CAIRO WEST MAGAZINE INTERVIEW
How do you think the Egyptian music scene is changing post-Revolution ?
Before the Revolution there were a lot of bands such as Wust El Balad , Hazem Namira , and others who crossed-over from the underground scene to the mainstream , and this has continued since the Revolution happened so this is not new . What you have seen are major developments in three areas : graffiti or street art , music , and poetry . The music scene in Egypt now is living off of major developments in the field of poetry , because this is where we get our words . There is a new generation that is finally coming into its own after the Revolution that has seen a lot of major changes and these are the people who are really coming up with the latest in poetry .
That said ; there are a lot of positive movements in music that I see happening right now . Audiences are growing , and beginning to ask for something new . They don ’ t want the same types of music that they have been hearing for the last twenty years , and they are starting to flock in greater numbers to new and emerging artists . In the past it would have been impossible to imagine filling a venue with 1,000 people to see an alternative performance , but now this is becoming easier .
What do you feel is the most difficult part about developing Egyptian music ?
I feel that technically we are still not experimenting to the level that we should . Egypt has a very deep
Dina El Wedidi in studio
tradition of music and up until the 1960 ’ s we were the leaders in developing the Arab world ’ s music scene and need to return to that today . For example , back in the 70 ’ s there were hundreds of maqamat or scales that musicians used , but now that number has disappeared and almost all of the songs that you hear only work on 20 . In all , there have been no major developments in the music scene in the last 40 years , and this is what really needs to change .
We also need to start to see much more support of independent music in Egypt and need to have more involvement from the community . The new festivals that have appeared on the scene are great and are helping us reach larger audiences and provide an outlet for growth and change , but I would like to see a real jump in the music scene in Egypt as a whole . Maybe even have independent artists start appearing on the radio ?
When can we expect your upcoming album ? Will it focus on your current style of music or something new ?
Up until this point I have been working on an album that should come out at the end of the year or the beginning of next year . It is really the same style that you hear in the concerts , but who knows , maybe I will start to work on a few new things and they can be the surprise of the album !
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