I learned of Ma-Beyn through Egyptian musician FHMY, who I covered a few weeks ago on this blog. FHMY has been essential in this new venture of finding indie music from the Middle East and a track he introduced me to was a collaboration between Ma-Beyn and vocalist Hoda Marwan (who features on FHMY’s album “The World You Grew Up In No Longer Exists”). The track features minimalist production which allows both vocalists to remain the focus of the song. The lyrics are emotional and deals with feelings of loss and hardship. My favorite parts are when Ma-Beyn and Hoda vocalize together, creating this beautiful melody that gets stuck in my head.
Ma-Beyn (which translates to in-between), is a Palestinian-Egyptian who’s sound and music is hard to pin down to one specific genre. Only The Earth Knows is only a small slice of what Ma-Beyn is about. Listening through her discography, she seamlessly flows Hip-Hop, R&B, funk, soul and indie pop, just to name a few. Its this fluidity and range of genres that makes Ma-Beyn very interesting to listen to. In 2025, Ma-Beyn released her debut s/t LP as well as the accompanying video film for the album seen below. She’s an artist through and through and uses music and visuals to address oppression and difficult topics head on. There is a fascinating interview where Ma-Beyn goes deeper into her music, her motivations and who she is as a person. I also think it was pretty cool that she included family members into the recording of the album, her dad, aunt and grandmother to be specific.
More recently, Ma-Beyn linked up with Egyptian producer and founder of the music label Araby, Sintax for a new EP titled “7agez eltawasol”. There are four tracks to saver as Ma-Beyn and Sintax blend and mash up genres and styles together like its nobody’s business. The duo create this wild sonic sound that is hard to describe and I don’t think words would even do it justice. It’s worth listening to, headphones on and turned up. There is an accompanying visual film coming soon. The EP can be streamed here.
Leave a Reply