Saudi festival organizer MDLBEAST launches record label featuring Afrojack

Saudi Arabian entertainment company MDLBEAST is launching its own record label with an album featuring tracks from Afrojack and other international musicians.

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Its first release is named Soundstorm Volume 1, a nod to the company’s groundbreaking festival that attracted a crowd of more than 400,000 over three days in December 2019 – more than some of the biggest festivals in Europe and the US.

“MDLBEAST is all about amplifying the unseen, building a platform for Arab Artists to showcase their talent to the world & bring international artists closer to Arab audiences,” said Talal Albahiti, Chief Operating Officer.

“Launching our label MDLBEAST Records is another big milestone on our journey to create cultural exchange through music.”

The first single from the album is the electronic track ‘Ringtone’ from Dutch-Moroccan DJ R3HAB, which will be released on February 26 ahead of the full album launch in April.

Other musicians appearing on the release include Swedish DJ Salvatore Ganacci, German-born BUTCH, and Cosmicat, a female DJ from Saudi Arabia.

Over 400,000 people attended the 3-day festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: MDLBEAST supplied)

MDLBEAST’S first festival in 2019 garnered attention from media outlets around the world due to the scale of the event, which attracted more attendees than that year’s Coachella festival in California (99,000) or Tomorrowland in Belgium (66,000).

The record-breaking concert was part of a drive by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to modernize society in a country which has historically seen live music concerts outlawed.

The crown prince’s Vision 2030 plan, announced in 2016, included provisions to develop the Kingdom’s entertainment sector. Major public concerts were held the following year.

Soundstorm was originally supposed to be held annually, but restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed plans for 2020’s event.

Instead, MDLBEAST focused on its virtual music festival ‘Freqways,’ which entertained fans via livestreamed DJ sets.

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