Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 3:00 PM to Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 6:00 PM
2220 Arts + Archives, Los Angeles
DISCOSTAN PRESENTS: AN AFTERNOON WITH ANALOG AFGHAN – A BENEFIT FOR THE AFGHAN CASSETTE ARCHIVE. Step into the sound of memory. Presented by Discostan in collaboration with Analog Afghan and Aftaab Magazine, and hosted by Madinah Wardak, this afternoon opens the Afghan Cassette Archive to trace the story of Afghanistan’s cassette era—one of the most vital yet under-documented musical movements of the late 20th century. Through rare recordings, visuals, and live commentary, this listening session offers an intimate journey through the textures, politics, and poetics embedded in Afghan cassette culture. The first hour unfolds as a guided exploration through time: from the golden age of Kabul studios and Radio Afghanistan, to the diasporic networks that kept music alive through war, exile, and reinvention. Drawing directly from the Afghan Cassette Archive—a community-driven effort dedicated to preserving and documenting Afghan music heritage—this presentation reveals how cassettes became vehicles of resistance, identity, and transnational connection. The evening then transitions into a live cassette DJ set by OMJVINYLS of Analog Afghan, where archival sound becomes dancefloor energy. Blending folk, pop, ghazal, and forgotten synth experiments, the set reanimates these recordings in real time, bridging archive and nightlife, past and present. This is not just a listening session, but an activation of memory, inviting audiences to hear Afghanistan’s sonic history as something living, moving, and deeply contemporary. Proceeds from the event will be donated to support the continuing work of the Afghan Cassette Archive and the livelihood of the cultural workers doing this work on the ground in Afghanistan, against all odds.