Middle Eastern indie music

I've never been into Middle Eastern music. The lyrics and the music never did it for me. But in recent years there has been a surge in some amazing indie bands. Their style, lyrics and music are totally different from the usual stuff that has been in production for decades. I'd like you to listen to some of them even if you don't speak Arabic, maybe you'd be able to appreciate the music itself and the feeling of it:

Autostrad is a Jordanian band. From their YouTube channel:

"Autostrad are a Jordanian fusion band formed in 2007, influence by a mix of reggae, funk, latin and rock music with their own diverse style of Jordanian slang and traditional song.

Derived from the everyday life in Jordan, the group tackles stories of love, struggle, financial challenges, drug abuse, and finding ones self in their music. Gaining a wide fan base amongst the youth because of their innovative correspondence to daily life.

Rated as one of the top 5 bands in the region, Autostrad invests in the diversity of its members and the regions richness to produce music that goes beyond language, identity, and barriers."

They are my absolute favorite. Here is some of their best hits IMO:

http://youtu.be/OTR3Ca7se7E

http://youtu.be/aafDDGPPopE

http://youtu.be/hC42lKE0RUk

Mashrou' Leila is a Lebanese band. From their YouTube channel:

"Born of a nocturnal encounter at the American University of Beirut in 2008, Mashrou' Leila is a six-member band that fuses the craftiness of a music workshop with the punch of stadium rock. With their distinct approach to storytelling and orchestration, they have crafted some of the most melancholic ballads and raucous anthems in contemporary alternative Arabic music, and went on to perform them live at sold-out venues in Lebanon, Cairo, Amman, Paris, Serbia, Montreal, Marseille, Amsterdam, and Geneva."

I'm just getting into them. Here is a song of theirs I love:

http://youtu.be/2pzFkXzHM-c

I listen to ghazals ( Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ETC ).

@indzman: Never heard of them actually...

that second song you listed is nice...

I can't understand much of it, but the music itself is pretty good.

Its actually the song that got me hooked in the first place.

I know right, I'm pretty blown away that these bands exist in the midst of a cesspool lol

@BossPerson Check them out man, haven't seen you in a while around here.

you can check Akher Zapheer ( rock) and Jadal also .. although they are different from Autostrad..

Sounds like Reggae and Disco.

I always imagined your people listening to these in your Audis.

The Asian beat in the song.

I really like this one:

http://youtu.be/bUvY-b10JKE

I don't really understand what he's saying, but the video gives you an idea.

Shut up and listen to Vampire Weekend like everyone else.

ok,. participating:

a few of my favorite iranian indies.

Wow, mobile functionality.......

I'll check hem out Gaza, and I'm here. I've just felt like the new layout discourages me from coming here more. It's slower on my PC for some reason than the old site.