Miriam Malek

Journalist since 2014, writing on climate, energy, culture & music.

Telekom Electronic Beats • 23rd April 2020

Amid Censorship, Tehrani Dance Music Emerges From the Shadows

Tehran is a city where you can get thrown in jail for listening to Pharrell Williams yet have all manner of drugs delivered to your doorstep in less than 30 minutes. But Tehran is slowly redefining its image through the medium of sound.

Vice • 17th April 2020

People in Berlin Are Ignoring the Lockdown and Going to Sex Parties

How do a group of people whose lives revolve around the physically intimate and mentally liberating world of almost non-stop clubbing deal with being told to stay indoors in tiny apartments? VICE spoke to some of Berlin’s professional clubbers about how they are coping with lockdown life.

Huck Magazine • 31st March 2020

Higher planes: when rave culture and spiritualism collide

Some ardent ravers view the practice as a vessel to connect with something larger than themselves. But can a night at Berghain ever result in genuine transcendence – or are efforts to link modern raving with ancient ritualism way off the mark?

Mixmag • 25th March 2020

"More intimacy": How Nene H is powering connections through techno

“Let’s talk real shit!” Beste Aydin laughed as we sat down with a freshly-brewed coffee and tea. It was a grey Thursday in Berlin, but inside her apartment the energy was warm and welcoming when we settled in to philosophise about the future of techno.

Mixmag • 21st February 2020

Sonic resistance: Adab’s afrofuturism inspires hope for a better future

The child of a pastor in Midwest America, Miah Benton was born in 1990, raised on a musical diet of Christian house and techno music. It was 17 years later in Istanbul that the artist, Adab, blossomed into existence - a gentle champion of heady, mystical, and psychedelic afrofuturism.

Red Bull • 5th February 2020

The story of Beirut's fresh, new electronic scene.

Beirut has long been the backbone of club culture in the Arab world. In tandem with huge socio-economic turbulence, Lebanon and the wider Middle East region has rocketed through a period of intense musical progression, with new audiences being drawn to fresh, experimental sounds – music that was once a niche preserve.

Crack Magazine • 28th January 2020

No Limit: How Eurodance shaped modern dance music

Melodic synths, pianos and empowering, life-affirming lyrics: these aren’t qualities you’d typically associate with techno, but increasingly tracks fitting this description are going side-by-side into sets from some of the underground’s most relentless stalwarts, from Steffi to Herrensauna’s Cem. It’s all thanks to the return of Eurodance.

Mixmag • 20th June 2019

"Never confined to one space": How Jessika Khazrik is fixing the future through techno

As the world tumbles towards dystopia, multi-disciplinary artist Jessika Khazrik believes in the power of music to tackle global oppression

Mixmag • 12th March 2019

“Determined for change”: Lilith. is driving Georgia’s rave revolution

As Bassiani’s notoriety grows, people like Lilith. and other Bassiani residents, such as HVL and Zitto, are having a greater impact on the industry and on how we consume music from this part of the world.

i-D • 21st January 2019

in beirut, clubbing is its own kind of democracy

Beirut is a city long synonymous with the idea of progressiveness in the Middle East. But 30 years on from a devastating civil war that lasted fifteen years, maintaining that reputation is still a constant battle, and the city's nightlife scene is on the frontline.