming their cultural identity.
Pillault, Théophile. “Les mondes de Deena Abdelwahed” [The worlds of Deena Abdelwahed] Qantara 104 (été 2017) 19–20. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2017-93296; IMA catalog reference].
With her recent release on the prestigious electronic music label InFiné, Tunisian DJ Deena Abdelwahed introduced her compositions to the heart of the new Mediterranean electronic scene. (translated from the article’s introduction)
Deena Abdelwahed’s 2019 Tawab (Remixes) album cover.
Pillault, Théophile. “Au coeur de la nouvelle scène tunisienne” [At the heart of the new Tunisian scene] Qantara 96 (été 2015) 22–23. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2015-92520; IMA catalog reference].
All the way through a revolution, three years of institutional crisis, a new constitution, political tensions, and the horror of the Bardo National Museum attack, Tunisia was fighting for a space of freedom. At the same time, Tunisian youth went out and experienced new music on dance floors. A short interview with DJ Haze-M is included. (translated from the article’s introduction)
Poché, Christian. “L’Occident, nouveau creuset de la musique arabe” [The West: The new melting-pot of Arab music] Qantara 66 (hiver 2007–08) 22–23. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2008-53699; IMA catalog reference].
Arab music displays some original and unexpected aspects in the West. Whether addressing an Arab diaspora or a European audience, Arab musicians explore influences, present confrontations between genres, perform with musicians of different origins, all while revisiting their own musical traditions. (translated from the article’s introduction)
Salah, Alaa and Martin Roux. Le chant de la révolte: Le soulèvement soudanais raconté par son icône [The song of the revolution: The Sudanese uprising as told by its icon] (Lausanne: Favre, 2021). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2021-108638; IMA catalogue reference].
In April 2019, the Sudanese revolution entered a decisive phase. At the end of four months of repressed demonstrations, protesters reached the outskirts of the army headquarters: they demanded the resignation of General Omar al-Bashir, the dictator in place in Khartoum for 30 years. His reign was marked by wars in South Sudan and Darfur and the oppression of women and all dissident voices. The youth of the country, where more than half of the population was under 25, dreamed of freedom. Suddenly, an image imposed this revolution on television news and the front page of international daily newspapers. Ālā’ Ṣalāḥ appeared a few days before the leader’s fall. Draped in white, an angry index finger pointing towards the sky, the young woman overlooked a crowd of thousands of demonstrators. As she chanted her revolutionary poetry, her gesture propelled her to the rank of a revolutionary icon and gave the Sudanese uprising a title: the revolution of women. Ultimately, Ālā’ became a leading figure in a revolution of a generation that finally tasted hope and a country engaged on a fragile path towards democracy. (translated from the publisher blurb)
Shalaby, Nadia A. “A multimodal analysis of selected Cairokee songs of the Egyptian revolution and their representation of women”, Women, culture, and the January 2011 Egyptian Revolution, ed. by Dalia Said Mostafa (London: Routledge, 2017) 59–81. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2017-90149; IMA catalogue reference].
Analyzes the music videos Ṣawt al-ḥurriyyaẗ (Voice of freedom), Yā al-mīdān (Oh, Tahrir Square), and Iṯbat makānak (Stand your ground) by the Egyptian band Cairokee. The three music videos were released during the year following the breakout of the Egyptian revolution on 25 January 2011, and each reflects the popular mood accompanying the phases of the revolution. The creation and reception of meaning through these music videos is a product of lyrics, music, and other semiotic resources such as visual cues, photographs, camera angles, framing, range of shots, and gaze. The visual design of each music video is discussed to show how multimodal discourse is formed through the employment of various visual, verbal, and musical modes. Finally, the presence and the agency of women in the three music videos are analyzed following the same analytical model.
Stocker, Valérie and Guillaume Thomassin. “Libye underground” [Underground music in Libya] Qantara 82 (hiver 2011-12) 22–23. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2011-54272; IMA catalog reference].
The underground music scene in Tripoli reflects societal shifts beyond mainstream visibility and in response to state-sponsored musical genres and censorship. Since 2011, the increasing availability of the Internet has provided young Libyans access to global musical genres, which they have adapted to articulate the unique concerns and identities of their generation. French reggae, rap, and pop-rock have been adapted and used as vehicles for social commentary and resistance.
Zegnani, Sami. “Le public du rap: Un révélateur des transformations de la société” [The rap audience: An indicator of social change], Tunisie, l’après 2011: Enquête sur les transformations de la société tunisienne [Tunisia, post-2011: Survey about the transformations of Tunisian society], ed. by France Guérin-Pace and Hassène Kassar (Aubervilliers: Institut national d’études démographiques, 2022) 197–211. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2022-28461; IMA catalogue reference].
Investigates the socio-demographics of Tunisian rap fans, considering age, gender, education level, profession, economic level, place of residence (urban and rural), political and religious affiliations, and extent of access to the Internet.
The Indian singer Jayashri Ramnath (better known as Bombay Jayashri) was introduced to Karnatak music in her early childhood, influenced by her parents’ roles as music teachers. Jayashri began her performing career at the age of 28, and having grown up in cosmopolitan Mumbai (formerly Bombay), she was exposed to a wide range of music genres, including bhajans, film music, Hindustani classical, and light music. Despite this diverse musical background, Jayashri’s passion for Karnatak music remained at the core of her identity. During her childhood and college years, she kept her Karnatak training a secret while also exploring other musical opportunities, including singing jingles. Her voice, shaped by Hindustani training, combined with her soulful delivery drawn from her eclectic musical experiences, made Jayashri a distinctive performer.
Jayashri also has ventured into other genres, frequently collaborating with a variety of instrumentalists and vocalists. Boldly, for a Karnatak classical singer not yet widely established, she sang for films in multiple South Asian languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu. Many of these film songs became huge successes, earning her the title of best female playback singer in Tamil Nadu province. Until today, her music is characterized by a contemplative quality known as sruti suddham. Initially criticized for offering sweet music rather than more profound depth, Jayashri’s style has matured into a serene and resonant presence. Her stage demeanor exudes dignity, free from unnecessary gestures, reflecting her deep connection to the beauty of raga. As a composer, she has also earned recognition for her collaborations with artists like Chitra Visweswara, Parvathy, and others.
Jayashri with her son, Amrit.
The most exceptional aspect of her musical career, however, is her immense popularity, which spans across regions and extends worldwide. She has truly become an internationally beloved star, forging a unique connection with diverse audiences through her hypnotic and compelling voice. Beyond her musical talents, she is known for her warmth and kindness in post-concert interactions, leaving lasting memories not only of her remarkable music but also of her humble and genuinely kind nature.
This according to “Bombay Jayashri Ramnath–Notes of resilience: Reflecting with grace and gratitude” by Shailaja Khanna (Sruti: India’s premier magazine for the performing arts 31/1 [2024] 20–25; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2024-10526). Find it in RILM Abstracts with Full Text.
Below, Jayashri performs at a concert in Sri Lanka.
Jayashri performs Valli devasenapate.
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International Women’s Day, celebrated worldwide on Saturday, 8 March, highlights the remarkable achievements of women and reinforces the ongoing pursuit of gender equality. To honor this day, Bibliolore features a reference text from RILM Music Encyclopedias, International Encyclopedia of Women Composers by Aaron I. Cohen, which celebrates the extraordinary contributions of women in music. Let its inspiring content guide you in embracing this year’s International Women’s Day theme, “accelerate action”, a rallying cry for equal rights, power, and opportunities for all. At the heart of this vision lies the empowerment of the next generation—particularly young women and adolescent girls—as driving forces for meaningful and lasting change. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a progressive document used as a blueprint for women’s and girls’ rights worldwide that transformed the women’s rights agenda in terms of legal protection, access to services, youth engagement, and change in social norms and stereotypes.
A retired town planner and self-proclaimed “research buff” from Johannesburg, South Africa, Aaron I. Cohen (b.1906) made history in 1981 by publishing the first encyclopedia dedicated to women composers. The second edition of this groundbreaking work, expanded into two volumes, includes 6,200 entries and 14 appendices. Cohen’s remarkable research journey began with a four-year expedition across Europe, during which he gathered materials on women composers. He also established a global network of antiquarians who provided him with essential references. Recognizing the linguistic diversity of the sources, he eventually put together a small team capable of translating texts from at least 15 different languages.
Cohen’s encyclopedia is remarkable for its breadth, highlighting the earliest known woman composer, Hemre (2723 B.C.E.), an Egyptian leader of court music, and spans a vast geographical scope, featuring nearly 300 composers from Asia to Central America. To this day, the International encyclopedia of women composers remains the only comprehensive resource that covers virtually every known woman composer. It provides biographical details, lists of compositions and publications, as well as a bibliography. This edition also includes a discography and a list of recording companies, making it an invaluable reference for understanding the contributions of women in music.
To learn more, visit RILM Music Encyclopedias and browse through its encyclopedias devoted to a wide range of music and subjects.
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In 1989, the Malaysian band Search became a cultural phenomenon across the maritime Southeast Asia region (locally known as nusantara, or archipelago), successfully exporting their unique style of Malaysian hard rock and heavy metal, which came to be known retrospectively in the Malay language as rock kapak(literally “axe rock”). Their success paved the way for cross-border collaborations in Indonesia and elsewhere, including recordings, tours, and a feature-length film. Following the release of their 1985 debut album Cinta buatan Malaysia (Love made in Malaysia), Search emerged as leaders in the emerging Malay hard rock scene. As heavy metal and rock music gained popularity among youth across the country, Malaysian authorities attempted to limit its spread by imposing a ban on long-haired rockers in 1992. The government justified this measure by associating rock and metal with antisocial behavior, drug use, and other undesirable activities. Search found themselves at the heart of this controversy, as the ban restricted the broadcast of their music on national radio and television. Instead of altering their appearance, Search chose to defy the ban, leading to concert permit denials by government officials.
The Cinta buatan Malaysia cassette tape.
This episode underscores the connections and tensions stirred by Malay rock, which acted as both a crossing of nation-state borders and a challenge to religious and moral boundaries. The former can be understood in the context of inter-regional popular music exchanges within the nusantara region, while the latter reflects Malay rock’s resistance to authoritarian moral policing. The boundary crossings enacted by Search illustrate how the mobility of Malay rock, seen as an informal cross-nusantara movement predominantly led by male, working-class youth, opposed the conservative policies of ethnonational states. While Search’s movement across the region represented a porous crossing of domestic and regional borders, it was the emotionally resonant aspects of their popular ballads that attracted a wide audience across maritime Southeast Asia and even influenced politicians who sought to control their public image.
Search in 2022.
Despite the challenges posed by the long hair ban, Search persevered, consistently releasing albums and singles throughout the 1990s and 2000s, even as rock’s popularity declined in favor of pop, hip hop, and R&B across Asia. Their most recent album, Katharsis, was released in 2017.
This according to “Crossing borders and crossing the line: Nusantara mobilities of Search and the Malay rock phenomenon (1980s and 1990s)” by Adil Johan (Indonesia and the Malay world 51/151[2023] 257–278; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2023-16963).
Below are links to two classic Search music videos:
The U.S. composer and conductor William Grant Still, whose maternal grandmother had been a slave on a plantation in Georgia, attended Wilberforce University in Ohio from 1911 to 1915 after attending high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, where his mother taught English literature. Still learned to play the violin, cello, and oboe and wrote his first arrangements and began to compose as an autodidact. In 1917, he enrolled at Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied composition and theory. After eight months of service in the Navy during World War I, Still briefly resumed his studies but in 1919, went to work in New York as an arranger for the Pace and Handy Music Publishing Company, for which he arranged, among other things the songSaint Louis blues, which was recorded by James Reese Europe’sHellfighters (369th Infantry Regiment Band). In 1936, he conducted the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra and in 1955, the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. In both instances, Still was the first African American conductor to do so.
As many of the titles reveal, nearly all of Still’s work reflected African American life. His first orchestral compositions were Darker America (1924), From the journal of a wanderer (1925), and From the Black belt (1926). Two major orchestral pieces, Africa (1930) and the popular Afro-American symphony (1930), established his wide reputation and helped him earn a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1933. At this time, Still turned his attention to the stage with two ballets for the Ruth Page Company of Chicago: La guiablesse (1927), set in Martinique, and Sahdji (1930), with an African background. A third ballet, Miss Sally’s party, dates from 1940. In 1934, Still received another Guggenheim Fellowship for composition and moved from New York to Los Angeles, where he completed his first opera, Blue steel (1934).
Still with Verna Arvey and their two children. Photo courtesy Judith Anne Still.
This marked the beginning of a series of stage works characterized by close collaboration with Verna Arvey, a white Jewish pianist, librettist, and writer, and Still’s second wife, which became high points of his career. Almost all these works addressed racial problems in the U.S., with Troubled island being the most notable example. Created in collaboration with Langston Hughes, it premiered in 1949 at the New York City Center. Still’s dedication to African American themes resulted in three notable text settings: And they lynched him from a tree (1940); Plainchant for America (1941), and Pages from Negro history (1943). He was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship again in 1935 and 1938. During this time, Still composed for film and television while also pursuing his aspirations as a composer of serious music.
This according to the Dictionary of American classical composers (2005). Find it in RILM Music Encylopedias.
Listen to two of William Grant Still’s better known compositions below.
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As the string quartet established its place as a distinct chamber music genre, it gained a reputation as the most demanding form of instrumental music and eventually transitioned from aristocratic and bourgeois salons to public concerts. This shift required performers to adapt, transforming the music making experience from casual, intimate gatherings of like-minded individuals to more formal recitals, creating a new dynamic between performers and audience. While private quartets continued to exist alongside public performances, such practices have not been extensively documented.
Around 1800, Vienna saw a notable number of regular quartet gatherings, held in both prominent and less prominent homes, such as those of Emanuel Aloys Förster and Nikolaus Zmeskall von Domanovecz. Similar activities during the late 18th and early 19th centuries were sporadically documented across various courtly, aristocratic, and bourgeois salons throughout the German-speaking region, as well as in (primarily Austrian) monasteries and charitable foundations. These quartet performances were also featured in regular quartet entertainment or as part of larger mixed programs in both large and small towns.
While little is known about the exact musical standards of these private, semi-public, and public performances, it is likely that they were of high quality, as the performers were typically musically trained connoisseurs or professional musicians. These gatherings likely provided the foundation for developments that would dominate the 19th century: the concerts of traveling virtuosos who, from city to city, sought new partners for semi-public performances in private homes or public concerts, the concert tours of permanent ensembles, and the establishment of such ensembles in aristocratic or upper-class households.
This according to this month’s featured article on the string quartet ensemble in MGG Online.
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