Fatima Al Qadiri releases new EP ‘3TWI’, named after Kuwaiti femme slang for “dirty old man”

Fatima Al Qadiri has released ‘3TWI (عتوي)’, a new four-track EP.

The title draws on Kuwaiti Arabic femme slang for a “dirty old man”, literally translating as “male alley cat”. Across the EP, Al Qadiri examines this sleazy yet pitiful background character through collaborations with long-time friends Bobo Secret, Lama3an and Gumar, continuing themes that have long informed her work.

Musically, ‘3TWI’ serves as a homage to West Asian folk dance music, drawing on traditions shared across the region while reflecting its ethnic and linguistic diversity through a queer perspective. The record moves between suggestive, largely improvised spoken-word contributions from Lama3an and Bobo Secret and more yearning vocal passages featuring Gumar.

Three of the EP’s four tracks also carry distinct lyrical concepts. ‘7ilween’, loosely translating as “pretty young things”, depicts a shady encounter between the titular 3twi and potential clients. ‘Zan Kardeh Yaw Nah’, meaning “did you get married or not?”, turns an inferred negative response into a West Asian queer refrain, while ‘Zilim’, meaning “macho man”, is conceived as an ode to the region’s butch femmes, with its hook declaring, “She, She’s the macho man, Her!”

The closing track, ‘Ta3alay’, takes a more romantic direction. Meaning “come here”, the song incorporates an a cappella sample from the theme to Japanese animated series ‘Tokimeki Tonight’, known to Arab audiences as ‘Ranzy Almudhisha’. The original Arabic version was sung by Lebanese singer Ihsan Sadek, with Gumar re-singing the vocal for Al Qadiri’s track to create a layered double-vocal arrangement.

Language also plays a role across the record. Most of ‘3TWI’ is performed in Kuwaiti Arabic, while ‘Ta3alay’ uses Classical Arabic. ‘Zan Kardeh Yaw Nah’, meanwhile, is sung in 3eemi (عيمي), a regional Farsi dialect reflecting the Iranian heritage shared by Gumar and Al Qadiri.

A few weeks ahead of the EP’s release, an official music video for its opening track ‘7ilween’, directed by Sophia Al-Maria, was also shared.

‘3TWI’ is out now digitally and on vinyl. Listen to the EP below and check out the full release here.