Having complained umpteen times about the predominance of hip-hop/rap on the Dubai airwaves, I had never realized their absence from the local scene up until a year or 2 ago. Diligent Thought first opened my eyes to the Dubai hip-hop scene and I was quite impressed, to say the least. The amount of talent in their music seemed to be on an international and professional level and I had never expected that from artists in Dubai. Some time later, I continue to be (pleasantly) surprised. Here's a fellow by the name of Young Vaughn, an extremely talented and eclectic individual with incredible ideas and musical influences, all of which is evident in his music. With a style that reminded me of Lupe Fiasco's at first, it becomes increasingly obvious as the record progresses that YV has an remarkably individual and unique style. The lyrics seem to flow seamlessly and the beats are borderline surreal sometimes ("Sunset", off the top of my head). Here's The New School Cool (the first YV project I've listened to so it seems only right I start y'all off with it as well).
If you remember, I posted about these guys earlier. Anyway, here's a video from one of their recent gigs. It's a compilation of sorts. And listen up for the Carcass cover at the end! :D
Perversion (old-school death metal) One of my favourite, if not the favourite, local bands. They have a brutal old-school vibe which I just love and they have influences such as Suffocation, Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal. They've released an EP entitled Origins of Horror Unfortunately, their drummer is leaving so that means the band will be M.I.A. for a while. Check out their live video, myspace, and metal-archive page.
Capricious Alchemy (death metal) Another death metal band that has formed very recently. Its members have been part of previous local acts such as Specator (thrash, R.I.P.) and Mausoleum (doom, R.I.P.). The session vocals are performed by Bilal Yehia (ex-Nephelium, ex-Nervecell). They've released an EP entitled A Brief Demonstration of a Mind in Matter. Myspace Metal-archives
A Shot Of Adrenaline (death metal) Another relatively new band. There's not really much to say about these guys, except that they make decent death metal. Check em out. Myspace
Nervecell (death metal) These guys need no introduction, as they are Dubai's premium metal export. They've been involved in the Dubai metal/music scene since 2001 and their hard work has definitely paid off, with them now playing festivals such as Rock Am Ring/Rock Am Park, With Full Force Festival AND Wacken Open Air Festival! They've recently released a full-length entitled Preaching Venom. Myspace Official website
I don't wanna give the impression that the scene is made up mostly of death metal acts. Check the following out:
Nikotin (rock/alternative) When this band first started out, they got a lot of bad rap which was due to their arrogance and lack of talent. Then all of a sudden, they decided to show up again with a new attitude and new music. I for one was pleasantly surprised at this change of direction. Check them out at the following pages. Myspace Facebook
Sandwash (rock/punk/alternative or simply "groovecore") Sandwash are one of the earliest bands to be involved in the Dubai rock scene. With an upbeat attitude and music, it's almost impossible to not bob your head to their music, which they describe as "groovecore"- a blend of 70's guitar rock, modern metal dynamics, and sing-along choruses. Myspace
Diligent Thought (hip-hop with an oldschool vibe) I don't know why I didn't discover this band earlier, but better late than never. They're an alternative hip-hop group, in the vein of Common, The Roots, Pharcyde and more. Greatly recommended. Myspace
Well, that's all for now. The main purpose of this post was to give people an idea of the music in Dubai, as well as show them that it's not all camels and terrorists. Peace.
