Few online radio stations command the airwaves with as much curiosity and free-wheeling passion as Radio Alhara. Since March 2020, a group of six friends based across the West Bank, Bethlehem, Beirut and Jordan have been running the platform, which broadcasts a striking array of shows, from academic lectures and radical protest campaigns to improv comedies and Palestinian rap. Impossible to pin down to just one artistic practice, its governing ethos is rooted in a spirit of inquisitiveness.
Meaning "neighbourhood" in Arabic, Radio Alhara took root as a means for its founders to keep in touch and share music while confined in lockdowns. Owing to their home-bound state, they initially aimed to steer clear from solely platforming thumping club sessions, instead programming audio curios from the SWANA region. Tune in today and you're just as likely to encounter electronic oddities and ambient field recordings as you are discussions about architectural practice and talkshows with Arab musicians.
But as the annexation of the West Bank unfolded in 2020, Radio Alhara morphed into a space not just for musical discovery but defiant protest. In response to the unfolding occupation, that summer the station organised a 72-hour anti-colonial, anti-racist broadcast, featuring sets from Ben UFO, Mykki Blanco, Kampire and Habibi Funk, journeying across experimental dubstep, Egyptian magrahan, thunderous drum & bass and more. It was a moving and far-reaching show of solidarity that further strengthened Radio Alhara's vital voice in the cultural sphere.
Read the feature on Resident Advisor.
[This piece was published on 10/12/24]
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