Mid-East Music Vibes Thrive at Brooklyn Dance Party

By:  Dean Weiner

No matter who you are or where you are from, you can always feel at home in New York City. One can always find food, music, and friends from all over the world. Brooklyn is currently the home base for a thriving music and dance party called Laylit, or “the night of” in Arabic, that spotlights music from the Middle East and North Africa and its diaspora, according to The New York Times.

The Laylit has been active in Brooklyn since October and just last week moved to the 800-person occupancy space at Elsewhere, a large event space. A recent performance included Anya Kneez, a Lebanese drag queen, and D.J. sets highlighting Arabic pop, hip-hop, folk and electronic music.

Sara Aridi, of The New York Times, reports that Laylit recently celebrated four years of bringing people together and celebrating what it means to be from the Middle East and Northern Africa and all things Arabic. Laylit recently went on a tour of Canada and the United States, including visits to Montreal, Washington DC, and Detroit.

“It’s so, so beautiful to see the community coming together,” said Felukah to The New York Times, a hip-hop artist who moved to New York from Egypt in 2018 and is a regular at Laylit and other parties like it. “The sounds remind me of home.”

Another event brand, called Disco Tehran, started as a local house party to celebrate the Persian New Year and has since grown to epic proportions. The New York Times reports,  the project is on its third European tour, which gives the organizers the sense that they “have a place wherever we are in the world,” Arya Ghavamian, the organizer said. Its next New York event is Aug. 13, at the Knockdown Center in Queens.

Many more Arabic celebrations are happening and the DJ’s and musicians are appearing at a great number of the events. Aridi writes that there is no sense of competition between the different organizers of the events. The events are more popular than ever as people are looking for a way to come together after months of Covid quarantine. There is a strong feeling of community and solidarity. People of all ages attend the events.

Bedford and Bowery, a popular blog about NYC and Brooklyn nightlife explained:

LayLit was founded by DJ duo Nadim Maghzal and Philippe Manasseh (aka Wake Island) and Saphe Shamoun, who also spins at the parties. Shamoun was born in Syria and moved to New York City five years ago to begin his undergraduate degree at Columbia University. He tried, but couldn’t find any venue in the city that played the music he knew so well from his childhood in Aleppo and young adult life.

“When I moved I wanted to dance to Arabic music and there was nothing,” says Shamoun. “Absolutely nothing in the city. Parts of Jersey has it but the scene there is very different. Arabic music is mostly played in restaurants which is great, but not what I was looking for.”