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InterviewPeopleMusicSaudi Arabia

by Alexandra Mansilla

Baloo: ‘I Can’t Wait To See Saudi Develop Its Own Signature Sound’

30 Mar 2025

One of the most influential figures in Saudi Arabia’s music scene. Often called “the perfect witness to Saudi’s dance music evolution” — and for good reason: he has been there since the very beginning.
He is the Chief Creative Officer at MDLBEAST, one of the biggest music companies in the Middle East, and one of the key minds behind the iconic Soundstorm festival, which he launched and continues to shape today.
Yes, we are talking about Ahmad Alammary — or simply Baloo, as most of you know him.
He is the kind of person who you would want guiding you through the story of Saudi’s music and party culture — from how it all started to where it has headed now.
And that is exactly what we did.
— Hello, Baloo! First question — it is obvious and maybe a bit silly, but I have to ask: why Baloo?
— Have you seen The Jungle Book? It is 100% the bear. The name came from an after-party back in college. I was dancing, and my cousin looked at me and said, “Ahmed, you dance like Baloo.”
And around that time, I was looking for a pseudonym!
— You were born in Worcester, Massachusetts, right?
— Yep. Worcester. Raised in Riyadh. But I travelled a lot growing up — mainly between Saudi, the US, and nearby Arab countries. My family had a summer house in the States, so from June to September, we would be in Massachusetts. Very suburban, very American. Malls, movies, parks. Later, I went to university in Washington, D.C., which is where I started playing music publicly. But even before that, I was the guy with all the mixtapes. In high school, I would make two or three mixes a year — that is what everyone listened to in the car.
— And was anyone in your family into music?
— I was surrounded by music. We lived in a kind of bubble — very social, very musical. My mom had a beautiful voice. My dad tried to learn the oud for years — rhythm wasn't his strong suit, but he gave it his best. And we danced a lot — all of us. My siblings and I were always on the dance floor.
— You also mentioned once that it was hard to access music back then.
— Yeah, especially certain genres. I discovered house music through my brother. Before that, I was into anything with a good rhythm — disco, Arabic pop, anything. I was always the kid hunting down the Shep Pettibone remix or Frankie Knuckles's version. I loved dance music before I even knew what house was.
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— You have been deeply involved in music for a long time — it almost feels like forever! One magazine even described you as "the perfect witness to Saudi’s dance evolution since musical events slowly became permitted again in 2017." Can you walk us through a timeline of how dance music has evolved in Saudi Arabia?
— I have seen the change from the inside — from my circle. It started small: private parties, very hush-hush, guest lists planned weeks in advance. Now, we have events with thousands of people happening every weekend. It is wild.
— And what about your own evolution?
— You know, as a younger artist — or honestly, I still hesitate to even call myself an artist because of how the journey has unfolded — I always saw myself as just a DJ. A bedroom DJ.
I played only for my friends, in super private, low-key settings. And I never told people I was doing it. It wasn’t something I felt comfortable sharing.
To be honest, it made me feel a little immature — like one of those 30-year-olds still playing video games. I worried people saw me as someone not taking life seriously, not following the “right” path by society’s standards.
And now, I am celebrated in my country for the exact thing I used to hide. I am seen as someone with authority in music. That is a massive shift.
To be respected for something you once felt ashamed of — that alone is evolution. It changes how you see yourself and how you understand your place in the world.
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Baloo at SXM Festival. Instagram: @a_baloo

— And what about your sound? How has it changed along the way?
— Anyone who plays music goes through some kind of evolution in sound. It doesn’t matter where you are from, what your background is, or what your social or political circumstances might be. If you are a musician, you are constantly crafting, listening, learning, and growing.
And I am still growing. I still go out, I still listen to up-and-coming DJs, and I am always discovering new music and new sounds. That process never really stops.
But as a Saudi — in this specific context — I think my sound really started to evolve once we began playing in public. Once the stages got bigger, the music had to grow with them.
Before that, I was playing in living rooms, villa basements — very private, small, intimate spaces. And when you are suddenly playing for 3,000 people in an arena, the sound has to shift. It needs more energy, more impact — something faster, tougher.
So yeah, playing publicly in Saudi has absolutely influenced my sound. It pushed me to grow in ways I hadn’t expected.
— Since big public events had such a huge influence on you, can you remember a few that really stayed with you?
— Hard to pick just one, so I will name a few. First: Soundstorm 2019. My first large-scale public set. My siblings and friends were behind me, strangers dancing in front of me — in Riyadh. That moment hit hard. It was surreal.
Second: Fabrika Festival in Tunisia. The crowd didn’t know who I was at first, but by the end, people were asking where I was from. I felt real Arab pride that night.
Third: A small birthday party for my sister in 2015. Just 15–20 people, but all close friends and family. We recorded it, and it was unforgettable.
Oh, and one more — a festival where a big-name DJ didn’t want me playing after him. He made some dismissive comment. But in the end, I played a killer set, and he even came up to me afterward, impressed. That one meant a lot.
— The Saudi scene has grown fast, but what do you think is still missing? What is the next big step?
— There is still fear around nightlife — fear of being seen, of being judged. That stigma stops people from showing up. Also, we need better public behavior — entitlement and disrespect do exist, but it is improving.
What I am really looking forward to is seeing Saudi develop its own signature sound. Like Chicago has house, Detroit has techno — I want to hear "Jeddah house" or "Riyadh house." That will be a real milestone. We are starting to see Saudis play at festivals abroad — Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain — but I want to see us on the global circuit. ADE, Movement Detroit, Miami Music Week. That is the next big step.
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Baloo at Soundstorm 2019. Photo: SHIBBO

— Of course, I would love to talk about Soundstorm. How did you guys manage to create a festival that has become a focal point for the entire region — and even the world?
— I don’t know how we did it, honestly. That first year was chaos. I was doing everything — marketing, curation, social media, and even acting as the spokesperson. I was sleeping maybe an hour a night. We weren’t just wearing many hats — we were the hat stands. We were all juggling a hundred roles.
One person would be handling guest experience, chasing down a stage designer, and trying to get a radio station to broadcast from the festival — all in the same day. Total mayhem.
I joke about it now, but I am usually a very polite, well-mannered person. That final week before the festival? I was the worst version of myself — snapping at people, answering calls without even saying hello. I was just running on fumes and pure adrenaline.
It was hard because we were doing something for the first time. It was nearly impossible to convince artists to accept the booking — Saudi Arabia, music, a festival? It sounded unreal to most people.
And even now, five or six years later, there is still a little bit of hesitation, especially from international artists. But it is changing. Artists are way more open, even excited, to come here now.
But, to be honest, the fact that we pulled it off — I still can’t believe it.
— MDLBEAST now feels like an empire, with so many projects under its umbrella. Can you walk us through them? What are the key initiatives, and what sets each one apart?
— We have four main pillars.
First is live events. That includes our big flagships: Soundstorm, Balad Beast, and 1001. We also run a number of seasonal pop-up events under that same umbrella — like Kokub in AlUla, MOJA in Jeddah, Balad Social.
Second, we have our venues. Right now, we have developed several: the Onyx Arena in Jeddah, Attaché, Unstable, and Beast House in Riyadh, and the Sindalah Beach Club on Sindalah Island. These are permanent or semi-permanent spaces that host events throughout the year.
Third is the music itself — our record labels. We have created several to support different music tribes:
Gabu — this one is close to me. It focuses on deep house, minimal grooves, and underground, niche sounds.
Mahool — more about big room music, house and techno.
MaestroLAB — built for up-and-coming producers, a space to release music and potentially grow into one of the main labels.
WTR — focused on fusion: electronic meets Arabic sounds. It is more ethereal, spiritual, moody — very special.
And, of course, MDLBEAST Records, which covers a broader scope across the region.
And finally, we have the Foundation. That is the arm behind XP Music Futures, which we host every year. AND is also the umbrella for a number of initiatives: Hearful, which is about ear health and sound awareness; Hunna, which supports female talent in the MENA region; Sound Futures, focused on incubating new music businesses in the region; and more!
It is a lot, I know — but it is all driven by passion and by passionate people. At the end of the day, it is all about music. Always.
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