Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Dandin: Uniting Our Sounds

We speak to Abdel Rahman Hussein - one of three brothers who founded Dandin.me, an online aggregator of all things arts and music in the Middle East - ahead of their collaboration with D-CAF.

Staff Writer
It seems it's long been a problem in Egypt and the Middle East's music scene as a whole. The talent is there, it's definitely there, but where do you find it (apart from Scene Noise, obviously)? With the different scenes and sounds scattered over geographical boarders and subcultural voids, three brothers Abdel Rahman Hussein, 33, Karim, 37, and Tariq, 30, are hoping to unite them all in one place; Dandin.me. Dandin, by the way, is an Arabic slang term for humming.
"The point was to provide a platform for artistic expression from the region", says Abdel Rahman, co-founder of  the new online aggregator for all things art, sound and discussion with a focus on music. It was only launched last October but has already amassed a huge amount of artist profiles on the website ranging from traditional Arab Pop to experimental Techno.
"My brother and I were musicians and for a long time and we wished there was something likes this for creative people to find out who was making what around us," Abdel Rahman adds. Aside from the music you can also search uploads by different categories including political shows, comedy and poetry.
You have the choice of making your own profile and uploading your sounds or the website admins might choose your show or music specifically to upload themselves, subject to your approval.
Although the site isn't currently in English it's brilliant that there is an Arabic site putting a spotlight on productions that would otherwise circulate and dissipate through the same vortex of listeners. If they keep up the momentum, they could one day become the Soundcloud of the Middle East.
Dandin.me is also partnering up with the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival, where they'll have a room at the downtown press centre, playing out a bunch of tunes from the site throughout the month.
Keep up to date with all things www.Dandin.me on their Facebook page here or Twitter here.