JEDDAH: Every week-long music competition is celebrating the wealthy creative ties between France and Saudi Arabia by means of a sequence of talks, musical performances and jam classes in Jeddah.
Having kicked off on World Music Day – June 21 – the Music Week in Jeddah: A Franco-Saudi Celebration runs till June 27 and is hosted by the French Embassy and consulate in Jeddah in partnership with the Alliance Francaise, Artwork Jameel, Name of Tradition, Music Residence, Sout Albalad and Siddharta Lounge.
One of many featured occasions was a DJ session by French artist SONGE at Siddharta Lounge by Buddha Bar on Tuesday. She informed Arab Information that by means of her music she goals “to interrupt boundaries and create inclusive areas the place numerous voices and energies can join.”
GUITARRAMA, the Ninth Inventive Music and Music Training Discussion board, hosted at Music Residence on Monday, introduced collectively quite a lot of artists and consultants.
It was spearheaded by Anouar Kablaoui, teacher at Music Residence Greater Institute and founding father of the discussion board.
Kablaoui mentioned: “This ninth version explores how the guitar, a historically Western instrument, is being reimagined inside Arabic musical aesthetics, jazz vocabularies and native inventive industries.”
The discussion board additionally featured Saudi jazz guitarist Aqeel Hussein, who mirrored on his private journey with jazz, starting at an American college and persevering with along with his efforts to deliver the style into the Saudi musical panorama since 2004.
“This discussion board was a possibility to share my story and the eagerness that drives me to maintain performing and educating by means of jazz. It’s about exhibiting how music can evolve when it crosses borders, whereas staying true to its roots,” Hussein informed Arab Information.
A efficiency by the coed band Zakharef, shaped by college students of the College of Enterprise and Know-how, captured the spirit of the evening. The band’s musical debut was a tribute to the Hijazi heritage and the historic appeal of Jeddah’s Al-Balad, forming an emotional and lasting second for each the performers and the viewers.
Hayy Jameel is ready to host an open jam session with French-Moroccan artist Karimouche on Thursday in collaboration with Hayy Sounds.
The efficiency guarantees a dynamic fusion of Japanese melodies, hip-hop, spoken phrase and beatbox — mixing custom and modernity in a really international dialogue of sound.
Karimouche, the stage identify of French Moroccan artist Karima Amarouche, informed Arab Information: “It’s an honor for me to take part within the emancipation of girls in music right here.”
She is understood for fusing rap, spoken phrase, and North African rhythms in songs that discover themes of id and resistance. She revealed that her Hayy Jameel efficiency will characteristic songs from each her newest album “Folies Berberes” and earlier works.
She additionally shared how her collaboration with Saudi artist Roaa Lam started: “I noticed her on Instagram. I listened and thought, ‘Wow, I like this artist. She’s superb’.”
Karimouche is deeply dedicated to working with ladies in music, each in France and overseas. “It’s vital for me. There’s a way of feminine solidarity. It’s an honor for me to take part within the emancipation of girls in music right here, and to witness the rising freedom 12 months after 12 months. God prepared, I hope to return yearly.”
Reflecting on her time in Saudi Arabia to date, she mentioned: “The music scene right here may be very wealthy. The collaboration with the all-female band Siham in Riyadh was magical. We created new items collectively and blended our kinds. Now, the identical is going on right here with Roaa.”
Kosh spoke to Arab Information about how he imitates devices along with his distinctive fashion of beatboxing.
He defined that his journey started in childhood: “After I was a child, I performed with toy vehicles and made sounds … that advanced into beatboxing.”
Through the years, his skills have taken him to main venues, together with the Montreux Competition in France. He now mixes beatboxing with humor, spoken phrase and dwell music.
Roaa Lam, the Saudi oud participant, informed Arab Information about how she perceives oud and music: “For me, it’s not composition — it’s emotional storytelling”
Representing Saudi Arabia within the worldwide collaboration, Lam is a self-taught oud participant, singer, and composer who brings authenticity and deep emotion to her music.
“I compose music and collaborate with different artists,” she mentioned.
Lam spoke about one in every of her most significant tasks: A chunk known as Kurd Al-Tha’alib (Kurd of the Foxes), which she composed utilizing subject recordings of girls’s voices in a public backyard in Jeddah, earlier than their neighborhood was demolished.
“I used the musical mode ‘Kurd’ and named the piece after the neighborhood that was known as Al-Tha’alib earlier than it was torn down,” she mentioned.
The piece was carried out on the Feminist Competition in Berlin — a milestone in her rising worldwide presence.
She additionally mirrored on her musical journey: “I’ve been enjoying oud for about six years. I taught myself. I by no means studied in a music faculty — it’s all self-expression. That’s what music is to me.”
Music Week in Jeddah is a inventive crossroads. By way of the voices of artists, the competition highlights the richness of cultural alternate and the transformative energy of music to construct empathy, connection and sweetness.
As Karimouche put it: “My coronary heart is full. The folks listed here are respectful, variety and artistic. I’ve realized a lot from the Saudi artists.”
The celebration will conclude on Friday with an lively Open Mic Evening at Hayy Jameel, hosted by Gradual Moe and spotlighting the rising Saudi rap scene. This finale goals to showcase the voices of native youth and their rising affect on the worldwide hip-hop scene.
Reflecting on the celebrations, Larry Lamartiniere, managing director of Alliance Francaise de Djeddah, mentioned: “Alliance Francaise de Djeddah is thrilled to have fun La fete de la musique alongside its companions. It’s an occasion that transcends borders and brings folks collectively by means of the common language of music.”
Mohammed Nehad, consul normal of France in Jeddah, mentioned the occasion is a “highly effective image of the deepening friendship and cultural cooperation between France and Saudi Arabia,” including that he hopes it can proceed to “energize the native cultural scene in Jeddah.”
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