Issam Al-Najjar
‘Baree’
The young Jordanian singer rose to international prominence last year when his single “Hadal Ahebek” shot to the top of Spotify’s Global Viral 50 chart. Now he’s released one of the most hotly anticipated debut album’s ever from a regional artist, “Baree.” With the region’s nascent industry fully behind him — the record’s out on Universal and the launch party (his first live performance) was hosted by Anghami — Al-Najjar is undoubtedly one to watch.
Postcards
‘Bruises’
This Lebanese trio seem to improve with each release. “Bruises,” a poignant-but-urgent burst of electro-flavored dream-pop racked with frustration, is no exception. The video — created by the band’s former bassist Rany Bechara — is an experimental “human-machine collaboration” that works beautifully with the track.
Jadal
‘Ma’llaga’
The Jordanian indie veterans have been gradually releasing lyric videos from their latest album ‘La Tlou’ El Daw’ for a while now. Our favorite so far is “Ma’llaga.” It’s the kind of earworm that songwriter Mahmoud Radaideh has produced numerous times over the years — driven by a rhythmic electronic drone and funky beat — the laidback, downbeat vocals contrast nicely with the ultra-danceable music.
Alya
‘Love Promise’
The 16-year-old Emirati artist’s fourth release is a simple pop track (one that rhymes “true” with “ooh-ooh,” for example) with stripped-back, R&B-influenced instrumentation that allows space for Alya’s voice to shine. Her label, Universal, clearly has high hopes for her, stressing in the press release for the single that she has “over 51,000 followers on Instagram … and more than 200 fan pages” online.
