Local music scene about to boom

Dubai: Nikotin. Human Traffic. Rock Spiders. Those three names might mean absolutely nothing to some people, but for fans of the local music scene those stand for three popular bands in the UAE.

Thanks to the country's multicultural population and busy nightlife, talented musicians have been able to form bands, play gigs, and develop a fan base.

Gulf News spoke to people involved with the country's music industry about the budding community.

Layal Watfeh, a Syrian singer and music producer in Dubai said: "For the music community here, I think that Dubai is growing rapidly. I know of many companies that support local talents, and make it easier for them to organise gigs and concerts."

Watfeh said Tamanya Terrace at Radisson Media City was a "chilled place where you can go during the week to listen to bands playing".

Music fans said The Fridge at the Warehouse in Al Quoz was a favourite location to watch live music shows in Dubai.

Savio Cardoz, an Indian musician and music enthusiast, said he enjoyed The Fridge because he could "meet different people from Arabs to Asians".

"There are lots of different cultures and interesting people," Cardoz said.

"It's nice that they [offer a] platform for upcoming people. Warehouse makes it a nice casual and friendly atmosphere."

Cool ambience

On most nights in Dubai, at 10.30pm the crowds turn to the stage as the lights dim, the music gets loud, and the live bands start to rock the stage at the Music Room located in the Majestic Tower Hotel.

It offers an edgy atmosphere for bands such as Flipside to play, as one of the regular performers that fans demand.

Cardoz described The Music Room as having a "nice and chilled" ambiance that's different from The Fridge, but supportive of new talents, especially on JamNight every Tuesday.

Nizar Andary, a Lebanese-American music fan from Abu Dhabi, said: "There are lots of locations [to listen to live music]. You just have to know where to look. Lots of places that are not very popular and more low-key usually have unique live shows," he said.

Saleh Hamed, a UAE national musician who has been on the music scene since 1999, disagreed. He said the music scene in Abu Dhabi was "dead" because the focus was on the history and music of international talents, instead of documenting "our own talent, culture, and history".

Hamed said: "This is our time. We just look at the past, and don't think why it is important and what it means. People listen to jazz because it makes them look intelligent, but they don't really appreciate or know the history of jazz music. What we need to is get people making music that resonates to the [audiences]. There is no way that people will not demand what speaks to them, but you need people who speak," Hamed said. Hamed said music in the UAE continued to lack the support that allowed musicians to produce, record, and perform because no one was taking the initiative to build the music community.

He described it as a cycle that "continues with new hopeful musicians who start out, but eventually fade away because they don't get the support they need to record, produce and grow".

However Cardoz said he saw a demand for live local musicians in the UAE.