Jordan’s up and coming music scene signals creative boom

AMMAN — According to Jordanian musician Yazan Zyadat, Jordan’s new musicians are paving the region’s way into the global music scene, with the last three years marking the beginning of a new sound. 

 As the first Jordanian DJ and producer to take his music to venues and clubs across Europe, Zyadat, popularly known as “Toumba”, is spreading music from the Middle East and North Africa around the world through his blends of electronic sounds and riffs from the Middle East, inspired by traditional rhythms.

Toumba described “an up and coming music scene, very much still in the works”, to The Jordan Times. Since 2020, he has seen exponential change, buoyed by the creation of Amman club nights.

Although this nascent music scene, still largely an underground part of the city’s nightlife, can seem hard to locate, the movement taking off in Jordan has been described as a safe environment, “holding safety as its highest priority for all attendees”, be that local or international.

In his releases, Toumba aims to share music he can relate to, meaning a vast majority originates from Jordan and the region. “My primary aim is not to push the ME sound out of the region and into Europe… my music contains strong Jordanian, Arab music roots as an extension of my history and surroundings.”

That Arabic modal system, which can also be heard in his music, contains more specific Jordanian influences: Bedouin music from the south of Jordan, sounds native to the city of Aqaba and North Jordan, and music and beats whose roots lie in the Palestinian-origin dance, Dabke. 

Toumba stressed the value of the team effort behind the country’s up and coming music scene. For him, the success of individual artists is not, in itself, of primary importance. He told The Jordan Times, “if the whole scene flourishes, the people around it can also flourish.” Many collaborative projects and record labels are in the works, promising a much-awaited creative boom in the coming years.

Beyond the nightlife culture, where their music is commonly shared, Jordan’s creative scene boasts many citizens deeply focused on their art and craft, and Toumba’s collaborative outlook is evident from his wider aims as a musician, through which he wants to raise awareness of, and local and international attention towards the Jordanian music scene, in order to “give other artists the platform I have”, by “sharing their music when I’m in certain circles” when working abroad. 

For Toumba, those platforms have included major events, including Milan Design Week, and the CTM festival in Berlin. “It is important for people around the world to be able to recognise Jordanian artists as being world-class,” he added.

But there is still more to be done. Many societal struggles must be overcome, especially for women musicians, Toumba feels. Worldwide, the nightlife scene remains heavily male-dominated, a reality also reflected in Amman. 

Breaking that mould, certain events strive to showcase an equal number of female and male artists performing at club nights, and aims to be a welcoming environment for women aspiring to be DJs and producers. “In terms of music being released, the creative spaces involved, and the intimate feel of the events, it is completely it’s own entity. It is incomparable in this way.”

Even though it has already emerged and is influencing music on the world stage, Jordan’s low-key scene of alternative culture is just getting started. “There are crazily talented people who haven’t yet put out proper projects”, Toumba added. “In the next five years, we are going to bear witness to exciting change.”