The former singer for the Lebanese indie band Soap Kills doesn’ t make an appearance in this video. Instead, the video features a black-and-white slow-moving visual of a young girl dancing in a circle of four withered but dangerous men, its direction complementing the mysterious and desolate vibe of the song. The meaning and underlying message in Nediya, El Mokhatlifeen and many other accompanying arabic indie music videos is never diluted or compromised for the sake of commercial viability.
SHIFTING TIDES
While most of these bands have limited means and a lack of access to the general public, these indie artists are establishing platforms and reaching audiences locally and across oceans. For example, Mashrou’ Leila have penetrated the world stage with their recent world tour that not only served to bring music from the region to the world, but to reconnect the diaspora with the cultural productions of their homelands.
One of the main platforms for these bands is the Internet, which as Dr. Salti says has“ revolutionized the Arab world” in terms of the Arabic music scene.“ Without the Internet, I don’ t think we would have heard of this music,” he says, referring to how most big record companies will either refuse to sign indie artists or will force them to“ water down” their lyrics. Indie artists like Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, have created platforms like Eka3 for other indie artists, including their own record label Mostakell. Today’ s independent artists are also able to release joint projects through sites like CD Baby and Soundcloud.“ I think that has nullified the need for any kind of record label,” Dr. Salti says, as it enables these artists to continue producing music and gain a following, with the assistance of self- or crowd-funding, which he says has been“ instrumental”( no pun intended) to the release of many CDs by Arab indie musicians.
Off the web, several cultural hubs for indie artists are forming in the indie hotspots of the MENA. In Jordan, artist Hana Malhas has founded a project called Bala Feesh in the city of Amman, strictly for indie artists to experiment and perform for an audience, free of admission. In Lebanon, several large festivals, devoted to indie musicians, have been growing over the past several years. The annual jazz festival in Beirut, held on International Jazz Day( April 30th) and the yearly Wickerpark Music Festival, founded by musician Junior Daou, in the city of Batroun are two