And All That Is In Between – The Sonic Identity for the Islamic Arts Biennale
We’re incredibly proud to share “And All That Is In Between”, the new sonic identity for the Islamic Arts Biennale, and one of the pieces we’re most proud of at WithFeeling.
First, a huge thank you to Donya Abdulhadi, Executive Director of Marketing & Communications at the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. From the start, her clarity, creativity and conviction shaped everything. Her feedback, “It evokes emotion and memory, whilst also inspiring renewed ambition. It is the Islamic Arts Biennale, in short.”, meant everything to us. This one had to be right for her.
The challenge: create something distinctive, emotionally resonant and practical, a theme that could live across films, social content, installations, and national moments.
Working with the brilliant team at .Pomelo, we developed a modular musical concept that could flex across mediums without losing its heart. As always, they steered with confidence and gave the creative process the freedom it needed, a rare and valued thing.
And then Joe disappeared.
A few days later, he came back with something extraordinary.
Joe Dickinson pulled out all the stops. What he wrote is timeless, layered, and instantly recognisable. It’s one of the finest pieces we’ve ever produced, and a reminder of what WithFeeling is made of.
🎻 Performed by these phenomenal musicians:
- Stefanos Tsourelis – Oud
- Konstantinos Glynos – Qanun
- Natalie Rozario – Cello
🎚️ Recorded at Livingston Studio 1 in London
Thanks to Nour Mansour at Miloco for the booking, and engineer Marenius for capturing it so beautifully.
🎥 Filmed by the fantastic crew at BTV.UK:
- Jake Barrett – Producer
- Leah Hosker – Production Assistant
- Jake Kindred – DOP
- William Browne – Camera Assistant
Watch the full BTS and hear the final composition
#SonicBranding #WithFeeling #IslamicArtsBiennale #OriginalMusic #SoundDesign #DiriyahBiennale #ModularMusic #AndAllThatIsInbetween
Exploring faith through sound: Why a sonic identity matters
In a biennale grounded in spirituality, art, and meaning, how do you create something that doesn’t just accompany the experience, but becomes part of it? For the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025, that question led to the creation of a bold new sonic identity.
Commissioned by .Pomelo, in collaboration with Diriyah Biennale Foundation, WithFeeling was tasked with creating a piece of music that could live at the heart of the Biennale’s theme: “And All That Is In Between.”
It was more than a soundtrack. It was about capturing how faith is experienced, how memory and emotion are felt, and how Islamic cultures are interpreted across centuries and continents.
From concept to composition: creating emotional architecture
The brief called for versatility. The sonic identity had to work across film, social content, installations, and events. It needed to be powerful but not overbearing, spiritual but not clichéd. It had to feel modern, yet timeless.
To achieve this, WithFeeling took a modular approach, creating a musical journey that could rise and fall, transition between moods, and adapt to multiple edits while maintaining a consistent emotional thread.
Composer Joe Dickinson, co-founder of WithFeeling, led the composition. He designed a descending and ascending diatonic scale to represent duality: the past and future, the earthly and divine. Paired with Middle Eastern instrumentation and Western harmony, the result was a sound that felt both familiar and profound.
Key instruments included:
- Qanun (Konstantinos Glynos)
- Cello (Natalie Rozario)
- Oud (Stefanos Tsourelis)
These elements came together in a live session recorded at Livingston Studio 1 in London, engineered by Marenius, and coordinated by Nour Mansour at Miloco.
A Biennale like no other: Islamic Arts Biennale 2025
The Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 is the world’s first event of its kind, a global stage dedicated entirely to Islamic art, culture, and expression. Hosted in the Western Hajj Terminal in Jeddah, it spans more than 100,000 square metres of indoor and outdoor space.
This year’s edition, titled “And All That Is In Between”, takes inspiration from a recurring verse in the Quran. The theme encapsulates the human experience in relation to faith, exploring how belief is lived, expressed, and created, through objects, stories, and artworks.
The exhibition brings together over 500 pieces, including sacred objects from Makkah and Madinah, commissions from more than 30 artists, and historical works from leading institutions such as the Louvre, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha.
Curated by a diverse panel including Dr. Julian Raby, Dr. Amin Jaffer, and Abdul Rahman Azzam, the Biennale sets a new standard for how Islamic art is framed in the modern world.
Working with .Pomelo: trust, guidance, and creative freedom
One of the most rewarding aspects of this project was working with the visionary team at .Pomelo, a Jordan-based creative agency backed by APCO Worldwide. Known for delivering full-spectrum campaigns that fuse strategic insight with bold creativity, .Pomelo operates at the intersection of culture, branding, and innovation.
For the Biennale, they brought narrative direction, deep cultural understanding, and a clear sense of purpose, while giving WithFeeling the trust and freedom to explore the emotional depth of sound without constraint.
This collaboration was not only creatively empowering but a testament to how well strategic storytelling and sonic branding can come together.
Why this sonic identity stands apar
What makes this sonic branding project different? For one, it wasn’t just about creating something catchy or functional. It was about producing a piece of art in its own right, something that could stand beside the Biennale’s visual and curatorial work.
The piece was built with modularity in mind: 5-minute versions for immersive experiences, short-form edits for reels and digital channels, and bespoke versions for special moments like Eid or National Day.
This approach reflects WithFeeling’s philosophy: sound should enhance meaning, not just fill space. The team believes sonic branding isn’t just a marketing tool, it’s a storytelling medium.
Final thoughts and ongoing resonance
This sonic identity doesn’t just accompany the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025, it helps define it. It represents what WithFeeling stands for: music that speaks to the heart of a brand, a place, a people.
WithFeeling would like to thank:
- Donya Abdulhadi for her leadership and vision
- .Pomelo for their trust and clarity
- Jake Barrett and the team at BTV.UK (Leah Hosker, Jake Kindred, William Browne)
- The brilliant session musicians
- The curators and collaborators at the Biennale Foundation
This was more than a commission. It was a conversation between culture, faith, and creativity, translated into sound.
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