Attache / BRICKLAB

"For decades, musical performances and other non-religious public gatherings were strictly controlled by the Saudi government. This practically confined most forms of public cultural expression, especially music, to the privacy of homes and gated communities. By 2016, the country witnessed wholesale social, cultural, and economic transformations to wean off religious extremism, improve the quality of life, and attract foreign investment."

"In 2019, a small group of entrepreneurs established Middle Beast (widely known by the acronym MDL Beast) to launch a series of large-scale music festivals across the country. This historic moment represented a dramatic shift in common attitudes towards public gatherings. More importantly, it is considered the first time that the hidden underground culture of electronic music was accessible to the public."

For decades Saudi authorities strictly controlled musical performances and non-religious public gatherings, confining most public cultural expression—especially music—to homes and gated communities. Beginning around 2016, the country underwent broad social, cultural, and economic reforms aimed at reducing religious extremism, improving quality of life, and attracting foreign investment. In 2019 a small group of entrepreneurs founded Middle Beast (MDL Beast) and launched large-scale music festivals across the country. Those festivals marked a dramatic shift in public attitudes toward gatherings and made the previously hidden underground electronic-music culture publicly accessible for the first time.

Read at ArchDaily