Home› Africa›North Africa›Tunisia

Music of Tunisia

Maghreb and Nile traditions: Andalusi nuba suites, Gnawa trance, Chaabi, Rai, Egyptian classical takht ensembles and Nubian song.

Search YouTube Search the Internet Archive Show on the map

Sung and searched in Arabic, French. The YouTube button above can run your search in that language.

From Wikipedia

Tunisia is a North African country with a predominantly Arabic-speaking population. The country is best known for malouf, a kind of music imported from Andalusia after the Moors expulsion in the 15th century. Though in its modern form, malouf is likely very dissimilar to any music played more than four centuries ago, it does have its roots in Spain and Portugal, and is closely related to genres with a similar history throughout North Africa, including malouf's Libyan cousin, Algerian gharnati and Moroccan ala or Andalusi. During the Ottoman era, malouf was influenced by Turkish music. However, Tunisian repertoires, styles and also instruments remain distinctive – the ʻūd tūnsī is an emblematic case. This is a close relative of the 'uds associated with Algeria and also Morocco.

Music of Tunisia on Wikipedia Text under CC BY-SA 4.0

A brief history

History

The earliest roots of the Malouf can be traced to a court musician from Baghdad named Ziryab. He was expelled from the city in 830, and traveled west, stopping finally at Kairouan, the first Muslim city of great power in Africa. The city was a center for North African (Maghebian) culture and was the capital of the Aghlabite dynasty. Ziryab crossed the Maghreb and then entered Cordoba during a period of cultural innovation among the diverse inhabitants of the region. He became a court musician again and used influences from the local area, the Maghreb, and his native Middle East to form a distinctively Andalusian style. Beginning in the 13th century, Muslims fleeing persecution by Christians in what is now Spain and Portugal settled in cities across North Africa, including Tunis, bringing with them their music. Tunisian Malouf, and its closely related cousin in Libya, were later influenced by Ottoman music.

Read the full article: Music of Tunisia Text under CC BY-SA 4.0

Playing now

What Tunisia is listening to in 2026

This year's hits on YouTube YouTube's trending chart for Tunisia 11 radio stations

Articles

No articles for Tunisia yet. Save a Markdown file to content/articles/ with country: Tunisia in its front matter.

Live radio

Radio from Tunisia

Music only, no news or talk. Stations that play the local tradition come first, then the most listened. They play in the corner of the page.

Station directory by Radio Browser Streams come from each station's own server.