You have to imagine the capital of Saudi Arabia as hardcore Los Angeles. A sprawling, low-rise juggernaut with ten lanes of traffic on which traffic rages day and night. A metro that has been planned for a long time and has already been partially completed is intended to relieve the constant traffic jams at some point. In fenced-in zones towards the Financial District there are monstrous construction sites that will soon complement the “downtown” of bizarre fantasy high-rises.
On the edge of this wild urban landscape is the “Jax District”. A former commercial zone that is currently being rededicated as a creative zone according to the master plan. A large film studio is announced on construction fences. The “Diriyah Biennale” art fair is also located right next door in a tent city. The “region in transition”, which the state-owned English-language daily newspaper “Arab News” proclaims in its motto, is manifested here between suburban streets and rugged edges.
The music biz conference XP Music Futures can also be found here, in a dozen lightweight halls that offer rooms for workshops, concerts, debates and music technology presentations. In between, a choir in traditional costumes sings, as if to vividly represent the turbo-transition of Wahhabism (a strictly traditionalist Sunni Islam) into the AI-supported K-pop modernity.
The official “Music Institute” of Saudi Arabia supports this project with money and logistics. A presentation invites the world to come to Rhiyadh. At the same time, it is part of the self-confidence of the Saudi “Vision 2030” to be heavily involved in the international music scene.
This is part of the modernization process of a “new and moderate state” that the political scientist and sociologist Aliki Kosyfologou recently stated. But she also writes: “But in an authoritarian religious monarchy with an oil-dependent economy and a latent financial crisis, reality turns out to be much more complicated.”
The XP Music Futures and the subsequent largest music festival in Arabia “Soundstorm” strive for lightness. Politics is left out; The police patrol in front of the entrance seems rather casual in all the hustle and bustle of shuttle buses arriving and departing.
At least 286 international and regional speakers and speakers from Saudi Arabia will speak in the day and evening program. An increase of 47.42 percent over the last XP Music. The topics correspond to the well-known Western convention standards. For example, “Boosting a thriving grassroots culture,” or “Fueling the creative industries with AI,” or “Heading toward a sustainable future.” Self-confident participants like DJ Cosmicat, who are now internationally behind the Mixdeck, take the official slogans at their word and do their thing.
“Pop and rock without beer, it’s strange,” says a British colleague
The “Jax” site is extremely lively. In one corner there are DJ teams rocking out with house and techno, in the other there is information about the importance of the string instrument Oud for the Arabic musical tradition and future.
All of this strictly without any alcohol. Not even a secret hip flask is circulating under the hand. Water, coffee and soft drinks must be enough. “Pop and rock without beer, it’s strange,” says a British colleague. Whereby: Rock and even hard & heavy varieties are at the XP Music Future, NOT a future topic. Then it’s more like K-Pop from Korea, a global export model that the organizers are honoring with their own panel.
The head of the congress and festival organizer Ramadan Alharatani says in his opening statement, using music industry jargon: “Over the past three years, we have brought together the brightest minds in the music and entertainment industry from all over the world. We see XP as an incubator for talent and creativity, providing artists with the platform, knowledge, tools and network they need to launch successful, sustainable and profitable careers in the region and around the world.”
The following statistics are important to him: 48.25 percent of XP Music participants are women and 51.75 percent are men. At least among the well-educated Generation Z, Saudi Arabia’s new pop culture model has apparently arrived.