Hi, you're listening to the Music That Matters podcast where each week a KXP DJ brings you an exclusive mix of what they've been listening to lately.

You can always listen to KXP live on the airwaves in Seattle at 90.3 FM or worldwide at kexb.org or the Kexp app.

I'm Derek Mazzoni and I do a show called Wopop

every Tuesday, Pacific Standard Time at 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

It's a show that focuses on music coming from all over the world,

sometimes called world music, international electronica,

tropical bass, modern global music.

All these things are covered from literally every

continent time and space this episode of the music that matters podcast will feature new music from

the middle east the region has always been a fertile ground or dare i say crescent for musical

experimentation and performance that has influenced artists literally all over the world.

The current conflict in Syria and the ongoing strife in Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt

have created a refugee crisis that is bringing musicians together in unexpected ways,

and through these meetings, new musical ideas are born.

Amman Jordan, where I recently did some work with a variety of refugee artists, is a socially and politically stable oasis where

musicians can find work and places to play. Nearby, in Ramallah, the cultural capital of the

Palestinian territories, artists are pushing the boundaries of genres and concepts.

Geographically, ridiculously close, politically, not so much, Tel Aviv and Israel continues to be a center

of music and art. Recently, a wave of Sephardic and Yemenite cultural expressions have revitalized

the scene and the similarity of music

between Israeli and Arabic musicians isn't really lost on anyone.

I, among others, continue to hope that music will foster more hope and understanding between

...