Egyptian Rock Songs

[Idara Viengxay]

Theorigin of the oud (lute), for example, is very hard to trace, and it is not unique to one country, Arab or otherwise. Most cultures have their own version of the Oud. For example, Egyptians have a musical tradition (songs by storytellers, Bedouins and Upper Egyptians) that can only be played with the Oud. Consequently, this instrument has been an essential part of the Egyptian culture. However, self-expression only through the instruments we invented seems limited. Sometimes your grief can be expressed by the Oud. Other times, your rage is better expressed with an electric guitar. Thus, attempting to limit a certain instrument or musical mode to a certain tune may be successful if compared with an attempt to copy a foreign example without adding any personal touches. Listening to music after these changes took place in society is a thorny issue, related to different political and economic factors that play a key role in the acceptance or rejection of this music. Even though rock-inspired music has become popular in Egypt, there was clear resistance to it at the beginning.

Western instruments have been introduced to popular or commercial songs, producing valueless and talentless music. However, musicians still attempted to keep the Arab rhythm in their songs to avoid alienating the audience. More open Arab societies, perhaps for geographical reasons and for mixing with other cultures, have developed rock and rap music, creating completely new music genres. In Algeria, for instance, rock is paired with rai music in the songs of Rachid Taha, Cheb Khaled or others.

The reason why many North African musicians chose rock in particular cannot be understood without reflecting on the revolution and its political, social and economic circumstances in the Arab world. This revolutionary state - and the ambition of musicians to become stars on the stage by playing the guitar - both explain the trend, which in most cases was limited to instruments and rhythms, without the same tunes or musical phrases. If we look at the works of Sayed Darwish and Sheikh Imam, we can find examples of early Egyptian rock. Their songs can be remixed using rock instruments and musical phrases (which we have seen in some new examples), reclassifying them as modern music that simulates the fast pace of the modern age and expresses the current revolutionary state through the power of instruments and lyrics.

Looking at current examples in the North African music scene (mostly independent or semi-independent), the main point of weakness in any rock experience lies in how language deals with rhythm. Rock music is not based on Arabic lyrics, even though some Arabic dialects lend themselves to its rhythm, including the Algerian, Tunisian and Lebanese dialects. However, no one has managed to adapt the Egyptian dialect to rock music. But perhaps the opposite can work: adapting rock tunes to the Egyptian dialect. However, this may lead to a fake adaptation, where the musician would force the tune into consistency with the lyrics. In addition, this can work in terms of pronunciation only, not in terms of the spontaneity of music. It can also be flexible for those who master it, allowing for rock music with the Upper Egyptian dialect, for example.

One cannot deny that rock is currently widespread in Egypt, but other factors have to be taken into consideration. The influence of those with money - who in turn enjoy an extent of control that enables them to promote a certain culture - also contributed to the spread of rock music in the country. The country's domestic and foreign policies also play a key role, as they permit a certain culture or music genre to gain popularity in the country, while restricting other genres. In other words, just like certain types of food are imported, certain music genres are also imported, the strongest of which will dominate. It does so not as a culture (because there is no competition with indigenous cultures), but as an item for consumption, subject to propaganda that determines how popular it will become.

Reflecting on the current Egyptian music scene, it appears that rock music has had an ideal opportunity to present itself, among other music genres and cultures. It may have declined slightly due to technology and the availability of home production tools, allowing producers to easily upload their work online, but rock arguably remains ahead of other genres in the commercial music business.

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The House of Songs Ozarks' January artist residency unites Egyptian rock star and "voice of the 2011 Egyptian revolution" Ramy Essam with Earth Day co-founder and Cornell University law professor Gerald Torres for collaborative events. Essam took a few minutes to answer these questions for What's Up! before his visit to Northwest Arkansas.

A. Surely not. I never thought even that I would be part of the revolution. And nobody knew that we would have revolution in Egypt at this time -- they were just demonstrations at the beginning. I was just a normal participant like all the others and just the idea of making the song happened during the demonstrations ... and then the people took it as an anthem.

A. Music is the only way to connect without language; it is the language of people that everybody can understand. If I'm speaking [my own language] and somebody doesn't understand what I'm saying if I'm talking, but when I sing, even if I'm still singing in my own language, they will get the point, they will feel it. They can much easier connect. Also when the music, the lyrics of the songs are made about real issues that happening in the other nations and then you can get a chance to get proper subtitles so you can understand the point and the core of the song, it is one of the best ways to connect to the other nations and understand their daily life and what's happening there.

A. One of the best experiences for humans [is] when they get to know very different cultures than theirs and they can learn so many things of it. When you mix cultures, you can always take all the positive sides from it, and everybody learns and that's how we can develop our lives as humans. And one of the best ways and easy ways to do that is through art and through music.

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The work was a product of COVID-19 when Essam lost his ability to tour and was locked at home for a considerable amount of time, forced to reckon and reconcile with his own experience living in exile since 2014.

Instead, it manifested organically as Essam was toying around with his music production software, sampling tunes and creating demos that birthed a fusion of his statement traditional rock composition and the powerful, industrial electronic music heard throughout all of the 12 featured songs.

Douma was arrested in 2013 in relation to demonstrations against the criminalisation of public protests. He was first sentenced to three years in prison, but during his time in detention, he was charged in a second investigation into 2011 protests held at the cabinet headquarters, and his sentence was increased.

Essam said he has been a victim of cyberattacks after the release of some heavily politicised and anti-regime songs. His reach and streaming numbers also declined, and it seemed that interest in his music had dropped.

In Palestinian music, Jerusalem often holds a distinct status. Palestinians have never accepted either the division of Jerusalem between themselves and the Israelis or the UN proposal to internationally administer the city; it still remains, in their hearts and minds, the eternal capital of Palestine. The exceptional status of Jerusalem has manifested in the broader culture and found expression in music. Fairouz references Jerusalem in a multitude of her songs, even those not about the diaspora. In her work and elsewhere, the city is a symbol of sanctity and object of prayer, religious values shared among the Abrahamic faiths.

Solidarity among Arabs was perhaps aided by the sense that they could be the next people to be subjected to occupation. Israeli territorial expansion and settlement in Southern Lebanon, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai seemed to validate those fears.

No histories mentioned thus far saw Palestinians take matters into their own hands to the extent that they did during the First Intifada in 1987. The Intifada manifested as a compilation of every possible form of resistance: civil disobedience, graffiti, homemade explosives like Molotov cocktails, rock-throwing, boycotts, and general strikes, all of which Israel retaliated against with live ammunition and military force, in a move that was internationally condemned.

As a result, the Mourad family was subjected to persecution and arbitrary arrests by Egyptian police, and Laila Mourad, despite her universal popularity inside and outside Egypt, was briefly blacklisted when a rumor emerged that she had made donations to the state of Israel. Despite a government investigation that dispelled the rumor, and the fact that she had converted to Islam in 1947, the stigma of distrust still accompanied her, and she retired at what was considered the height of her career in 1955.

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