Despite the UK’s large Arab population, there are few clubs that play their music. Enter Hishek Bishek, where you can find high-speed dabke, mahraganat and more
It’s 11pm outside Electrowerkz and a gathering of London’s Arabic community – young and old – are coming together tonight to belly dance and throw shapes to the
music they grew up with or are currently fixated on. Gone are the days where the only place you could listen to Arabic music in
London was Edgware Road and shisha cafes – Hishek Bishek brings people of all demographics to dance.
It is one of London’s only nights dedicated to playing Middle Eastern and Arabic tunes – from Morocco to
Lebanon – where bubblegum pop meets the eclectic and cutting-edge. Resident DJ Super Mike, equipped with laptop, mixer and turntable, is in for a marathon five-hour set, playing everything from well-known independent acts such as 47Soul to Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram, which he describes as having “taken the Arabic music world by storm. Her songs are known to every generation from the early 2000s onwards.” Tonight is no exception, with Ajram’s 2018 hit, Badna Nwalee El Jaw, getting people singing at the top of their lungs in little circles of friends.