In step with global music trends, Coachella ropes in Korean, Pakistani, Indian artistes

Pakistani Singer Ali Sethi performs during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 16, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 17 April 2023
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In step with global music trends, Coachella ropes in Korean, Pakistani, Indian artistes

  • The 2023 edition of the festival has more than half of artistes hailing from outside the US
  • India's Diljit Dosanjh and Pakistan's Ali Sethi drew large crowds to their high-energy sets

Indio, United States: The original 1999 Coachella lineup was decidedly oriented towards rock acts and full of white men, but today, the premier music festival's lineup is more diverse and international than ever. 

The 2023 edition of the massive desert festival is a showcase of global talent, with more than half of the performing artists hailing from outside the United States, including artists from Puerto Rico, South Korea, Belgium and Pakistan. 

The centering of genre-spanning music performed in a variety of languages highlights the US industry's evolving response to global tastes, as streaming and social media offer obvious metrics on what's popular, and profitable. 

Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican reggaeton master and world's biggest star, headlined the weekend's opening night with an adrenaline-pumping performance that paid homage to Caribbean music's influential lineage and had his fans screaming with delight. 

On Saturday night, the K-pop megastars BLACKPINK put on one of the weekend's buzziest shows -- and made history as the first Asian act to headline the festival -- with tens of thousands of revelers descending on the main stage for a bombastic set of pop bangers preceded by a mesmerizing, drone-powered light show and punctuated by pyrotechnics. 

For CedarBough Saeji, a professor of Korean and East Asian studies who specializes in K-pop, the festival lineup emphasizing the hottest acts from across the globe is long overdue. 

And when it comes to K-pop, "we've reached a point where the ongoing public demand for K-pop... is clear, even to people who may be watching the financial bottom line much more than they're watching trends," she said. 

"America's a very large music market, there's a lot of people there," Saeji continued. "It's a very, very important tastemaker -- but world cultural flows have shifted." 

"You don't have to be American to be the top group in the world." 

Major artists, including Spain's Rosalia, Iceland's Bjork and Nigeria's Burna Boy received top billings on the festival's main stage, while India's Diljit Dosanjh and Pakistan's Ali Sethi drew large crowds to their high-energy sets. 

"When I saw those brown faces in their best, sort of like, South Asian regalia with a twist, it gave me so much courage," Sethi told AFP following his set. 

For "those of us who are coming from other places, coming from other traditions, who are speaking languages -- musical languages, visual languages, and literally languages that haven't been heard here before -- that Coachella welcomes us and has us here, it's a new trip." 

Sethi was already wildly popular prior to his Coachella performance: his song "Pasoori" was Google's most searched song in 2022 and boasts more than half a billion views on YouTube. 

According to scholar Saeji, the internet has played a vital role in "leveling the playing field." 

"The internet is the reason why worldwide audiences have so much more awareness now of artists coming out of countries that aren't traditional hegemons," she said. 

"I predict that no matter how much the US music industry may try to continue to try to gatekeep, eventually, we're going to see a situation where we have charting music coming from multiple languages all the time." 

"And that's beautiful." 

Also on feature were France's Christine and the Queens, Argentina's Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and Belgium's Angele. 

And Palestinian-Chilean Elyanna broke ground as the first artist to perform a full set in Arabic at the festival. 

Turkish electronic artist Omer Mesci, who performs under the name Minus the Light, was born and raised in Turkey and told AFP after his set that it's particularly "inspiring" as a DJ to encounter an international slate of performers. 

"Music is music," he said. "That's what makes it beautiful. It's so colorful in terms of the music, in terms of the people." 

Rosalia -- the Spanish superstar who made her name as a flamenco revisionist before soaring to the top of pop with her blockbuster third album, "Motomami" -- was among the weekend's most hotly anticipated acts, with fans clamoring for her as she blasted through a set of her daring, kaleidoscopic songs blending styles. 

"Buenas noches, Coachella!" she shouted as cheers cascaded through the crowd. "You fill my heart with your presence. I come from Barcelona, that's why this stage is so special. It's because of you that I'm here." 


Annemarie Jacir’s ‘Palestine 36’ chosen as Oscar submission

Updated 23 August 2025
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Annemarie Jacir’s ‘Palestine 36’ chosen as Oscar submission

  • Film received partial funding from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Fund, Qatar-based Katara Studios

DUBAI: Palestinian filmmaker and writer Annemarie Jacir’s “Palestine 36” has been selected as Palestine’s official submission for the Oscars’ international feature film category.

Set in 1930s Palestine, the drama explores the lives of individuals during the uprising against British colonial rule. Against a backdrop of sweeping change, the film delves into themes of identity, resistance and transformation.

The story follows Yusuf (Karim Daoud Anaya), a young man caught between his rural village and the rapidly changing city of Jerusalem; Afra (Wardi Eilabouni), a girl navigating an uncertain world with the guidance of her grandmother (Hiam Abbass); and a port worker (Saleh Bakri), who finds himself drawn into an emerging uprising. A British official, portrayed by Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons, attempts to maintain order as tensions rise.

The cast also features “Game of Thrones” star Liam Cunningham, Tunisian actor Dhafer L’Abidine, and Palestinian talents Yasmine Al-Massri and Kamel El-Basha.

“Palestine 36” was selected as Palestine’s Oscar entry by an independent committee of Palestinian film professionals in a move officially confirmed by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.

The film received partial funding from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Fund, and Qatar-based Katara Studios. Watermelon Pictures has acquired distribution rights to the film.

Featuring rare archival footage of 1930s Palestine, “Palestine 36” is set to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 5, where it will become the first Arab film to screen in the festival’s prestigious Gala section.

Jacir, who has been working on “Palestine 36” since before the pandemic, is known for her focus on Palestinian narratives. Her previous films include “Salt of This Sea” (2008), “When I Saw You” (2012), and “Wajib” (2017), all of which received critical acclaim and represented Palestine at the Academy Awards. “Palestine 36” is her fourth film to be submitted by Palestine for Oscar consideration.

It is the 18th film to be submitted by Palestine since it began participating in the international feature category. To date, the country has received two nominations in the category, both for films directed by Hany Abu-Assad: “Paradise Now” in 2006 and “Omar” in 2014.

The Oscars’ international feature shortlist will be announced on Dec. 16, with final nominations revealed on Jan. 22.


Artist Salma Dib channels resistance and street energy in ‘No Trespassing’

Updated 23 August 2025
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Artist Salma Dib channels resistance and street energy in ‘No Trespassing’

DUBAI: Palestinian artist Salma Dib is among six creatives featured in “No Trespassing,” the summer exhibition at Dubai’s Ishara Art Foundation. 

Running until Aug. 30, the show brings the raw energy of street art into a gallery space, inviting artists to explore physical, political and personal boundaries through their work.

“It’s very exciting for me,” Dib told Arab News. “I’ve always enjoyed Ishara’s programming and the way they completely transformed the space each time. This show is extra special for me as an artist because I got to be part of this transformation alongside all the other great artists in the show working inside the space the whole time.”

Salma Dib is among six creatives featured in “No Trespassing.” (Supplied)

Dib created a large-scale, distressed wall installation layered with paint, Arabic text and marks that resemble remnants of protest posters. 

“My work comes from observing how people reclaim or protect their place, their voices and their right to self-expression, especially in places under political tension,” she explained. “The walls I create are covered in posters, graffiti and writing that demand to be seen.”

Her walls are built from worn materials, archival posters and layers of graffiti-like marks. “I always stress I’m not trying to emulate the streets, but borrowing from its energy and delivering the urgency, the messiness and the fear that comes from needing your voice to be heard amid the chaos.”

Dib’s process is driven by both improvization and political memory. “I was born in what to this day is still considered a refugee camp,” she said. “Making art became my way of holding onto those fragments, of piecing together something that felt like home.”

Ultimately, she hopes visitors leave with one message: “To understand that every mark is part of an ongoing conversation … that carries the voices of a community that insists on existing and being heard.”


Saudi film ‘Esaaf’ gets Netflix release

Updated 23 August 2025
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Saudi film ‘Esaaf’ gets Netflix release

DUBAI: The Saudi film “Esaaf” (“Ambulance”) debuted on Netflix this week.

Set in Riyadh, the action-comedy follows Lina, an Egyptian woman living in the city, played by Egyptian actress Basma Dawood.

Her life takes a chaotic turn when she crosses paths with two paramedics, Omar (Saudi actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al-Hajjaj) and Khaled (Mohammed Al-Qahtani), who find themselves in way over their heads after getting entangled in an unexpected kidnapping plot.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Netflix MENA (@netflixmena)

Directed by British filmmaker Colin Teague, the film also stars Hassan Al-Asiri, Faisal Al-Doukhi, Ahmed Fahmy, Latifa Al-Mogren, Fahad Al-Butairi, Nermin Mohsen, Mahdi Al-Nasser and Banderita.

The movie is written by Alberto Lopez and produced by Al-Hajjaj’s House of Comedy, Saudi producer Talal Anazi’s Black Light Operations and former MBC Studios chief Peter Smith, in tandem with Saudi Media Company.


Top trends for Fall/Winter 2025 

Updated 22 August 2025
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Top trends for Fall/Winter 2025 

  • From leopard skin to lace, here’s what you need in your wardrobe for the rest of the year 

Faux fur 

Elie Saab's designs. (Getty Images)

Designers from across the spectrum all seemed to agree that the big winter trend this year will be faux fur, whether in those classic symbols of luxury, fur coats, or in embellishments to jackets, bra tops, and even handbags. Elie Saab offered numerous examples in a Fall/Winter collection (pictured) that was, according to the label’s Instagram, “modern, feminine and tactile … high-altitude style for effortless living.” Elsewhere, brands including Valentino and Chloé combined it with another of the season’s major trends: boho fashion.  

Lace 

Bella Hadid walking for Saint Laurent. (Getty Images)

Vintage-inspired lace was prominent in the Fall/Winter collections of several major designers. For Saint Laurent, Bella Hadid (pictured) walked in this blue lace coordinated set with power shoulders (another Fall 2025 trend). Colored lace — especially green or yellow — was popular elsewhere too (Gucci even went neon), alongside the classic white or black. 

Browns 

Michael Kors. (Getty Images)

Staving off competition from purple and green, brown seems set to once again be the dominant color this coming season, continuing a streak that goes back over 18 months now. Michael Kors’ collection (pictured) featured this chocolate-brown sequined co-ord — a color Stella McCartney also used to great effect on a strapless gown. But browns of all shades and in all materials were ubiquitous on the Fall/Winter catwalks.  

Pencil skirts 

Gucci. (Getty Images)

Once a staple of women’s wardrobes, the mid-length fitted pencil skirt made a notable return on the F/W catwalks this year across all cities: in Calvin Klein’s minimalist collection, in Sarah Burton’s first collection for Givenchy, and in the pastel-hued co-ords of Fendi and Gucci (pictured). Many designers paired the skirt with oversized or flow-y tops — whether blouses or knitwear. 

Animal print 

Nina Ricci. (Getty Images) 

While the fashion press seems divided on exactly which animal print will be the hottest, there’s no debate that an animal print of some kind is a must-have for your Fall wardrobe. Leopard print has been a strong favorite for a while now — and was spotted (see?) on dresses, skirt suits, and accessories at numerous F/W shows. But zebra stripes — as used by Nina Ricci (pictured) — are also going to be big. 

Capes and drapes 

Balmain. (Getty Images)

Any self-respecting 2025 winter wardrobe is going to include outerwear that is either cape-inspired or an actual cape. Layering or draping was a feature of coats from Michael Kors and Calvin Klein to Altuzarra and Balmain (pictured). It’s a look that works for both casual and more-formal affairs — and a built-in hood is always welcome if you’re travelling to chillier climes over the winter months. 

Old-school tailoring 

Tom Ford. (Getty Images)

Power shoulders, frills, and trimming is all well and good, but sometimes all that’s needed to lift an outfit to ‘must-have’ status is great tailoring. Structured silhouettes were a major feature of Sarah Burton’s first Givenchy collection — creating that classic ‘hourglass figure’ look. Immaculate, if unflashier, cuts were also evident in the collections of Valentino and Tom Ford (pictured), whose suits will suit business meetings and social get-togethers equally well.  


Recipes for Success: Chef Saleh Aljabali offers advice and a matazeez recipe

Updated 22 August 2025
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Recipes for Success: Chef Saleh Aljabali offers advice and a matazeez recipe

  • The head chef of Najdi Signature Restaurant in Diriyah offers advice and a matazeez recipe 

DIRIYAH: For Chef Saleh Aljabali, his culinary passion was fired as early as kindergarten. “The earliest memory would be when I was three, four years,” he tells Arab News. “At the kindergarten, we were taught to make French toast. And I got excited about it. That was the spark.” 

From experimenting at home with family and friends to pursuing the craft alongside his engineering studies, he soon realized cooking was his calling. “This is my passion and this is what I prefer to do,” he says. 

Today, that passion has found its home at Najdi Signature Restaurant in Bab Samhan Hotel, a Luxury Collection Property in Diriyah. “It’s the first Najdi cuisine restaurant in a five-star hotel in the region, if not in the world,” Saleh explains. “The idea is to serve authentic Najdi dishes, presented with a modern twist.” 

When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made? 

Not trusting the ingredients enough. I would over-season and overcomplicate, or try to impress with too many techniques in one dish. But I learned that restraint is a skill in itself, and sometimes the best thing you can do is to let the ingredients speak for themselves. Another mistake was rushing the process — especially with traditional dishes that require time and patience. Najdi cuisine, for example, is all about slow cooking. You cannot rush it and expect authenticity. 

 What’s your top tip for amateur chefs? 

Taste as you go. It sounds simple, but it’s the most important habit — adjusting seasoning, acidity and texture throughout the process makes a huge difference. On a practical level, invest in a good knife and keep it sharp. It makes prep faster, safer and more enjoyable. 

What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish and why? 

I’d choose lemon. A splash of acidity can brighten flavors, balance richness, and add complexity. It’s a game changer, for sure. 

When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food? Or are you able to switch off? 

I can’t really escape my invisible chef’s hat. Not necessarily for critiquing, just out of interest for what the presentation, taste and service is like. It’s automatic. 

What’s the most common issue you find in other restaurants? 

Inconsistent seasoning — either too bland or unevenly distributed. It’s a small thing, but it affects the entire experience.  

What’s your favorite cuisine to eat? 

I’m always drawn to street food, because of the simplicity of it. Especially when I’m traveling. There’s something incredibly touching about the food and the people and how they interpret themselves through the food. Everybody is intentional about the balance and the flavor. It’s inspiring. 

What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home?  

A grilled chicken sandwich with fresh rustic bread. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, garlic, a touch of cumin, a squeeze of lemon juice… that’s it. I recommend avocado with it too. And crisp lettuce, tomato, and chili mayo.  

What customer behavior most frustrates you?  

When guests ask for major changes to a dish without understanding the idea behind it. Like, removing key ingredients that actually define the dish and its purpose. 

What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right? 

Gursan, a traditional Najdi dish made of a thin wheat bread soaked in rich vegetable and meat stock — sometimes tomato sauce as well — is tricky. The difficulty lies in getting the texture right, because the bread must absorb the broth and the flavors without becoming too soggy. It’s a delicate balance which depends on timing, temperature and the consistency of the sauce. Because it’s such a beloved dish with deep cultural roots, there’s a lots of pressure in getting it right and honoring its authenticity while presenting it in a refined way. It’s a dish that demands respect, patience and precision. 

As a head chef, what are you like? Are you a disciplinarian, or are you more laid back? 

Sometimes I’m actually too friendly. That’s not always a good thing, but I believe and leading with respect and consistency.  A kitchen is a high-pressure environment, for sure, but that doesn’t mean it has to be hostile. I’m not someone who shouts often. I mean, when firmness is needed, then it’s needed, but it’s not a style of leading. I prefer to communicate clearly, set high standards and support my team in reaching them. I always remind my team we’re not just cooking, we’re creating an experience. That requires passion, precision and, most definitely, teamwork. 

Chef Saleh’s pigeon-stuffed matazeez with seasonal vegetables 

INGREDIENTS: 

3 tomatoes; 2 carrots; 1 pumpkin; 2 zucchini; 3 onions; afilla cress, 1 bunch; 1 whole pigeon; 50g truffle; 500g whole wheat flour; 100g ghee; 1tbsp bizar seasoning; 3 bay leaves; 5 pieces of cardamom; 5 black pepper corns; 1tbsp lomi powder; tap water (as needed) 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. In a pot Sautee 1 pc. of onion with whole pigeon, cardamom and bay leaves. 

2. Add a cup of water and let it simmer for 1 hour 

3. In a mixing bowl add the flour, salt, water and mix the dough. 

4. Rest it for half an hour, then sheet it and cut it with 2-inch ring cutter and keep it covered in the chiller. 

5. Strain the pigeon, keep the sock on the side and pull the meat of the pigeon. 

6. Cut carrots, pumpkin, zucchini, local truffle, the rest of the onions, and the tomato. 

7. Sautee onion, tomato then add bizar spices, strained stock and let it cook. 

8. In a small pan add the ghee and chopped onion and cook it slowly then add Bizar spices and Lomi powder for the kishna. 

9. Fill the pigeon meat inside the dough and shape it as per the picture. 

10. Boil matazeez in the stock along with the vegetables. 

11. Arrange it in the plate as round shape 5 pcs of matazeez then add the vegetables and kishna in between. 

12. Reduce and strain the stock and add in a sauce bowl.  

13. Garnish the plate with some Affilla cress.