Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Enjoy an evening of global live music at NYU Abu Dhabi, where modern genres meet traditional sounds on one stage.
The Tamaas Festival, at The Arts Center's East Plaza on Thursday, January 29, will feature three acts - Yasmine Hamdan, Al-Qasar and Maruja Limón in one live concert, staged with the support of the Institut Français in the UAE.
Yasmine Hamdan (Lebanon)
Yasmine Hamdan first made waves with the pioneering Beirut indie electronic duo Soapkills, which she co-founded with Zeid Hamdan in the late 1990s. After moving to Paris in 2005, Yasmine collaborated with Madonna producer Mirwais on the Y.A.S. project, releasing the clubby Arabology album in 2009.
Since then, she has earned international acclaim as a solo singer-songwriter and producer, elegantly entwining far-ranging elements, from pan-Arabic roots and pop and poetic lyrics, to electronica, soul and guitar melodies.
Yasmine has toured globally in support of her albums Ya Nass (2013) and Al Jamilat (2017). Her third album was released in September 2025.
Al-Qasar (USA/France)
Al-Qasar was started between Los Angeles and Paris in 2016 by US-French producer Thomas Attar, featuring the core members - Turkish psychedelic rock singer Sibel, Iraqi-French drummer Adrien Al-Aiedy, and French bassist Guillaume Theoden.
Al-Qasar's music never wavers, pulling from the hypnotic roots of North African trance and threading it into a fabric with the elaborate beauty of Arab scales and the shock and thrill of rock.
The collective just wrapped a world tour in support of their first full length album, Who Are We.
The project's second album, UNCOVERED (WeWantSounds), tackles songs from the Western pop to Arab folk music. Cultures collide, and the result of this fusion is Depeche Mode sung in Turkish, Sean Paul in Arabic, Nubian legend Hamza El Din with fuzz guitars and iconic Lebanese composer Wadih El Safi through space echo.
Maruja Limón (Spain)
Maruja Limón is a six-member band from Barcelona, renowned for their vibrant fusion of flamenco, pop, and Latin rhythms.
Their debut album, Más de ti (2018), was praised as one of the best Spanish records of the year, earning them the Best Emerging Artist award at the ARC Awards 2018. With their second album, Ante Mí (2019), they received a nomination for Best World Music Album at the MIN Awards 2020.
Te como la cara is the band's latest work, divided into two EPs: Te como la cara (A), released in March 2024, and Te como la cara (B), launched in October. It's a journey through the geography of Catalan, flamenco, quinqui, mestizo, and Latin rumba, blending experimental, electronic and organic sounds.
