Tarab is an Arabic word that is closely connected to poetry, memories, longing, and the unique relationship between performers and their audiences. It describes a heightened state of ecstasy, brought on by utter enchantment of the music and the performer.

Like many beautiful words or phrases in Arabic, tarab does not have a direct translation in English. You can relate parts of its meaning to some descriptions, but you cannot fully translate the feeling itself.

The notion that everything has already been done before in music and that there is nothing truly new to invent, especially in the mainstream, is a consistent conversation in artistic spaces that I will always firmly disagree with. While Western modes of music and entertainment have oversaturated large media platforms, there are so many emerging genres of music and art across the globe with entirely different foundations and perspectives.

At Tarab, we care deeply about platforming artists we believe create that rare emotion that tarab describes in their work. I believe that by engaging in more art from people of all kinds of backgrounds, and beyond what’s pushed in the mainstream, we open ourselves up to a much wider range of creative possibilities.