Sarah Eid listens to the music of a oud player passionate about reclaiming an Egyptian musical identity through the addition of Western instruments in a traditional band Music is a story. It has a beginning, an end, and a meaning. Music is a state of mind. It arouses a feeling in the listener, it stirs up a reaction." says Amir Mosa, oud (lute) player and composer, at a press conference at the Sawy Culture Wheel in honour of the launch of his first album, Hadeeth al Rawi (The Teller's Tale). The artist repeated these words with great feeling. And hence, the title of Mosa's first album and the cover track illustrate the artist's understanding of music. Mosa's interest in Oriental music began as a hobby at the age of 18. Too old to learn the violin, as he humorously puts it, he decided to learn the oud alongside his pursuit of a degree in philosophy. He chose the oud because to him, he says, it is an instrument that produces a warm sound that feels natural to the human ear. His hobby soon developed into an enormous talent as he expanded his knowledge of music by studying it and playing with great musicians such as the legendary violin soloist Abdu Dagher and the Iraqi oud player Nasir Shamma. Six years ago, however, Mosa felt the need to create his own music in his own way, so he formed a group called Hawadeet (Short Stories). Through Hawadeet, Mosa composed and played music that proved his grasp of the oriental genre yet expressed it in a style and rhythm derived from the West. Hawadeet is composed essentially of the oud, played by Mosa, accompanied by the qanoon (zither), the nay (flute), the violin, cello and contrabass, using oriental rhythms and African percussion. In certain instances, a piano and a bass guitar are incorporated. And so Hawadeet and Mosa began to write their own stories. The goal behind Mosa's wish to create music with a unique style lies in his passion for what he calls the "Egyptian song". He explained that the music we listen to today, if stripped of its lyrics, does not hold characteristics that depict its Egyptian identity in a way that existed before. He pointed out that when we listen to certain sounds we can determine that they are Indian, Chinese, or Turkish, for example, yet the distinction does not exist between Egyptian music and other Arab music. For this reason Mosa wanted to create music that would hold the Egyptian identity. By doing so, he is not only reaching out to an Egyptian audience but to a global audience that will eventually hear his music and determine that it is Egyptian. One might question the "Egyptianness" of Mosa and Hawadeet's music, music that is created using certain instruments that are clearly not Egyptian, and not even Arab, such as the guitar, the piano, the cello, the African percussion and so forth. When asked this question, the artist said he believed that this mixture of instruments depicted the Egyptian identity perfectly; it combined the traditional oud, qanoun and nay with instruments such as the violin and cello, mixed in with the African identity represented by the percussion, and modernised by the presence of the bass guitar. In other words, Mosa's music seeks to distinguish the modern Egyptian identity of music. After numerous concerts at the Sawy Culture Wheel, the Cairo Opera House and elsewhere, Mosa feels that his new style of music is being well-received by audiences. To get closer to his audience and to put his music within their reach, Mosa decided to record his compositions. In a combined project between him and the Sawy Culture Wheel, the album The Teller's Tale was created, the first album to be produced by the Sawy Culture Wheel. It contains eight musical compositions. Present at the press conference was the Culture Wheel's founder Mohamed El-Sawy, who explained the reason for Mosa's being the first artist on the Culture Wheel label. The Culture Wheel's goal is to search for worthwhile music, music with a purpose and a message; which is exactly how Sawy describes Mosa's music. He said Mosa's music illustrated certain values and beliefs unique to the Egyptian identity. He called the sounds he makes "music that enters one's ears and goes straight to the heart". He further added that this venture was not setting out to make a profit either for the Sawy Culture Wheel or for Mosa himself, and this was why the CD was on sale for only LE25. Sawy also expressed his willingness to repeat such a venture with any artist or band as long as they produced meaningful music and were not seeking financial profit but rather the furthering of art in Egypt. At the concert that followed the press conference Mosa and Hawadeet played all the songs from their album in addition to a few others. "The Teller's Tale" was the first, followed by "Dawn", "Mysterious Feeling", "Thoughts", "Istanbul", "The Martyr", "Seeking a Fortune Teller" and "The Fortune Teller", among others. Unfortunately the turnout at the concert was low, apparently the result of poor publicity for the concert and for the musician. Not only this, but one could tell that most people in the audience were individuals who already knew of Mosa and his music; they were indeed the fans he already had. The concert therefore did not expand his audience base. Yet despite this low turnout, Hawadeet still played with enthusiasm. I thought that Mosa's performance was entertaining and enjoyable. There was strong instrumental work on the part of Hawadeet, and the composer certainly allowed for the listener to imagine a tale being told. However, can we say that Mosa's music, as opposed to the music of other musicians, possesses an Egyptian identity? Yes, his music is different from the pop music we have become accustomed to in recent years. Egyptian popular music today, stripped of its lyrics, is nothing more than a mixture of monotonous beats and rhythms and electronic sounds. It is music that lacks identity and cannot be traced back to a certain culture. Compared with this genre, Mosa's music does bring a more traditional and distinguished melody and therefore has more of an identity. Compared, however, with the music that uses the oud, the nay, the qanoun and an Oriental rhythm accompanied by the violin, contrabass and cello, his music does not securely establish this Egyptian identity. It merely seems to be drawing back on what was once Egyptian popular music, such as the music of the days of Umm Kalthoum.
