As physical media continues its comeback, The National rounds up the best releases this month across film, music, art and more. Ammar El Sherei – Music from the East The late Egyptian musician and ...

Twenty-nine years ago, when Nai Barghouti was born and her parents named her after the nay, the famous Middle Eastern flute, ...

Half a century after her death, Umm Kulthum's singular voice still echoes through busy streets in Egypt, across time-worn cafes in Iraq, and in millions of homes from Morocco to Oman. "As long as ...

Despite performing complex Arabic poetry, Umm Kulthum's influence extended even to some of the West's greatest singers. There is no true Western counterpart to her, no artist who commands the same ...

"As long as people listen to music, there will be Umm Kulthum," said Abu Ahmed, the manager of a Cairo cafe named after the Arab world's most revered singer. "She still lives in every song and ...

Half a century after her death, Umm Kulthum's singular voice still echoes through busy streets in Egypt, across time-worn cafes in Iraq, and in millions of homes from Morocco to Oman. "As long as ...

Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum died 50 years ago this week. She remains arguably the most influential Arab singer in and outside the Arab world. In Paris, there were three days of concerts to pay homage.