Saudi’s First Lady of Dance, Cosmicat Drops Debut Track on MDLBEAST

Saudi Arabia’s first lady of dance music, Cosmicat displays her production chops on her debut solo track. Out now on MDLBEAST Records, Toxic Romance tips its hat to early rave with Cosmicat’s gossamer vocals floating atop a punchy bassline and skittering synths.

Against The Odds

Cosmicat, aka Nouf Sufyani, is leading the way for female DJs in Saudi. Her DJ and production journey is a tale of perseverance against the odds. Born and raised in Jeddah, Nouf harboured a desire to DJ and make music – at a time when music was all but banned. For decades, vice police in Saudi shut down private concerts, raided music lessons and confiscated kit. “I always wanted to create music but I never had the education. And I barely found any instruments to buy locally at the time,” recalled Nouf.

Undeterred, Nouf bought DJ gear online. Working in dentistry by day, she practiced DJing in her bedroom, aided by copious amounts of online research. “I became really obsessive about it,” said Nouf. So obsessive she packed in dentistry to focus on her passion.

Cultural Shift

A cultural shift kicked off in Saudi in 2018. The country now embraces music and arts. Cosmicat DJed at Saudi’s first music festival – MDLBEAST’s massive Soundstorm event – in 2019. She’s since gigged in Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait and the UAE. On home turf, Nouf is now one of several female Saudi DJs empowering each other.

Personal

Toxic Romance by Cosmicat is MDLBEAST Records’ third release, following tracks from Butch and DJ R3hab. “I wanted to create the sound I love,” said Nouf. “I added a big-sounding synth to make the track sound bold, with gentle whispering and my own vocals. This makes Toxic Romance sound delicate and personal, while still dancefloor-friendly.” Listen to Toxic Romance below.

Also read: Check Out the New Track from Butch on MDLBEAST Records