Inside Iraq's Emerging Underground Club Scene

This article originally appeared on VICE Arabia.

It's a rainy Friday in early February and I'm in a club tucked away in al-Jadriyah – a residential neighbourhood in Baghdad on the eastern bank of the Tigris River – when green lights begin to blink. On stage at the back of the room a guy tunes his bass guitar. In the middle of the main hall, a few teenagers sip on imported whiskey and beer while others take selfies.

Sixteen years after the US invasion plunged the country into a cycle of insurgency and war, the prevalence of violence across Iraq is ticking down and the country's capital is experiencing a cultural and nightlife renaissance, with new cafes, clubs and bars. Watching this change, 30-year-old Arshed Haibet Fakhri decided to launch Baghdad's first electronic music night last year.

"I started organising parties not to make money, but to show a different Iraq to the world," says Haibet Fakhri, the founder of Riot Gear, an events company started in 2014 that puts on both club nights and car tuning events in Baghdad. "I think we need to do something different for our society and allow young people to have fun. It's not easy. I started alone and I often get threatened on social media. I'm Muslim, but I don't tell people how to live, so why do they have to impose their views on us?"

"It's the only party of its kind," says Adel Kane Fadel as he lights a cigarette. "There is a different attitude here – you feel comfortable. People are just happy; no one judges what we wear or what we drink."

Standing next to the 20-year-old law student and nodding in approval is Hussein Majid, wearing a red baseball cap and a white Tupac T-shirt. "This is the second time I've come to this party," says the 17-year-old, who works in a pastry shop in Baghdad. "It's something different for us. It's cool."

Fadel, Majid and their friends represent a portion of a generation of Iraqis born around and after the 2003 invasion, who all speak English, are less religious, more liberal and have adopted a love of American-influenced streetwear. While their outlook doesn't represent the views of the majority of their generation, they are part of a movement that does reflect a growing cultural and social shift. They share a desire to simply have fun without the traditional restrictions imposed by religion, society and family.

Sally Mars, 22, claims to be the first woman to ever play electric guitar in a metal band in Baghdad, saying she started playing when she was 16 years old "as a way to distract myself from a difficult childhood marked by the war". Sally identifies as atheist, but was born into a Muslim family. "Mars" is not her surname, but she uses it because she doesn't belong to any religious group – "and I come from Mars".

During a two-year civil war that started in 2006, Sally and her family were forced to flee their home. Her brother was subsequently diagnosed with cancer, and eventually died due to a lack of access to medical facilities.

"There were no drugs, and to pass the checkpoint he had to change his identity because he had a Sunni name," says Sally. "I hated everyone, so I found a way to vent my anger through music. I told myself: if I continue to hate people, it would be like I was participating in the war. We can't overcome the war with more hate."

Sally feels a strong bond with this new group of young people – a movement that is not limited to the capital. "It's all over Iraq," says CJ, a 22-year-old tattoo artist from Basra, who's part of a parkour group based in the southern part of the country. He and his friends, he tells me, have much greater access to global trends than previous generations, thanks to social media. "It's something our parents can't understand," he says.

According to figures from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), nearly half of the Iraqi population is under 21 years old, while the unemployment rate among 15 to 24-year-olds stands at 18 percent. That's why many of Iraq's young people are easily recruited by militias that offer steady, paid employment. Nothing comes easy to anyone of this generation – which is why clubs nights like Riot Gear offer much-needed respite.

As the night progresses, the club continues to fill up. There are around a hundred people here, mostly men. On the decks, DJ Blaze – who flew in from Turkey – is mixing a David Guetta tune. A girl with short blonde hair dances with a boy with a nose piercing and a superman hat. His name is Hussam, he's 25, from Baghdad, and this is his third time attending Riot Gear.

"I come here to have fun with my friends," he says. "No one judges me for my appearance. This is something completely new in Iraq."

Scroll down to see more photos from Riot Gear.