NTS Guide to: Lebanese Disco Orientale

An hour-long trip into the world of Disco Orientale, the style of hybrid dance music pioneered by Lebanese composer, arranger and musician Ihsan Al Munzer alongside Elias Rahbani in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Often also called "oriental disco" or "belly dance disco", the style fused western disco rhythms with Arabic music. The work of Al-Munzer, Rahbani and other artists blended popular disco hits of the era with folkloric Arabic melodies and also original compositions that seamlessly combined both musical systems. These productions featured modern synthesizers, electric guitars and drums with traditional Arabic percussion sections, and lush string arrangements. This style shows the monumental influence that disco had on popular music culture in the Arabic-speaking world. Created by Ernesto Chahoud