The Palestinian Sound Archive is a research platform and record label, part of the Majazz Project, dedicated to preserving and sharing Palestine’s musical heritage. The archive collects, restores and reissues historic recordings, highlighting the richness and diversity of Palestinian musical heritage, while approaching archival practice as a decolonial act of cultural preservation and resistance.
Over several years, its founder, Palestinian actor Mo’min Swaitat, assembled an extensive collection of vinyl records and cassette tapes from Palestine and beyond, spanning poetry and spoken word, field recordings – from Bedouin wedding celebrations, for example – and soul, jazz, folk and electronic music, with a focus on sounds from the 1960s to the 1990s. Many of these recordings were sourced from a former record label in Swaitat’s hometown Jenin, in the north of the West Bank. The Palestinian Sound Archive emerged from this collection. Having come from a long tradition of Bedouin musicians and storytellers, Swaitat’s work reflects his own deep-rooted connection to music as a means of expressing identity, belonging and collective memory.
“This is a mix featuring mainly the Palestinian Sound Archive reissue albums, Al Fajer band, The Intifada 1987, Zeinab Shaath, The unreleased albums of Inspired by Handala, Sumood, Songs of my People and George Kirmiz,” Swaitat says.
“Most of the lyrics in this set are original Palestinian poetry that was written and recomposed between the 1970s and 1980s. These poems and spoken word lyrics are an illustration of the lived experience of the Palestinian people collectively and individually, across their existence in and out of Palestine. It’s also a celebration of the Palestinian landscape and its objects, trees, flowers, birds and animals. Often in these spoken words and poetry, you will find yourself in front of a series of images where a Palestinian hero and heroine will be embodied inside one Palestinian landscape.”
Listen to the mix above.
Who: Mo’min Swaitat of Palestinian Sound Archive.
What: I work with field recording, aquatic, jazz, spoken words, and country music.
Where: This was recorded in a few days in my home archival music library and studio in London.
Why: Music and club culture are important for me as they connect me with my community and culture as a Palestinian living in the diaspora. This is something we long for all the time, as we often feel homesick. It’s becoming more important – essential – for Palestinians, and for me, in the last three years, as it became clearer than ever that the Palestinian culture, heritage, and communication have been deliberately targeted and named a non-existent identity.
It’s also important for me, as a multidisciplinary artist working across platforms between storytelling, theatre, film, performing arts, and music, to be able to switch between these beautiful artistic mediums.
We commissioned Swaitat to create an original artwork for one of our issue centre pages in 2025, which is now available to buy as a poster. All proceeds will be donated to the Palestinian Sound Archive to continue the work they do.
