<span>W</span><span>hen DJ Jason Kaakoush was invited to perform in Damascus last year, despite warnings from his relatives</span><span>, he felt compelled to go. Kaakoush, 33, is one of the Lebanese techno scene's top talents, appearing regularly</span><span> at some of Beirut's hottest night spots, including </span><span><em>The G</em></span><span><em>arten, B018</em></span><span> and </span><span><em>Projekt</em></span><span>.</span> <span>He has travelled to Europe and played alongside some of the scene’s most popular stars. Last month he was in London in one of his biggest gigs to date, sharing a DJ booth <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/palestinian-techno-pioneer-sama-abdulhadi-on-finding-her-sound-and-surviving-on-just-two-hours-of-sleep-a-day-1.900259">with Palestinian techno pioneer Sama Abdulhadi.</a></span> <span>Damascus, bombed and scarred from years of conflict, is a far cry from the party cities of London and Beirut</span><span>. Only officially taken back by the Syrian government in 2018, the city has a long way to go before returning to any kind of normality. </span> <span>Kaakoush was first invited to play in Damascus in 2017 and </span><span>accepted the offer before</span><span> telling</span><span> his family </span><span>his decision.</span> <span>"I ended up turning it down because when I told my family about it, they went crazy," he told </span><span><em>The National</em></span><span>. "They were all against the whole idea. They were worried about my safety."</span> <span>But when Kaakoush was invited a second time, to play at <em>Upstairs</em>, a bar in the city, in February last year, he jumped at the opportunity.</span> <span>"</span><span>When things started to become a little bit calmer, that's when I was like 'I'm going to do this'," he said. "I just picked up my gear and I left.</span> <span>"The crowd there was amazing. They have this very raw sort of feeling –</span><span> there is hunger on the dance floor. You feel like the crowd is hungry to dance and hungry for techno."</span> <span>Over the past 18 months, Kaakoush has played four times in Syria, most recently at a new</span><span> club called Amnesia, </span><span>two kilometres north-west of Damascus. Each time, he has crossed </span><span>the Lebanese border</span><span> and returned</span><span> the same night.</span> <span>"I always do that," he said. "You never know. It's not fully in control of the government at the moment. Getting there I had to pass through nine different checkpoints. It's pretty intense." His reason for risking the danger is a personal one, having experienced first-hand what it is like to be caught up in a conflict zone. He</span><span> was born in 1986 in Kuwait, where his father had moved</span><span> </span><span> because of the civil war in Lebanon, which went on until 1990. Only</span><span> a few years later, the family moved to the US as hostility between Kuwait and </span><span>Iraq started to escalate</span><span>.</span> <span>Returning to Kuwait in the early 1990s, the family decided in 2003 </span><span>it was safe to move back to Lebanon. But before long,</span><span> conflict found the DJ again – as</span><span> hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 turned into a conflict</span><span> that left Beirut under siege.</span> <span>"After the 2006 war in Lebanon, many DJs were refusing to come to the country. And to me as a clubber, I took it personally," he recalled. "I would love it when DJs would say we're going even though the situation was dangerous and any minute a war could break out." One</span><span> DJ</span><span> who continued to perform in Beirut</span><span> after the 2006 conflict was trance music legend</span><span> Paul van Dyk. He was</span><span> a huge influence for Kaakoush, who discovered his music in 2001. Although Kaakoush's initial passion for trance switched</span><span> to house music before he found his true love, techno, he</span><span> remains a huge fan of the German artist. In fact, Van Dyk's is the only name Kaakoush gives</span><span> when pressed to reveal his favourite DJs.</span> <span>“I’m still in love with the guy’s music today,” he said.</span> <span>While the Lebanese</span><span> nightlife scene was known for withstanding wars, it took almost a decade for the city to recover and become the Middle East electronic music hub </span><span>it is today.</span> <span>It's often said that in Beirut people party like it's their last night on </span><span>Earth, which Kaakoush credits to the dance floor being made up of children of war. He believes the sounds of techno music in particular resonate with people who have experienced trauma.</span> <span>“Everyone in Lebanon loves to dance. Nonstop. I experienced the same thing in Syria,” he said. “I believe there is a connection between war and electronic music. These sounds. These drops. The darkness at some points. There’s a link. </span> <span>"It’s the way that I see it both on the dance floor and behind the booth.”</span>