Joseph Tawadros was born in 1983, Cairo, Egypt and became a resident of Australia in 1986. At the age of 28 Joseph has established himself as one the world's leading oud performers and composers. Joseph has performed worldwide in concert halls across Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East and has recorded 8 albums to date. He has received 7 ARIA nominations, won 4 Limelight Awards and been nominated for young Australian of the year twice. Not only has Joseph been recognized for expanding the Oud's notoriety in mainstream western culture but his talent has also been acknowledged in the Arab world. Recently Joseph was invited to appear on the judging panel of the Damascus International Oud competition in 2009 and took part in Istanbul's first Oud festival in 2010. Joseph has performed with artists such as tabla master Zakir Hussain, sarangi master Sultan Khan, John Abercrombie, John Patitucci, Jack DeJohnette, CamerataSalzburg, Mali band Tinariwen, Ivry Gitlis, Christian Lindberg, Neil Finn, Lior and Katie Noonan, amongst many others. Throughout the Egyptian uprising music has been central to lifting spirits and uniting the masses. Do you have a favourite tune inspired by the Arab Spring? I do not have a favourite song in particular, but the revolution has brought about a new wave of music and musicians doing their part for the cause. Sometimes the crowd singing the most simple of phrases all in one voice is the most inspiring. A show of unity and strength through music. We have heard people chanting the lyrics of Golden Oldies such as Umm Kalthoum. Do you think the uprising will bring about a substantial change to the Egyptian music scene and tastes? I don't think it will be a dramatic change, but a change none the less. Those greats will always be great and will always hold a special part in Egypt's heart and history. They are symbols of what a great wealth of talent and success Egypt has. Times like these however, breed inspiration and an encouragement for the young to contribute. It also sets the platform for ideas and hope that the art they create may contribute more widely and that they have the opportunity share their talents on a wider scale. An opportunity to be original and to feel unrestricted. Definitely a great confidence to have. Arab singers have been accused of trying to copy their western counterparts; there have been complaints to Arab governments to stop the broadcasting of certain music videos by artists such as Nancy Arjum, Ruby, Marium Fares and Nawal Al-Zoghby. As an Arab Australian what are your views on this? Music is a reflection on times, and I cannot judge another artist for being anything or having a certain outlook. I however can judge myself on what I create and be true to what I do. Pop by nature is a commercial genre and so they have markets which they specified to, so I guess that's how these artists and managers approach each song. The pop music genre is one that personally doesn't appeal to me and I don't watch these clips, so I cannot pass judgements on how they are thinking or what they are aiming to achieve by creating it or governments banning it. The guardians of high culture have become weary of the generation combining western musical influences and new technologies. “When political and economic stability is restored in our societies and our conditions flourish, the original song will come back because it represents ourselves and our heritage in a true manner” classical singer Sabah Fakhri. Would you agree with him? The times are always changing and a recreation of past is not particularly evolution. Each generation has their evolution and songs. Bu what is original song for instance? Music in the Arab world has evolved and is still evolving, infact theres been rapid changed in the last 30-50 years and then the years before that. Before Sayed Darwich was a genre of adwar and that is almost now non existent in our culture today except for small music societies. After that we have songs for the film industry, is that Arab original song? Is Oum Kalsoum for instance apart of the western technologies, having put guitar and electric keyboard in her later songs? Will she be apart of this revival. I think theres a lot of grey area, it is very hard to find a definition for original Arabic song. But what I do think is that we will always have an appreciation of our history and past. Because it is of the highest standard of talent and what they created is hard to be rivaled, and what their songs signify and what it meant to the Egyptian people when they were created. This revolution has given hope and patriotism and I do hope that the youth do hold on to the proud history of what we have in Egypt and appreciate it. This is then a platform for growth and stability in Music. Who are your greatest influences musically? I love the great oud players like Riyad Al Sunbati, Mohamed Al Qassabji, Farid Al Attrache and George Michel. I listen a lot to Oum Kalsoum, I am a very big fan and ofcourse the greatest composer of many varieties Mohamed Abdel Wahab. If it is old and Arabic, then I will listen to it. Among the talented Arab artists around today who would you most like to do a duet with? It is very hard to say, nothing really springs to mind, but we have many great instrumentalists in Egypt which I love listening to. And I love improvisation (Taqasim), so if I had to collaborate it would have to be with a great improviser. What CD is in your car stereo right now? A Spanish language cd actually. It's my way of learning languages. Just putting on language phrase cds in the car. I have already learnt a cd of phrases in French and German, it's handy to use these when I tour Europe, so I thought I would start Spanish. Hola! Finally, the all-important question, which party will you be voting for? I think this is something very personal and very important, but it will be based on who is best for the country as a whole, not aiming to one particular group or segregation. Egypt is one and the people are one hand and whatever the outcome I am confident and proud the right decision will prevail and that we will always remain together as one! BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/TOA3h Tags: Joseph Tawadros, Music, Oud Section: Art, Culture, Egypt
