Radio Host, Producer, & DJ Nooriyah Qais [Quartertones]
Nooriyah Qais talks to us about her iconic Boiler room set with her Baba on the oud, growing up between Saudi, Japan and London, and and her guide to safeguarding yourself in the club industry. We also touch on the community she’s built with her curated event and party series “Middle of Nowhere”, and how she’s bringing SWANA music into the mainstream.
Nooriyah Qais is a radio host, producer, DJ and journalist. Through her work as a DJ and audio producer, she champions music from the Arab region and diaspora, founding “Middle of Nowhere” which is a “SWANA focused collaborative in London”. Her iconic Boiler Room set reached over 1 million streams in the first 3 months. Nooriyah has performed at global dance festivals including Glastonbury.
About Quartertones
Quartertones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
