New online music journal, Forward / Scratch, documents music and nightlife as tools of political resistance

A new online journal, Forward / Scratch, is documenting music and nightlife as tools of political resistance, with a specific focus on their role in the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

Launched with support from DJs Against Apartheid and Ravers For Palestine, the publication describes itself as “the resistance music journal”.

“We focus on the role of music and nightlife as tools of resistance in the struggle for Palestinian liberation,” an editors’ note explained. “We also feature broader analysis of the ways in which colonialism employs culture to impose violence and confine our political imagination — and how these attitudes manifest at all levels to reinforce the violent institutions we seek to destroy.” 

Forward / Scratch’s first regular series, Resist / Track, features different pieces of “resistance music”, with articles exploring origins, messages and meanings of songs. The first episode focuses on ‘Meen Erhabe’ (English: ‘Who’s The Terrorist?’), released by Palestinian hip-hop collective DAM in 2001. The group’s name is an acronym for Da Arab MCs, and a play on the word Dam, which means “eternity” in Arabic and “blood” in Hebrew. 

All proceeds from subscriptions will go to mutual aid efforts supporting victims of colonial violence. The new platform also has a dedicated fundraising section. The current campaign is to pay for the urgent life-saving battery replacement surgery needed by Cairo, Egypt-based Palestinian PhD scholar Mais Khalil.

Learn more via the Forward / Scratch website. 

Earlier this year, Nene H curated a Gaza fundraising compilation, ‘Letters to a Future Palestine’. The 19 track album features 23 artists from across the world, including numerous collaborations between Palestinian musicians and others from Lebanon, Egypt, Ghana, Kurdistan, Syria, Jordan, Iran, Armenia, Turkey and Tanzania.