Before Khaleeji pop had streaming platforms, it had cassette shops, car stereos, family gatherings and a very reliable algorithm: your cousin saying "you have to hear this." Tapes were passed from hand to hand, and a voice from Kuwait or Saudi Arabia could travel across the Gulf without a single recommendation engine involved.

The playlist brings together some of the defining voices those tapes carried. Mohammed Abdo and Talal Maddah, two giants of Saudi music; Abdullah Al Ruwaished and Nabeel Shuail, whose careers became closely tied to Kuwait's modern musical identity; Bahraini singer-songwriter Khalid Al Shaikh; Rashed Al Majed, who emerged as a major Gulf pop voice in the 1980s; and Kuwait's Miami Band, bringing a more playful, rhythmic side to the mix.

So what connects them? Not one exact sound. Khaleeji music has always moved between different voices, rhythms and traditions across the Gulf. What these tracks share is an era: warm production, prominent melodies, long-form songwriting and voices given enough space to carry the emotion themselves.

This Focus On rewinds to that era. Think less history lesson, more dusting off an old cassette case and pressing play. Tracks from several corners of the Gulf and a sound that was around long before anyone called it a throwback.