LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s ancient city of AlUla has “so many different landscapes and sights” to film videos, according to Dutch-Moroccan DJ R3hab, who teamed up with the world’s first global pop group and social media sensation, Now United, for a video shot at the site.
The musician, whose real name is Fadil El Ghoul, said that he visited AlUla on a holiday and loved that it was unlike anything he’d seen before.
“I visited AlUla on vacation and immediately realized the potential for a shoot,” he told Arab News.
“It’s so different from what you usually see.”
R3hab said that it would have been easy to shoot a video at the beach or a club, “but AlUla has the coolest natural landscape.”
R3hab teamed up with the world’s first global pop group and social media sensation, Now United, and switched gears from his festival/club-oriented “Shockwave” with Afrojack, from January, to the emotive dance-pop vibes of “Run Till Dark,” which was released on March 10.
The video for “Run Till Dark,” which was filmed at the UNESCO World Heritage site in Madinah province in northwestern Saudi Arabia, begins with R3hab coming out of a black and red golden embroidered tent.
It then shows some of the spectacular rock formations in one of the oldest cities in the Arabian Peninsula where a majority of the remains date from the Nabataean period.
Against a backdrop of lush oases and then navigating through the old city, Now United, which consists of 18 singers and dancers from 18 different countries representing different cultures, performed upbeat choreographic moves and also ran through the desert wearing traditional clothing.
“Everywhere you look is intriguing; there are no bad angles,” R3hab said. “The shoot went so smoothly, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.”
He also said that local creatives in the Kingdom are doing “amazing work” and expressed happiness that both he and Now United have strong fan bases in Saudi Arabia.
“The Middle East is generally underrepresented and not often considered for global opportunities like music videos,” R3hab said.