Tarab

We’re thrilled to share that Tarab was named one of the Best of 2025 by Apple Podcasts in the Middle East. Hosted by Saeed Saeed from The National News in Abu Dhabi, Tarab dives into the sounds and stories redefining Arab music. In Season 1, artists from across the region, from classical composers to hip-hop trailblazers, shared what Tarab means to them. Featured artists in the first season included Yasmeen Hamdan, Le Trio Joubran, Felukah, Sons of Yusuf, Malek Jandali, Lina Makhoul, Adonis, Tania Saleh, Ghaliaa, and Taymoor Marmarchi. Stay tuned for Season 2 coming soon on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen.

As we wrap up the first season of Tarab, we look at where the Middle East’s music industry may be heading next. A Grammy Awards for the Middle East. That’s the vision Taymoor Marmarchi is bringing to life. As the first executive director of the Mena Recording Academy, Marmarchi is laying the groundwork for an inclusive regional music ecosystem that connects artists, producers and industry figures from across the Arab world and its diaspora. In this season finale of Tarab, Marmarchi joins host Saeed Saeed to discuss plans for a regional membership network, and, eventually, a full-scale awards ceremony. Inspired by the success of the Latin Grammys, he believes the time is right for the region to unite and showcase its musical excellence on a global stage. In the episode, Marmarchi talks about the challenges of building infrastructure for a fragmented industry, and the opportunities that lie ahead for young musicians. He also looks back on his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and the charity anthem Bokra, and shares why his new role feels like the culmination of a 25-year career spent bridging cultures through music. Over ten episodes, Tarab has explored the depth and diversity of the Middle East’s evolving sound, from oud virtuosos and hip-hop innovators to indie dreamers and classical composers. Make sure to listen to all the episodes on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcasts. Stay tuned for the next season.

Born in Damascus and raised in the oasis city of Al Ain in the UAE, Ghaliaa Chaker grew up between quiet streets and a house full of instruments. She taught herself production, wrote in English first, then pivoted towards Arabic lyricism, as audiences asked to hear their stories in their own language. In this episode of Tarab, Chaker joins host Saeed Saeed where she talks about working on her first album that gathers her singer-songwriter roots with new sounds. Chaker explains how a recent single drew her towards indie rock, how she balances sincerity with experimentation and why she refuses to chase hits that do not feel true. On her early career days, Chaker talks about how Al Ain’s scenery shaped her as an artist, the open mic sessions that built her confidence, the institutional support she found across the UAE and the social media backlash that followed when her image as a hijabi artist became visible. Tarab is a weekly podcast taking listeners inside the Middle East’s music scene through conversations with its artists. New episodes drop every Tuesday on all podcast platforms.

A classically trained pianist with performances spanning Vienna, Chicago and London, Syrian-American composer Malek Jandali has dedicated his career to preserving and elevating Arabic symphonic music on the global stage. In this episode of Tarab, host Saeed Saeed sits down with Jandali, whose work bridges western classical tradition and Middle Eastern heritage. Jandali speaks about the inspiration behind his non-profit Pianos for Peace, a movement that transforms pianos into public artworks before they are donated to schools, hospitals and refugee centres. Jandali also reflects on art’s duty, which he says goes beyond entertainment, as well as its power to unite, heal and archive culture for generations to come. Jandali shares how he integrates Arab melodies into the classical canon, and composes with a view towards a legacy he hopes will last “for a hundred years after my death”. Tarab is a weekly podcast taking listeners inside the Middle East’s music scene through conversations with its artists. New episodes drop every Tuesday on all podcast platforms.

You can only take so much in a suitcase. When Tania Saleh left Beirut in 2022, she packed lightly and started over. Now living in Paris, the Lebanese singer and visual artist has translated that rupture into a new album called Fragile. It is sparse, introspective and stripped of the social critique for which she's long been known. Instead of grand statements, the songs chart quieter emotional terrain: loneliness, resilience, the small rituals that help her keep going. On this episode of Tarab, host Saeed Saeed hears from Saleh on exile, silence and what it means to live and create from a suitcase.

 They're known as the Lebanese Coldplay. Their shows are electrifying, their songs punchy and heartfelt. They've tackled themes from loneliness in the Covid-19 pandemic to heritage and a deep love of land. On this episode of Tarab, host Saeed Saeed speaks to Anthony Khoury of Adonis, the indie-pop band he established in 2011. He talks about the band's evolution and the emotional core of their seventh album, a project shaped around solitude, self-reflection and letting go.

How do you write a song about contentment in Arabic pop? Not joy, not heartbreak, not resistance, but stillness. Palestinian singer Lina Makoul has spent years exploring that question She is part of a growing wave of artists who are reshaping what emotional honesty sounds like in Arabic music, from a songwriting challenge with Palestinian teenagers during the pandemic to her ongoing solo work, she's found ways to turn reflection into rhythm. Hear her full conversation with host Saeed Saeed on Tarab.

On this week's episode of Tarab, host Saeed Saeed dives into Khaliji hip-hop with Ya'koob Al Refaie, one half of Kuwait's groundbreaking sibling duo, Sons of Yusuf. Joining The National from Kuwait City, Ya'koob discusses their second album, Granada, a project crafted across continents that draws inspiration from spirituality, Islamic art, and history.

The music of Adnan Joubran is more than a family affair. A member of Le Trio Joubran – the Palestinian oud ensemble formed with his brothers Samir and Wissam – the Nazareth-born musician grew up in a house filled with sound: a father who was a master oud maker and a mother who was a singer. Carrying that legacy forward on stage has become more than keeping a tradition alive. For over two decades, whether solo or with the trio, Joubran has performed on stages from Ramallah to New York, transmitting the culture of Palestine through music built on the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish and collaborations with figures such as Roger Waters and Brian Eno. Each song recorded and concert played is as much a celebration of Palestinian culture as it is a form of resilience. In this episode of Tarab, ahead of London shows at the Barbican Centre on November 29 and a solo performance at Wembley Arena on September 17 at the Together for Palestine event, host Saeed Saeed speaks to Joubran about touring during the Israel-Gaza war and using the studio as a space of resistance and healing.

Egyptian rapper and poet Felukah has carved out a place in Arabic hip-hop through a style that moves easily between Cairo and New York, English and Arabic. Since her 2019 debut, Citadel, she has built a body of work that blends hip-hop, neo-soul and regional influences, while maintaining her independence in an industry dominated by major labels. In this episode of Tarab, host Saeed Saeed speaks with Felukah about her path from Cairo to New York, code-switching in her lyrics, and what it meant to perform at the Recording Academy’s showcase in New York as part of the Mena chapter’s launch. Tarab is a weekly podcast taking listeners inside the Middle East’s music scene through conversations with its artists. New episodes drop every Tuesday on all podcast platforms.