Interview by Parisa Eshrati

"Night is when strange things happen. When shapes shift and blur. When it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s illusion." For Cyprus' Monsieur Doumani, darkness has been a means to explore a whole new dynamic to their music. While staying rooted in traditional Cypriot music, the band takes on a new experimental approach to create a conceptual portrait of the night on their latest release, Pissourin. We caught up vocalist and tzouras player Antonis Antoniou in an email interview to delve deep into the album's themes of darkness, and ultimately, how to find the light.

Interview by Parisa Eshrati

For Tunisian rapper Medusa TN, making music is more than just an artform, but a responsibility. In order for Afro-Arab women to fight against obscurantism, Medusa TN explains that her words have a duty to exist. Though she doesn't consider herself a political rapper, her poetry is shaped from the struggles and strengths of being an immigrant, an artist, a mother, and at the core of it all, a woman. In this interview, we speak with Medusa TN on the evolving Tunisian hip hop scene, and her commitment to paving the way for Muslim women to find their place in the world.

Interview by Parisa Eshrati

Emerging from the underground Afro-Arab music scene, Bab L’ Bluz are reclaiming the blues of North Africa on their debut album, Nayda! Fronted by an African-Moroccan woman in a traditionally male role, Bab L'Bluz's music nods to the revolutionary attitude of the Moroccan "Nayda" youth movement. The album is rooted in traditions of the Maghreb and ancient Gnawa music, but incorporates modern influences of rock, funk, and psychedelic fusion. In this detailed three-part interview, we spoke with vocalist and multi-instrumentalists Yousra Mansour and Brice Bottin on the evolution of the Nayda movement, the instrumental and spiritual connection to Gnawa music, as well as the various lyrical themes expressed throughout the album.