Saturday, January 31, 2009

Rhany Kabbadj

Rhany Kabbadj(ou Ghani Kabaj) est Né, en 1972, à Marrakech de père marocain et de mère franco-algérienne.Très jeune, il quitte le Maroc pour s’installer en Tunisie où il ne tarde pas a confirmer son talent d’artiste. Au Maroc Rhany est déjà une star, et ses fréquentes apparitions à la télévision tunisienne et marocaine, son concert à la coupole d’El Menzeh lui ont permis de côtoyer les plus grandes personnalités de la chanson arabe : Warda, Mami, Khaled (un duo qui lui valut du succès.)...Début 97 Rhany s’envole pour Paris et enregistre son album qu’il terminera à Los Angeles. Entouré de musiciens talentueux, le disque verra le jour en 98. Après la sortie d’un best of en 99 au Maroc, de nombreux concerts ont lieu sur les plus grandes scènes parisiennes dont Bercy. L’année 2000 arrive et sera consacrée a la création de son nouvel album.Passionné par la musique latine, Rhany est parvenu après des années de travail et de recherche a unir culture ensoleillée et rythmes endiablés. L'enregistrement aura lieu à Cuba au studio Egrem répute pour ses productions et artistes légendaires (Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Buenaventura...). Son tempérament joyeux et chaleureux est à l'image de sa musique, un mélange de salsa et de rythmes orientaux. http://www.hibamusic.com/Maroc/cheb-rhany-kabbadj/cheb-rhany-kabbadj-155.htm

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Friday, January 30, 2009

CHEB BILAL

Cheb Bilal (born Bilal Mouffok) is a well-known raï singer. He was born on July 23 1966 in Cherchel, Algeria.Wikipedia

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Mahasti

Eftekhar Dadehbala (Mahasti) (November 16, 1946 - June 25, 2007) was an Iranian singer who was recognized as the "Banooye Golhaa va Delha" (Lady of hearts & flowers). She was the younger sister of another popular Iranian female singer, Hayedeh. Mahasti's voice was discovered by maestro Parviz Yahaghi, a distinguished Iranian composer and violinist. She was amongst a rare group of singers who "started" their careers on the prestigious Persian traditional music radio program Gol hâ ye Rangârang( گلهای رنگارنگ), in 1963 with the song "Anke Delam Râ Borde Xodâyâ"(Persian -آنكه دلم را برده خدایا) composed and arranged by maestro Parviz Yahaghi with lyrics from Bijan Taraghi. She has worked with some of the most famous Iranian composers, including Parviz Yahaghi, Habibollah Badiei, Homayoon Khorram, Asadollah Malek, Anooshiravan Rohani, Jahanbakhsh Pazooki, Hasan Shamaeizadeh, Mohammad Heidari, Jamshid Sheibani, Sadegh Nojooki, and Manoochehr Cheshmazar as well as some younger composers such as Bijan Mortazavi,Faramarz Aasef, Mehrdad Asemani, and Shadmehr Aghili.Wikipedia

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Helen Maa

Helen was born in Tehran, Iran to an Armenian family. She demonstrated her vocal talents as a very young child, and at the age of 15, she was accepted to the prestigious Tehran Conservatory of Music. During her rigorous music education, Helen´s studies were focused on opera as well as classical piano. Shortly after graduation, Helen set off to travel, journeying extensively throughout Europe from 1985 to 1995. Much of her time was spent in Germany where her career took off. Helen has performed with many famous Iranian singers in concerts and other events all over Europe. In 1995 Helen moved to United States. Since her arrival here, she has completed six pop solo albums and performed in numerous concerts on a worldwide basis, thrilling diverse audiences with her wide musical range and multi-lingual skills in Armenian, Farsi, Arabic, English, and Spanish. She made her American television debut in 2004 portraying a singer on the popular TV series, JAG, produced by Paramount Pictures. LAST.FM

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SUZAN TAMIM

Suzanne Tamim (Arabic: سوزان تميم‎, September 23, 1977 – July 28, 2008) was a Lebanese singer who rose to fame in the Arab world after having won the top prize in the popular Studio el fan television show in 1996. She was found murdered in an apartment in Dubai Marina in 2008. On September 2, 2008, Egyptian businessman and lawmaker Hisham Talaat Moustafa was arrested in Cairo and accused of paying a hitman to have Tamim killed.Wikipedia

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Ghassan Saliba

Ghassan was born in "Majdel Akoura", a village in Jbeil district in Lebanon. His first appearance was in "Studio El Fan" in 1973 where he got the first prize in "The Lebanese Song" category for singing songs for Wadih Al-Safi. Ghassan's singing career began when he took part in "Petra" (1977), the popular musical play of Rahbani brothers. In 1988, he starred in "Sayf 840" (Summer of 1840), a musical play for Mansour Rahbani, where he sang one of the most famous Lebanese love songs "Gharibayn Wu Layl" (two strangers and the night).http://www.proud2blebanese.com/famous_lebanese.cfm?p2bl_id=600

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Sunday, January 25, 2009

Hoda Haddad

Hoda is the sister of Fairouz. However, her participation in the Rahbani projects since the early 1960s is due to her talent and not to her family relationship to Fairouz. When Fairouz started to become a major star in Lebanon and in the Middle East in the 1950s, Hoda Haddad was a child. It was not until the start of the Baalbeck International Festivals that Hoda appeared on the scene.
While Hoda had a sweet voice, it lacked the power and charisma of Fairouz's presence on the stage and Fairouz's strong vocals. In the Rahbani's major productions, Hoda played the role of the innocent teenager in love with the charming fellow in the village, or the pretty villager who does a comic part. However, this does not discount Hoda's talents as a singer and a performer. It is her long association with Fairouz that paradoxically prevented her from developing a shining solo career.
Hoda played in every Fairouz major production. She appears in all three Fairouz movies (Bint al Hares, Baya al Khwatem, and Safarbarlek). She also participated in Fairouz's shows in and outside Lebanon. Hoda had her own TV series in which she plays the principal heroine (Min Yawm la Yawm). She also sings the theme song of the series that was very popular in Lebanon in 1971.
Currently Hoda is still playing a major role in the Rahbani's projects, most recently in "Socrate" by Mansour Rahbani. Hoda has at least 50 own songs (all by the Rahbanis), but does not have any album under her name. You may find her songs throughout Fairuz's large repertoire.
Hoda's Biography By Kamal Dib.

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Saturday, January 24, 2009

naseer shamma

Naseer Shamma (Arabic ,نصير شمة), is a renowned Arab Iraqi musician and oud player.

He was born in 1963 in Kut, a village on the Tigris River. He began studying the oud at the age of 12 in Baghdad, following in the footsteps of Jamil and Munir Bashir. When he was 11-years old, Shamma saw an oud for the first time, in the hands of a stylish music teacher. Although Shamma's father, a shop owner, was religiously conservative, he did not object to his son's artistic ambitions. In 1985, Shamma played his own compositions at his first concert, attended by several renowned Iraqi artists. At the time, he worked closely with the late Iraqi master Munir Bashir. But Shamma wanted to blaze his own path. Master Munir invented the technique of contemplation with oud, but Shamma wanted his music to carry content, an idea or image that is shocking. He received his diploma from the Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987. He began to teach oud after three years at the academy, as well as continuing his own studies. Shamma has composed music for films, plays and television.
Between 1993 and 1998 he taught oud the Higher Institute of Music in Tunisia, and in 1999 he took the post of Director of The Arab House of Oud (بيت العود العربي) in Cairo. He performs on the oud in a manner which combines traditional methods with his own modern compositions.Naseer Shamma has also created an eight-string oud or lute following the manuscript of the 9th-century music theorist Al-Farabi. This new design (eight instead of six strings) expanded the musical range of the oud and gave it a distinct tonality. His innovations also include a new method of playing the oud with only one hand, which was originally invented by Salim Abdulkarim, so that children and soldiers injured during the Gulf War could play and enjoy the oud.Wikipedia

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Farid El-Atrash

Farid El Atrache (فريد الأطرش) (né le 19 octobre 1915, Jebel Ed-Druz, Syrie – mort le 26 décembre 1974, Beyrouth, Liban) est un auteur, compositeur, interprète, virtuose de l'oud et acteur syrien. Avec Oum Kalthoum, Fayrouz, Mohammed Abdel Wahab et Abdel Halim Hafez, il est le plus important nom de la musique arabe du XXe siècle. Il joue dans 31 films et enregistre environ 350 chansons. Il compose aussi des chansons pour des chanteurs célèbres tels que Wadih El-Safi, Warda et Sabah. Sa voix grave et son style « triste » mèneront plusieurs chanteurs sur ses pas. Ses chansons restent très appréciées aujourd'hui.Wikipedia

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Tony Kiwan

Tony Kiwan was born on October 2nd, 1965 in the village of Freides in the Chouf region of Lebanon. He studied music at the national music institution where he specialized in the "aoud", singing "mwashahat", and the history of music. Tony also specialized in singing public, folkloric, and historical songs. His music collection includes more than 30 songs .

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kabyle

The Kabyle group Agraw consisted of two Algerians: Boudjema Semaouni and Hassen Zermani.Boudjema (also spelled Boudjemâa) was born in Semaoun, Algeria in 1952. He began his career as a singer for Radio Berber Channel 2 and released a single for the Vogue label before moving to Paris in 1980.Hassen Zermani, is better known as Takfarinas. He was born in Tixeraine in 1958. Takfarinas took his name from the Ancient warrior of North Africa - Tacfarinas (which is how his name is spelled on this record) - who fought against the presence of the Romans in Algeria. He formed first band was band in Algiers in 1976, and three years later moved to Paris to record a solo album titled “Yebwa Reman”. That same year, he met Boudjema Semaouni and the group Agraw was formed.The band only released two albums before going their separate ways in 1984. Both records were produced by Idir, who also played flute on their recordings, and released them on his Azwaw label.Boudjema Semaouni kept the name of the band, and became known as Boudjema Agraw. He continued recording, replacing Takfarinas with Karim Tizouiar - who went solo soon after. Boudjema currently lives in El Kseur, Algeria.Takfarinas had a successful career in the Eighties. He became most recognized for playing the ‘takfa’, which is based on a traditional lute-like instrument which he modified by adding a second neck. He still lives in France, where he records and even has his own website.http://radiodiffusion.wordpress.com/category/algeria/

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Arash Howaida

Arash Howaida (born in 1980 in Afghanistan - Kohistan district) is one of the modern Hip Hop and Pop Afghan artists and composers. Arash currently resides in Hamburg, Germany and is the son of popular Afghan artist Zahir Howaida.
Known for his hit songs "Laila" (in Persian, German and Arabic) and "Allah Allah", Arash is best known for his ability to successfully introduce and combine hip hop and dance beats into music. His compositions and music is influence from western musics. Beside songs in his mother-tounge, he has also sang songs in Arabic and Hindi.
Arash has assisted in the composition of songs and albums for Afghanistan´s artists such as Habib Qaderi and Zubair Nekbinzada. His most noticeable work was Habib Qaderi's latest album Closer in which Arash showcases his rich knowledge of a variety of traditional music styles within the realm of his own hip hop or dance style.Wikipedia

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Nawid Orokzai

Nawid Orokzai was born in March 16th, 1982 . Nawid was born and raised in a family of actors and moviemakers and followed footsteps of his dad and uncle. Nawid’s father, Mr. Obaid Orokzai, had the reputation of the best cameraman in National Television of Afghanistan. Nawid’s uncle, Mr. Saed Orokzai, who was awarded international movie festival, played lead roles in Afghan movies, as well as writings scripts. Mr. Obaid Orokzai, once known as “Golden Hand Cameraman”, saw the acting talents in Nawid, when Nawid was only 5 years old. The eldest amongst four siblings, Nawid started his acting career in the age of 5. His first role was in an Afghani commercial. Then in the age of 6, Nawid played in his first movie “Ba soye Laana.” In 1991, Nawid Orokzai’s family left Afghanistan and moved to Russia. In Russia, Nawid, while attending high school, focused his attention on development of his acting and singing skills. In age of 16, Nawid started working for Ariana Films, where he developed directing and film editing skills. Nawid’s first movie “Smart Boys” was released in 2000. “Smart Boys” was the first movie directed by Nawid, who played the leading role. The movie, which focused on problems that face the Afghan youth outside their country, was a great success. Along with acting and directing movies, Nawid Orokzai worked for Afghan magazines “ Koshesh” and “Talaash”, as a graphic designer. He also joined the Red Cross & Red Crescent. While growing up around great musicians like Nashenaaz, Shaatkam, Simaa Tarana, Wahid Sabiri Ustaad Saraahang, Nawid Orokzai developed a passion for music. His music teacher Ustaad Majid Qiyam supervised Nawid, as Nawid attended music school and learned how to play tabla, harmonia, robab, and etc. In 2002 Nawid Orokzai and his family moved to Toronto, Canada. In 2006, Nawid started working on his new movie “Racist Religion.” The movie is about Afghans involved in relationships outside their race. The cast of the film includes talented Canadian actors such as Kelly Wiltshire, John Kensgen, and Rata Teri Loretto. In March 2006, Nawid released his first song with Naghma – Mohabbat. Mohabbat made its way from Canada to Afghanistan, conquering hearts of hundreds of Afghans. Nawid Orokzai is the rising Afghan star. He currently resides in Toronto, Canada. He is working on his new movie “Mistake”, which is based on real events. He is working hard to achieve his dream of becoming the new star of Afghan movie industry. http://www.arianaspace.com/view_profile.php?member_id=176

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Bashir Hamdard

Bashir Hamdard was born in Afghanistan - Kabul - on 15 januari 1986. On his 10e anniversery Bashir moved with his family to Islamabad - Pakistan. There he visited the Abu Ali Sina School. He always was one of the best in his classes. In the year 2000 the whole family moved to Germany - in the hope of a better live, as the circumstances of the wartime got worse Bashir Hamdard In Frankfurt am Main he continued his education and often took part in musical events as a singer. By this time he was fascinated by music and practised on flute, keyboard and harmonia in vacantions and freetime. After finishing school he concentrated on his musical aims with the full support of his family. His greatest fan was his own father Abdul-Satar-Hamdard, who always praysed and encouraged Bashir’s talent as a musician.http://www.bashir-hamdard.com/?page_id=2

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Ahmad Zahir

Ahmad Zahir on his visit to the Band-e Amir la...Image via WikipediaAhmad Zahir (Persian: احمد ظاهر, 14 June 1946 – 14 June 1979), was an Afghan singer, songwriter, and composer. A celebrity of enduring popularity more than a quarter century after his death, he is considered an icon of music in Afghanistan.Wikipedia

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Monday, January 19, 2009

Mohsen Namjoo

Namjoo was born in 1976 in Torbat-e Jam, Iran and began his musical training at the age of 12, studying under Nasrollah Nasehpoor until the age of 18. In 1994 he was offered admission to study Theater and Music at University of Tehran. Since the music program at the university wouldn't start for another year he first joined the theater course. At Tehran University he was a student of Alireza Mashayekhi, Azin Movahed and other masters. Namjoo has also studied Iranian folk music under Haj Ghorbane Soleimani.He is also familiar with Western musical styles, particularly blues and rock. Since 2003 he has started recording parts of his own works in Tehran. His debut album titled Toranj was officially released in Iran in September 2007 with his own voice appearing in most of his compositions. He has also composed soundtracks for movies and plays, and was featured in the documentary Sounds of Silence (directed by Amir Hamz and Mark Lazarz) which has been screened at international film festivals. He also appeared in a feature narrative film called Few Kilograms of Dates for the Funeral (Director Saman Salur), played in various film festivals. Namjoo's first performance outside Iran was in January 2006 at the Tehran Hotspot of the International Rotterdam Film Festival where he played solo.
He also writes poetry, and sometimes uses his own satirical lyrics in his songs blended with the classical poetry of Hafez, Rumi or Saadi. His music and words are very emotional and, in his works, he creates a fusion between various styles from traditional Iranian to blues and rock .Wikipedia

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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Hich-Kas

Soroush Lashgari (born May 10, 1985 / Persian: سروش لشگری) better known by his stage name Hich Kas (Persian: هیچکس, meaning "no-one" is a rap artist from Iran. Despite being one of the most popular hiphop acts in the country, he has never received official permission to release his music on CD. (Most western-style music is banned in the country.
Hich Kas lyrics have touched on government indifference towards the public, unemployment, and violence in daily life.Wikipedia

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Erfan

Erfan was born on August 3rd, 1983 in Isfahan, Iran. At the age of six months, Erfan began his journey across the world. After living in multiple countries, Erfan's family knew it was time to set their sites on one specific area. After much thought, Erfan and his family began building their life in the USA. Being raised in a family who highly values poetry and literature, Erfan started from a young age to appreciate the arts. As Erfan grew older, he took greater interest in Farsi literature which includes poetry, philosophy and cultural, political, and religion studies. Having experienced a culture shock by moving to America, Erfan was able to channel his conflicting feelings and express them in an artistic way. His lack of stability, caused by constantly moving locations, forced Erfan to deal with attachment differently than most. Despite being raised in the western world, Erfan never lost sight of his Iranian culture. He began writing creative Iranian literature around the age of 14, and from there he expanded his interests to include poetry and music. Erfan conveys many of his life experiences in his poetry and uses his words as a tool to resolve conflicting issues that he is confronted with. At the age of 23, Erfan has added Iranian hip hop to his list of artistic achievements. The impressive combination of raw talent and perseverance has contributed to Erfan's eagerness to take the world of Iranian hip hop to new heights.http://www.poeterfan.com/Bio.htm

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mansour

Mansour Zalzal (Arabic,منصور زلزل),late 700s - early 800s was an Arab Musician and composer of Al-Kufa during the Abbasid era. Contributed musical scales that were later named after him (the Mansouri scale,Arabic,المقياس المنصوري) and introduced positions (intervals) within scales such as the wasati-zalzal.Wikipedia

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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Grace Deeb

Al Medina Al MunawwarahImage via Wikipedia
Grace Deeb (Arabic: غريس ديب‎) is a Lebanese singer who was born in Beirut and began her career at the age of fourteen. She sings in various languages (Arabic, French, English, Spanish, Italian, and Greek) and has two albums to her name. Her latter album was produced by the Saudi Arabian record company Rotana.Wikipedia

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Fares Karam

feminine DabkeImage via Wikipedia
Faris Karam is a famous Lebanese singer who has produced many big hit singles in Lebanon and around the world such as "El-Tanoura" (English: The Skirt). Throughout his career, he has participated in a large number of concerts, public celebrations and festivals. Born in Jezzine, in the south of Lebanon. He has a little girl. His musical style in recent times is linked more closely to dabke and his live band play many of his songs with a large tabal drum using a Narwari rhythm. This has helped make his music very popular in Lebanese nightclubs where patrons like to dance the dabke.Wikipedia

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Lotfi Double Kanon

Buildigs, Algeri, AlgeriaImage via Wikipedia
Lotfi Double Kanon, Algerian Rap music performer, was born July 6th, 1974 in Annaba (Algeria).Graduated in Engineering Geology in 1998, Lotfi Double Kanon is also a big fan of Rap music.Born to a family of modest means, Lotfi Double Kanon bought his first synthesizer with his summer job earnings. Later on, he presented his tracks to a local radio and started to play in Annaba's scenes and quickly earned a large young public.Lotfi Double Kanon latest album is ''Kauchmar'' released in February 2008. http://en.hibamusic.com/Algerie/lotfi-double-kanon/lotfi-double-kanon-31.htm

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

MASSIV

Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.Image via Wikipedia

Massiv - Meine Zeit | Track! Album Am 27.02.09 ! - The funniest bloopers are right hereMassiv (born Wasiem Taha, in 9 November 1982 in Pirmasens) is a Gangsta rapper of Palestinian decent, though he currently resides in Berlin. At the beginning at his career he was at the Label Horrorkore Entertainment, but he left and is now an artist of the Majorlabel Sony BMG.Massiv is the son of Palestinian refugees who immigrated to Germany. He visited Berlin for the first time in 1996 where he became infatuated with hip-hop from an early age. He loved the hip hop scene so much that he moved to Berlin without anything but the shirt on his back, but later convinced his parents to make the move.
Massiv is a German Gangsta rapper. The content of his songs are mostly violent and about living in socially disadvantaged surroundings. Wikipedia

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Rima Khcheich

Beautiful Land/Beirut, LebanonImage by Sorgul©® via Flickr
Rima Khcheich, a Lebanese singer, was born in 'Khiam', South Lebanon, in 1974.She started singing Classical Arabic music at the age of nine, and was awarded the bronze medal at the 'Bizert Festival for the Mediterranean Song' in Tunisia, 1985.Rima's singing career started off with the children's choir at the 'Arabic Cultural Club', and later evolved into a solo performance with the 'Beirut Oriental Troop for Arabic Music' under the supervision and direction of Maestro Salim Sahab.Rima studied the tradition of classical Arabic singing at The Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music' in Beirut, and her efforts were supported by her father Kamel Khcheich who encouraged her to memorize and master classics from the Arabic music heritage like *Muwashahat, Adwar and other styles. She has performed Zakariah Ahmad, Al-Kassabji, Sayyed Darwish, Kamel Al Khal'i and Muhammad Abdel Wahab, amongst others.Having participated in various concerts in Lebanon and around the world, Rima has gained international repute and admiration for her gift at performing complex Arabic classical forms such as Dor 'Emta El hawa', and Muwashah 'Anta al Mudallal'.Currently, Rima teaches Oriental singing at the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music and is invited on a yearly basis to Massachusets, USA where she teaches voice and classical Arabic singing at Mount Holyoke College under the framework of the Arabic Music Retreat program directed by renown musician and composer Simon Shaheen.Her professional collaborations include performing with Simon Shaheen, singing in renown composer Toufic Farroukh's album 'Tootya' released in 2006, and being an integral part of the Dutch-Lebanese- Iraqi band 'Orient Express'. This band tried to create meeting grounds between the Arab musical heritage and Jazz. The band released one album 'Orient Express' in 2002, of which this live recording documents their musical experimentations.In 2006, Rima Khsheish released her debut solo album, entitled 'Yalalalli' which features a number of old songs and Muwashahat, that she performs in a personalized, contemporary manner, alongside new compositions.A showcase of Rima's limpid voice, 'Yalalalli' not only reveals a deeply emotional and original musical expression, it also stands as a note of rebellion against the dictates of the commercial music market.
* Muwashahat: plural for Muwashshah, a vocal form in Arabic music.
A strophic song with refrain. The form originated at Cabra, near Cordoba, in the 9th century; it enjoyed a vogue in Muslim Spain in the 11th century, and spread subsequently throughout the Arab world, where it survives in oral tradition.
One of seven post-Classical poetic forms, It is performed on both secular and religious occasions and combines classical metres with new ones arranged in strophes. Each poem is divided into an indefinite number of units (abyat, sing. bayt), each containing a varied number of poetic lines. Musically, a muwashshah is performed by a solo singer alternating with responsorial, antiphonal or collective singing in unison, depending on the performing group. The performance of this difficult art, composed by specialists, demands a mastery of both maqams (modes) and usuls, the complicated rythmic patterns of Arabic music.
from the Center for Arabic Culture (CAC).Source:http://www.rimakhcheich.com/




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Saturday, January 10, 2009

Sheryfa Luna

“Il avait les mots” coverImage via Wikipedia
Sheryfa Luna (born Chérifa Babouche on January 25, 1989) is a French R&B singer born to an Algerian father of Kabyle origin and a French mother.
She won the fourth series of the French edition of popular Popstars in October 2007. [1] Her self titled debut album peaked at #3 in France and was certified Gold there.
She has released three singles "Quelque part" (Somewhere Else) and "Il avait les mots" (He Had Words), both went to #1 in France. "D'ici et D'Ailleurs" (Here and Elsewhere) was released in March 2008.Luna gave birth to a son named Vénus Junior on February 14, 2008.Wikipedia

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Kenza Farah

Cover of Cover of Authentik
Kenza Farah (born July 8, 1986 in Béjaïa, Algeria) is a French R&B singer, originally from Algeria. She is considered the first internet success story in the French music industry. Her album Authentik, released in 2007, went gold in its second week.Wikipedia

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Friday, January 9, 2009

Hussam Al Rassam

The location of Baghdad within Iraq.Image via Wikipedia
Hussam Al Rassam (born 29 March 1978 in Hilla, Iraq) is an Iraqi singer who has become a national icon post the 2003 Iraq war. He is credited for being the first Iraqi singer to debut in the post Saddam Hussein era.

He started his career as a singer fairly young but did not have much success until later in life with his album Al Agrobah (The Scorpion). After a successful single, Al-Rassam joined forces with Abbas Chechan, a popular Iraqi poet, and recorded new singles based on Chechan's poems. One such single was made by Al Rassam featuring three other Iraqi singers for the Iraq national football team, Jeeb El Kass which in English means bring the trophy/cup. It became the official song for the team and was played when Iraq won the 2007 Asian Cup.Al Rassam continued working with various poets including Chechan, and recorded songs about the situation in Iraq, which allowed him to gain national attention in Iraq and with Iraqis abroad with songs like "Mo Ghalawo" ("So They Said") and "Endee Watan" ("I have a nation").
He has toured in Australia and various countries in the Middle East, and in December 2007, he toured the United States.He is also loved by Iraqis and other Arabs opposing the US invasion, possibly due to his stands against the US-created situation in Iraq.He has recently been doing concerts in popular places where Iraqis love him such as Michigan and San Diego. He is scheduled to perform in San Diego at the Royal Palace near the end of November.Wikipedia

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Thursday, January 8, 2009

Nawal Ala Zoughbi

Nawal in a Photo Shoot for Yama Alou (2006)Image via Wikipedia
Nawal Al Zoghbi was born June 29, 19** in Lebanon and has Canadian citizenship. Nawal began singing at an early age, despite familial opposition to the lifestyle of a singer. Members of her family changed their minds when they realized she was serious in her ambitions.Nawal is the oldest of her two brothers and one sister. She has three children: a daughter Tia (b. 1998), and twin sons Georgy and Joey (b. 2001). She prefers to keep her personal life private. She released a song titled Tia which was dedicated to her daughter. She also owns a production company named after her daughter, Tia Productions.Inspired by her appearance on Studio El Fan in 1988 (singing competition), Nawal became a professional singer in 1991. After a visit to her birth city of Beirut she released her debut album "Wehyati Andak" in 1992.With that success she released a string of hit albums such as "Ayza El Radd" and "Balaee Fi Zamany". The video "Wala Behimini" from the album "Balaee Fi Zamany" secured her stardom with her image being broadcast on several billboards and in magazines. Facebook

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