In progress: Guarding the flame By Aly El-Guindy Ahmed El-Sonbati , composer and singer, was born in Cairo. He graduated from Cairo Conservatoire in 1968. Over three decades he has released 13 and 50 video clips, as well as acting in two movies. He first formed a band in the 1970s. His latest album, Amir El-Nagham, is a remix of Riyad El- Sonbati compositions. The beginning of my musical career was in the 1970s. I studied, you might say, in two academies, at home, where my teacher and mentor was my father, Riyad El- Sonbati. It was with my father that I learned to play the violin and the oud, and also the principals of music. I also joined the Conservatoire, completing a BA and specialising in the violin and the guitar. I also played with Umm Kulthoum's band for three years, though I would have to admit I did not really find myself in the band. I wanted to establish an autonomous entity and so eventually I formed my own band playing oriental and Western music. We had a very successful tour: we were particularly appreciated in Europe, European audiences particularly enjoying the remixes of Riyad El-Sonbati compositions. Still I did not find my identity in this band. It was this search for identity that led me to begin to compose. I began writing my own compositions and singing in Arabic along with the guitar. I used to appear on stage in an optimistic white suit, let go of my guitar and pluck the microphone out of its stand and take a step to the left and then to the right. For the first time there was movement on the stage. It was a transformation, certainly in terms of style and meaning, a move away from the manner in which Abdel-Wahab, Abdel- Halim and Farid Al - Atrash would perform. People were truly astonished and from this point on I scored several successes as the music scene began to take on a different direction. Now music itself has changed, the system of production has changed, and the audience has changed, certainly in terms of the ways in which they comprehend and interact with the forms that are being presented to them. Today's music lacks meaningful lyrics and the compositions no longer express the meaning of the lyrics. Once songs were like a painting, with all the colours in harmony. A good song is one with a profound message, one that resonates within the listener and strikes a direct emotional chord. Nowadays every element within the song appears to be pulling in opposite directions. I come from the generation that stands between that of Umm Kulthoum, Abdel-Halim and Abdel-Wahab and the current generation. The latter appears to me to be lost. It is a generation that doesn't know what ground it is standing on, musically speaking. Are the grounds Western? Is it Turkish? Indian? Greek? Spanish? I don't know. Which is not to say that I am against outside influence. Quite the opposite -- I appreciate, and have studied, all sorts of music. But I refuse that influence if it comes at the expense of our own identity. I consider that to be musical imperialism, and such imperialism can never represent progress or evolution. Evolution means you develop by creating new forms in accordance with your own Egyptian and Arab identity. I can listen to Beethoven, Bachor Mendelssohn without copying them. What is happening now is that some composers copy musical sentences from foreign songs and say this represents an openness to different musical trends. This is not only happening in the musical scene but across visual and auditory broadcasting. And its ramifications are enormous, since what is being presented helps form the consciousness of a new generation, and it is one that is distanced and alienated from its roots. Another problem is that the people who run production companies look almost solely at profit. They are businessmen who have little if any affinity with art. Patterns of production are now like those in a meat processing plant. Music clips nowadays comprise little beyond scantily clad models. My main aim now, and my most preoccupying thought, is how I can present to people beautiful, authentic art that enriches the consciousness of the new generation. Life is a constant flow of meaning and of inspiration, enough to fill the whole world with song. I have more than 15 pieces that are already finished -- short songs, long songs, and settings of poems. I am looking for a serious producer who appreciates my work and who will not vandalise it. I am presenting art and not a commercial product. A respectable artist is a person who values the humanity of his audience. There is also an ongoing project involving a film biography of my father, to be based on the book about Riyad El-Sonbati written by Abdel-Qader Sabry. I was involved with every detail in the writing of the book. I also have a body of work, compositions left by my father, that nobody has heard. This is the first time I have revealed this. There are 75 pieces patriotic, romantic, and religious songs. I am looking for a producer who will put his hand in my hand and sponsor the project, convinced and content that he is producing art. I am confident that it will reach its audience. The producer will not lose because discerning listeners still exist all over the Arab world, an audience that thirsts for the chance to listen to fine music.
