Dabke

Levantine line-dance music, in both its traditional form and the electronic rework that took it into clubs.

Dabke is a dance first. The music exists to drive a line of people stamping in unison at a wedding, which is why the tempo does not let up, why the mijwiz or a keyboard preset carries the melody, and why a good singer works the room rather than the microphone. It is Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian, with regional steps and regional songs.

Since the 2010s producers have rebuilt it with drum machines and synths, and Syrian and Palestinian dabke has ended up on European club systems with the mijwiz line fully intact.

Both versions sit under this term. They are closer to each other than they look, because the job of the music has not changed.