Thanks to Renfro and Adrian for typically superb sets last night. I apologise for neglecting the MP3 side of things a little recently. I shall try to make up for it over the weekend. Today, proving that you can find great pop in some of the most unlikely places, a recovering war-zone special.


Even by the standards of the region, Lebanon's recent history has been fairly troubled. Once the most peaceful city in the Middle East, the fifteen-year civil war that ended in 1990 turned the famously fashionable boulevards of Beirut into a synonym for urban destruction. Despite the odd assassination here and there, there are enough positive signs to suggest that old glories may well be recaptured. Although still unstable politically, the country's reasonably liberal approach to life has seen it become a cultural match for the mighty Egyptian music industry. The most bewitching jewel in their crown is, of course, the incomparable Nancy Ajram. She is roundly condemned by conservatives throughout the region for her "immorality", an excuse a hardline group in Bahrain used for staging a riot at one of her concerts in 2003, but they're fighting a losing battle, she remains Arabia's most popular, and most seductive superstar.


Buy Nancy Ajram Stuff

Nancy Ajram - Yay


Even if you ignored Western Russia's enduring reputation for racism towards its Caucasian neighbours, the chart success of acts from the East would still be quite remarkable. The biggest solo pop star, Alsou, is from Tatarstan, the most popular rock star, Zemfira, hails from Bashkortostan and regular readers of the Contact blog will be familar with the spectacular Chechen icon Oskar. Myortviye Delphini (Dead Dolphins) are another to add to the list and have a story as compelling as any of them. Lead singer Artur Atsalamov began composing songs in his head while scavenging for food in the bombed-out buildings of his native Grozny, the Chechen capital flattened by Russian troops. He fled to a squat in neighboring Ingushetia where he found guitarist Nazir Ilyasov and a stack of abandoned instruments. Three weeks later they performed their first gig. It took a while to reach Moscow but, when they did, their debut single, Na Moei Lune, went straight to No.1. Myortviye Gorod (Dead City) is a beautiful bit of brooding rock with a hypnotic bassline. It sounds a little like parts of Oskar's second album.


Official Site

Myortviye Delphini - Myortviye Gorod


By day Fuad Backović is a student of Economics at the University Of Sarajevo. By night he is Deen, quite possibly the campest man in the history of Europe. A star since the age of fifteen in Bosnia, he became an overnight cult hero in the rest of the continent after his unforgettable turn at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with the pulsating In The Disco. Even if the music hadn't been enough to stick in the memory, the dance routine certainly would have. "Up and down, here we go!"


Deen - In The Disco