Digital Arabic Maqām Archive and open-source MIDI plug-in now available

Khyam Allami presented his long-term research project in Beirut yesterday, and it’s an exciting one. Hundreds of tuning systems, ajnās, and maqāmāt are now in a free, open archive, and there’s a free MIDI plug-in that lets you apply tunings (and tweak them by ear) across all major software tuning formats.

POST playlist: a mix of new music for sleepless nights

For my semi-regular program POST for Refuge Worldwide this week, I focused on new releases. This highlighted Lebanon in particular and still didn’t cover the flurry of releases there, but it covered other places, too. It’s all recommended, so here’s the full playback and track listing with links.

Peter Kirn - July 8, 2026

Abadir’s The Primitivist is a high-energy rhythmic tour of Arabic sound

Cairo-born producer ABADIR is back with a four-track gut-punch of Arab rhythm, a foot-stomping, belly-activating powerhouse of an EP. True to its label, The Primitivist is neither fetishized nor repurposed: it’s Rami speaking in a native musical language that’s fully rooted and simultaneously all his own. The Primitivist by ABADIR We don’t get a lot […]

Peter Kirn - June 5, 2026