Gulf Today Sits Down with BarCoe Founder Sean Barcoe on Taking UAE Music Global

Abu Dhabi, UAE — In a wide-ranging conversation with Gulf Today, BarCoe Studios founder Sean Barcoe made the case for Abu Dhabi as a rising force in global music — and the studio is proud to revisit that discussion. The interview, "UAE's BarCoe Studio makes the voice of local music heard globally," ran in the paper's Culture section.

Across the Q&A, Barcoe spoke candidly about the blurring lines between Western and Middle Eastern sound, the breakthrough of homegrown artists on the world stage, and what it really takes to build a career in music. Rather than a single headline, the piece offered something the studio values just as much: a genuine exchange of ideas about where the region's scene is heading.

Barcoe used the conversation to champion the artists BarCoe works with — including Emirati singer FaFa, whose cross-language collaborations have drawn hundreds of thousands of listeners — and to underline the studio's founding belief in a positive, supportive space where talent can grow. His advice to emerging artists was refreshingly unglamorous: there's no magic formula, only a plan, a community, and the discipline to keep improving.

BarCoe Studios thanks Gulf Today and writer Muhammad Yusuf for the thoughtful discussion and for giving the region's musicians a platform to be heard.