Habibi Funk is unearthing rare Arabic grooves for a new generation of fans

“When we started the label 10 years ago, we felt like we might run out of material,” says Jannis Stürtz, the man behind the popular reissue label Habibi Funk. “But the more you spend time with this music from the Arab world, the more you realise there could be 50 labels doing what we’re doing and none of us would ever run out of amazing songs.” 

Over the past decade, Habibi Funk has carved out a unique niche, bringing a diverse range of music from the Mena region to a whole new fanbase. The label’s story began with a 1972 Moroccan cover version of the British rock group Free’s hit All Right Now. Stürtz stumbled across the dusty 7-inch in a Casablanca record shop and repressed it in 2015. Since then, Habibi Funk has released 31 records, including five compilations. Featured artists range from the Libyan reggae artist Ahmed Ben Ali to Sudanese jazz band The Scorpions and Beiruti folk singer-songwriter Rogér Fakhr. 

Read the feature in Hyphen.

[This piece was published on 03/07/25]