If you are into culturally aware Indie folk and rock music, then you will love this New York based artist from Kuwait. Because if culture could be captured in one album, then +Aziz’s debut album SoHo Spirit would be a prime example!
Goal number one: to unite Eastern and Western cultures through music. Does he succeed? Yes! +Aziz combines these cultures not only by writing his lyrics in Arabizee, a language best described as a combination of English and Arabic, but also by mixing Middle Eastern and Western beats in his songs. You can practically feel the two cultures pulsating side by side in the rhythms! But although bringing out the beauty in cultural mixtures seems to be the focus of his work, it is also clear that +Aziz wants to show the world his native Kuwaiti culture. He does this by using words in Khaleeji, the Gulf dialect of Arabic, which is rarely used in contemporary music productions. But in the Arabic bits of +Aziz’s songs, Khaleeji plays a central role.
Are you curious to learn more about +Aziz and his debut album? Read more in the full article “New Orleans To Kuwait, And The Beats In Between” on Bazaar here!
Bonus: If you want to hear some more of his music, check out all his available songs on SoundCloud!
Do you know of any other Middle Eastern artists who play with mixes of cultures in their productions? Let us know!
