FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Afghan Producer Shuja Rabbani Is Trying To Bring EDM To His Country

Will release "Alpha Male" on January 16.

Last year, a music producer from Kabul named Shuja Rabbani launched the eponymous Rabbani Records, a label dedicated to bringing and showcasing EDM and house music to and from Afghanistan, and one that claims to be "the first ever Afghan-owned online registered music company."

While Afghanistan gets plenty of war reportage, its surprisingly robust pop music industry, as well as a burgeoning hip-hop scene led by female rappers Soosan Firooz and Sonita Alizadeh, have largely been ignored by Western cultural publications. Contemporary dance music, however, has remained virtually nonexistent in the country's culture, that is, until now.

To date, the now Dubai-based producer's only release is his own Afghan Provocateur, an album that went viral in back in his hometown and the larger Middle East. One album in, and almost 300K Twitter followers later, Rabbani is returning with "Alpha Male," 21-tracks of Rabbani's Afghani blend of Western dance hall banger mixed with traditional melodic structures of the region. While Rabbani has yet to announce any other artists on his label, according to his website, he is opening to hearing demos from Afghani producers.

Watch the single for "Prisoner of My Dance Floor" below. Alpha Male will be released on January 16th.