Discostan (Beirut to Bangkok via Bombay)

Past, present, and future soundtracks from Beirut to Bangkok via Bombay.

Launched in 2011, Discostan is a Diasporic Discotheque and record label “by and for the Sonic Ummah” presenting past, present & future soundtracks from Beirut to Bangkok via Bombay. Curators Arshia Haq and Jeremy Loudenback started the project as a one-off set in a dive bar in Los Angeles’ Koreatown but quickly found a following and expanded to radio shows and live performances. 

Earlier this year, Discostan Records launched with a reissue of Nermin Niazi & Feisal Mosleh’s lost synth-pop classic, Disco Se Aagay. The ten-track LP, originally released in 1984, saw two teenage musicians—Nermin Niazi and Feisal Mosleh—interweaving their Pakistani musical heritage with the prevailing British new wave sounds of the day. Niazi, just 14 years old at the time, sang in Urdu while her brother integrated Hindustani melodic scales into his synth and drum machine experiments.

Join Arshia Haq and Jeremy Loudenback for a deep listening session featuring favorites from their far-reaching collections.