Last Friday, ten bands and Salonaz Sami enjoyed a taste of musical euphoria "Have you heard about the SOS festival next Friday?" asked a friend. And when I said I heard an announcement on the radio, he asked if I'd like to go, and would I go with him. Thrilled, I jumped at the invitation. Two of my favourite bands, Nagham Masri, and Wust Al-Balad, would be performing that night. That was not the only thing, though, that made the night a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The festival started at 4pm but, knowing that Wust Al-Balad would be the headliner and play last, I decided to skip the first few hours and go at 7pm. A decision I later regreted. When I reached the Chinese garden at the Cairo International Conference Centre I was shocked by the number of people inside, which amounted to nearly 10,000. SOS (Save Our Souls) is a famous May-Day signal used by ships in high seas, but in this case it was the music scene in Egypt that needed to be saved. "We want to send out a message that Egyptians can enjoy music without having to watch half- naked women dancing on TV," Sherbini Ahmed, founder of Nagham Masri, told the audience from the stage. "And that we have real talented artists here in Egypt." Over the last six years, according to the festival's advertisement as aired on TV, 2,000 artists have arrived on the Egyptian music scene, more than half of them female. A total of 13,000 songs have been produced, 30 per cent of them tunes imitating international hits. About 4,000 video clip were aired on various TV channels, 35,000 scenes from these clips focussed on women's bodies. The idea of SOS was the brainchild of Mohamed Lotfi, known to his fans as Ousso and one of Egypt's most talented guitarists. Lotfi also happens to be a member of the well-known bands Nagham Masri and Eftekasat. It was a simple concept, aimed at promoting new talents, fighting the commercialism of music and encouraging new generations to dig deep into the Egyptian cultural scene to gain an understanding of what real music is all about. And indeed, the fact that the festival is being held for the ninth time is a sign of its success. The festival hosted a line-up of Egypt's top local bands: Nagham Masri, Wust Al-Balad, Sahara, Wyvern Kravin, Cairokee, Ghetto Pharoz featuring DJ Feedo, and several other bands, each playing their own original music and thus stressing on the importance of originality and creativity. The music went on for 10 hours with the bands playing one-hour sets, and although they each played a different kind of music they had one purpose in mind: to promote originality. "The thing about this festival is that it has something for everyone. No matter what kind of music you like, whether it's pop, rock, oriental or any other kind, you will have a band or two playing your kind of music and so you'll leave happy," said Ahmed Essam, a rock band musician whose other job is a pilot. "Even those who come just because it was a free event learn something, or maybe fall in love with a particular kind of original music. And that's a positive thing," he added, explaining that this kind of live interaction between the bands and their fans helps the latter to understand how music is made, not just listen to [on CD], and so they can enjoy it more." Musician Walid El-Robi agreed. "Here you can listen to pure music without sound effects or girls dancing in front of you and distracting you from really enjoying the music," he said. "Everyone who attended this festival will look at music differently now, but those who didn't need to know that this was the real deal, not what they watch on music channels." Essam pointed to another shortcoming in the local music scene. "Unfortunately most Egyptians take music superficially and don't look deep into it or how it is made. They don't know how to enjoy music without shaking their bodies," he said. The festival, which has become a monthly event, also aims at promoting local talent. "We have so many creative talents and very few platforms to boast that talent," Essam says. However, Ahmed Tayseer, also a musician, added that allowing new talents who were not as well known as the bands to take part in the event was something that had skipped the minds of the organisers. He noted that thousands of talented musicians were still in the shade and had not found their chance to shine under the spotlight. "There should have been an hour totally dedicated to raw talent," Tayseer said. "For example, someone should go on stage and tell the audience that if you have the talent, here are the instruments, let us hear you play. This would give them the chance to perform in front of real audience and be introduced to the Egyptian media." Since the festival's main objective is to bring to Cairo a one-day event that is primarily about music and nothing else, admission is free. However, not just anyone can attend. To obtain an invitation to the festival one first has to apply for a questionnaire about music, and whether one qualifies depends on the answers. The idea behind this is to make sure that the crowd is the right type and is there just for the music and a good time. Another reason is to prevent any misbehaviour, a term which has unfortunately become associated with the music scene in Egypt for the most part. The Chinese garden in which the festival took place held a stage large enough for the performances as well as for two huge screens on either side to ensure that no one missed a thing. Although the seated area was only able to accommodate 20 to 30 people, the rest did not bother and enjoyed sitting on the beautiful green grass.
