Challenging Stereotypes: DJ Nihal Al Aasar Spotlights the Middle East's Underground Music Scene

From essays on geopolitics to music sets highlighting hidden Arab talents, Egyptian writer, DJ, and radio host Nihal Al Aasar is dedicated to unearthing alternative narratives and capturing the cultural pulse of the region's diverse communities. Raised in Cairo and currently based in London, she writes in response to the changes, wars, and socio-economic issues sweeping the Middle East over the past 15 years. The self-described "anti-propagandist" felt compelled to speak out and, combining that mission with her love for music, found in radio an outlet that fused both worlds.

Reflecting on her journey, Al Aasar told The National: “I grew up being a voracious reader and I listened to a lot of music. I think because I was an only child, I had a very rich inner life. I had things that were happening in the world that I wanted to respond to, or be in conversation with, and writing came naturally as a way to express myself.”

While attending a dinner party in 2022 and playing various music genres from her phone—ranging from Arab electronic music and Palestinian rap to Egyptian drum and bass—someone recommended she check out NTS Radio. Founded in 2011 in London by Femi Adeyemi, the music platform operates as "an international community of music lovers." Al Aasar recalled messaging them assuming she might appear as a guest, only to be invited to host her own live show. Her very first gig was broadcast live on NTS, where she learned to DJ on the fly, eventually becoming an NTS resident with her show, Nile to Bank.

Speaking earlier to The National from the Vima Art Fair in Limassol, Cyprus, Al Aasar noted that her career had come full circle. As part of The Waves Crashing exhibition curated by Kostas Stasinopoulos, she delivered an artistic music set following their previous collaboration on Peter Doig’s House of Music at the Serpentine Gallery in 2025. At the Serpentine, she presented traditional Arabic tunes that played while visitors viewed Doig’s paintings, whereas her Limassol performance featured a more experimental mix of left-field hip-hop, drill, drum and bass, indie, and electronic sounds from across the Middle East.

Through Nile to Bank, Al Aasar aims to dismantle cultural borders through her track selections and by inviting activists and guests to discuss regional issues on air. Challenging monolithic views of Middle Eastern music, she stated: “There’s no such thing as an ‘Arab sound’ and I wanted to represent these underground contemporary music scenes. I try to highlight the vibrant music scenes from different Arab countries, because sometimes people pigeonhole Middle Eastern music as a monotype, thinking it’s just wedding music or Nancy Ajram... In Egypt alone, there's people who only listen to deep industrial breakbeat music, and then there’s techno or Mahraganat.”

With a thriving rap scene in Morocco and electronic and rap music emerging from Palestine and Jordan, Al Aasar's platform bridges the gap between creative output and political reality. Alongside musical acts like El Kontessa, Otteswed, and Firas Shehadeh, her show has featured guests such as writer Mohammed El Kurd and artist-researcher Mohammed ‘Siko’ Tatour. By giving voice to alternative discourse, Al Aasar continues to demonstrate that art and politics remain inextricably linked.