CAIRO - One of the things I like the most about pop singer Dina Salah is her amazing perseverance. Many years ago when I first met this hard-working artist, she seemed to be very ambitious and she still is. I had wanted to interview her for a very long time but we never managed to arrange it. A few days ago I called her up and ironically we decided to do this interview online using Skype! What could I do? She's out of town and I thought I should make things happen instead of waiting forever. So the multi-talented artist has an interesting story to tell us and she is going to begin from the beginning. “During my school days I joined the acting team. I loved acting but because I was only seven I didn't get any roles. They always chose older pupils. I left the team and started drawing and even represented my class in our school's art and handicraft activities. “When I was in the seventh grade we celebrated Children's Day in class and rearranged the desks and everything, which made the supervisor angry and she gave us a hard time to make things the way they were. Since I loved singing, I thought I'd provide some entertainment for my colleagues as they were working, so I sang. They listened carefully and when I finished my song they applauded and said I had a good voice. This encouraged me to join the music team. Luckily, my school was very active in music and I was chosen as a soloist.” That's interesting… and then you recorded an album? “That was years before the album recording. After finishing school, I studied at the Faculty of Music Education. One of my colleagues was studying with Professor Sobhi Bidair and I was encouraged to study with him in Cairo Opera House's Talents Developments Centre. One day I was asked to audition for the Cairo Opera Choir, so I did, passed the audition and sang with it in many operas.” That's interesting… and then you recorded an album? “No. I then studied with Dr Neveen Allouba. At that time I felt I wanted to focus on pop, which I loved, rather than opera. I had a chance to sing at a hotel so I officially started my pop career. I do love opera singing but prefer pop, which is also more popular and better appreciated in Egypt. This encouraged me to stick to pop.” I had to quit the Cairo Opera Choir and worked with many musicians, who are now among the best and most professional in Egypt. I learned a lot in that field but I was young and didn't know many things back then. I did many things myself and used to do much more than a singer should do. Amr, I remember one day I had a concert and during the sound check you told me that I shouldn't carry the drum kit myself to the stage. I used to exhaust myself in rehearsals, promotion and preparations, so by the time I had to sing I was too tired.” I don't remember telling you anything. It must've been someone else. I wasn't even born at the time. Anyway, that's interesting… and then you recorded an album? “HOLD ON. I always wanted to have my original songs and I tried but it needs a record company to reach that goal and I don't want to be controlled by one. They do finance everything and facilitate matters but in return they demand total control, which I wouldn't allow. I met American music composer and producer Daryl Kennedy when he was producing the work for a band and we agreed that I should take part in an album he was making for 11 singers. I sang two songs on that album – one is the bepop ‘Island Breeze' and the second is the bossa nova ‘Sometimes'. He also made me a song called ‘Our Tears all look the Same,' which won the FIDOF (Federation of International Festivals Organization) Special Prize at the Alexandria International Song Festival.” That's interesting… and then you recorded an album? “Yes. It includes various genres like Latin, jazz, samba, Latin rock, bossa nova, Egyptian pop and more. The 13 tracks were written by Daryl in English, while Montaser Hegazy rewrote his interpretation of two songs in Arabic and I rewrote the remaining 11 based on the original words. I might sing them in English as well in festivals or abroad but on the album they had to be in Arabic because this is our language in Egypt. “The songs discuss freedom, equality, love, friendship and how a woman shouldn't change her personality for a man and that he should accept her the way she is. These tracks encourage people to be positive and take the initiative in life. The album was supposed to be out a long time ago. However, the revolution rearranged our priorities and it was better to postpone the release.” Making an album wasn't as easy as I thought – when we start taking actions in some projects we realize that they are harder than we expected. For instance, the financial side of things was a big problem because I cover all expenses myself and didn't expect it to cost that much. While Daryl played all Western instruments, Hazem Zidan played Arabic percussions and Alaa Saber played qanoon [zither] and oud [lute]”. That's interesting… and then you recorded an album? “I've just told you about it! Anyway, last October I participated in two concerts as part of the Egyptian Cultural Festival in Canada. One was in Montreal and the other was in Canada. In the two cities I also sang in two performances of an Egyptian play called ‘Masr Fi Meet A'am' [Egypt in a Hundred Years] written by Linen El-Ramly.” We were given Certificates of Merit from the Egyptian Ambassador – Mr Wael Abu El-Magd – and representatives of the Canadian government. Everything was well organised and Egyptians expats in Canada gave us a very warm reception.” That's interesting… and then you recorded an album? “I swear I did. Now I'm concerned about the future – if extremely conservative people rule the country artists in general might suffer, especially female ones. Maybe we will not even be able to teach music in schools because it might be banned. Then there will be no future! “On the other hand, if things go well, I will give many concerts to promote my original songs and release the album. I would like to perform in schools and universities. I also want to keep making songs that appeal to a wider variety of music lovers. I know it is hard to reach my goals without being supported by a record company, but that will never stop me.” That's the spirit Dina… you may go play golf now. Send to ask me “When did Dina record her album?” to: [email protected]
