A heavy-metal drummer, a DJ working with electronic music, a reticent songwriter uploading her Hijazi songs to the internet and finding an audience, an X-factor winning singer: these are just some of the talents emerging in Saudi Arabia’s nascent music industry. Older musos remember being inspired by tapes of the Beatles; one guitarist recalls how hard it was to teach himself how to play guitar without teachers or community support, while practicing in an abandoned house. For all of these engaging artists, music is central to life.