Sama' Abdulhadi

Sama’ Abdulhadi is one of the first Palestinian DJs and producers to achieve international prominence and recognition. Her driving, focused mix sessions approach Berlin-style techno from a Middle Eastern perspective. Her 2018 Boiler Room appearance went viral, leading to increased international bookings. She collaborated with Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello in 2021, and her first commercially issued mix, Fabric Presents Sama’ Abdulhadi, appeared in 2023. Abdulhadi was born in Jordan in 1990, after her family was deported from Palestine (they were allowed to return in 1993). She formed a hip-hop group as a youth, and played in her country's national football team before an injury forced her to stop. She relocated to Beirut to study sound design, then first encountered techno when she witnessed a DJ set by Satoshi Tomiie. Abdulhadi worked as a sound engineer in Cairo, and spun at parties throughout the Middle East. First going by the moniker Skywalker, she switched to SAMA’ (Arabic for "sky") around 2015, then later used her full name. In 2018, she performed a DJ set in Ramallah, showcasing Palestinian DJs, which was presented and broadcast online by Boiler Room. The video of her set received millions of views, and she quickly became an in-demand DJ. She formed Union Collective and began showcasing other Palestinian DJs. She recorded a set for BBC Radio One's Essential Mix in 2019, and appeared at festivals such as Electron (Geneva) and Nuits Sonores (Bogotá). In 2020, Abdulhadi was commissioned to record a monthly showcase of Palestinian talent. While recording in a bazaar near a mosque, she was illegally detailed by authorities and charged with desecrating a holy site, even though she was granted a permit by the Ministry of Tourism. She was released from custody after an online petition received over 100,000 signatures. Her remix of Perry Farrell's song "Vast Visitation" was issued in early 2021. She released her debut single, "Reverie," on Circoloco in June, and was featured on Tom Morello's album The Atlas Underground Fire, released in October. A short documentary about Abdulhadi was filmed as part of a Resident Advisor cover feature, which premiered in early 2023. She launched a global platform for artists called Resilience in April. Fabric Presents Sama’ Abdulhadi, part of the esteemed London club's long-running mix series, was released in November.
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