Syed was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. In London’s Jazz Cafe, the sound of Egyptian legend Umm Kulthum’s song Alf Leila Wleila is reverberating around an atmosphere of anticipation.

With a focus on music from the Middle East and North Africa, Habibi Funk co-founder and curator Jannis Stürtz and his team have been reissuing some of the most unexpected and exciting releases of the ...

Over the last couple of years, the Habibi Funk label has been shining a light on a broad selection of older, and lesser known, music to have emerged from across the Arab World, taking in funk and soul ...

Habibi Funk, the acclaimed Berlin-based label dedicated to music from the Arabic-speaking world, has unveiled its next release, a compilation of recordings by renowned Lebanese musician Rogér Fakhr.

A new compilation from Habibi Funk highlights the old and interweaving sounds of Algerian coladera, Lebanese AOR, Egyptian disco, Moroccan funk and more. Save this story Save this story In an ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

Those drawn to world music often seek the exotic and the alien, but Jannis Stürz, the German crate-digger behind the Habibi Funk label, seems to explore the vinyl troves of the Arab world in search of ...

Jannis Stürtz, founder of record label Habibi Funk and DJ is coming back to Electric Pawn Shop this weekend. With Stürtz and bar co-owner Lobito on the decks, the Habibi Funk event is taking place on ...

Habibi Funk is devoted to the percolation of western pop music through the Arab world between the 1960s and 1980s. Compiled by Berlin-based reissue specialist Jannis Stürtz, it is the fruit of record ...