Kamar

Palestinian/British Kamar is a DJ, record collector and musical archivist, uncovering hidden dance music of the global diaspora.

A resident of Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM, he hosts a monthly show called ‘Tealeaves’, dedicated to exploring sound through migration. He’s welcomed an incredible array of guests onto the show so far, including Cymande, Nitin Sawhney, Mad Professor, Channel One Soundsystem, anaiis, Rogê, Dar Disku and Romain FX.

Kamar’s name, based off the Arabic ‘Qamar’, which means moonlight, reflects his diverse heritage and the feeling that many places have felt like home. To this effect, his life’s experience has seen him leave his home of London to travel extensively with an ethnomusicological focus across Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia, as well as live in Cape Town and Lisbon.

With a strong affinity for dubby, percussive and psychedelic sounds, Kamar’s sonic explorations into what dance music means to people around the world has led to a diverse and extensive record collection. His sets seek to create cohesion in a world of musical fusion – connecting songs through drum patterns, rhythms, production styles and tonal elements – taking listeners on a journey that connects music from the Americas with sounds from the SWANA region.

Kamar has been garnering attention in the London and international music scene, with standout performances at iconic events, radio stations and venues. Having played at several festivals including Glastonbury, Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here and Love Supreme, Kamar has also played impressive headline slots at some of the UK’s best venues such as Night Tales Loft, Jumbi, Phonox, The Jago, and Brilliant Corners, as well as touring across South East Asia, Europe and North Africa.

Notable warm-up appearances include for Floating Points, Acid Arab at HERE by Outernet (2000 capacity), Habibi Funk, GUTS, Aroop Roy, Tim Garcia, Esa Williams, Poly Ritmo and John Gomez.

Alongside Worldwide FM, Kamar has also made multiple appearances on famous UK imprints NTS and Rinse FM, as well as the 1m+ subscriber vinyl-only DJ-set Youtube channel MyAnalogJournal.