Cairo beats
Sherif Iskander Nakhla meets with downtown Cairo's most popular independent band
At a time when music bands struggle to come into existence, eight unlikely if talented musicians, who were spending most of their spare time in coffee shops downtown, managed the seemingly impossible. Pooling efforts to form a thoroughly contemporary band with a unique sound and style, Wist Al-Balad (Downtown) have emerged as a widely successful answer to the scarcity and dullness of the live music scene. Their colourful music is sophisticated yet sufficiently playful and catchy to have gained them a following among the young and the young-spirited, who over a four-year period have sought them out with increasing devotion in a broad variety of informal venues both in their namesake neighbourhood and beyond.
Wist Al-Balad place themselves in the twilight zone separating the older, classically oriented musical tradition and present-day, cheap pop; and in this sense they fill a crucial gap in a pleasant, timely and articulate way. From Ismailia to Minya, Port Said, Alexandria and the luxurious beach resorts of the Red Sea, they have persisted against all odds, acquiring an impressive resumé spreading out. Their music is difficult to pinpoint generically -- according to the band members themselves it belongs with so called World Music -- but it manages to combine eastern and western influences in an effective way.
Their ensemble of vocals (Ismail Fawzi, Adham El-Said and Hany Adel) is like Simon and Garfunkle, Abdel-Halim Hafez and Bob Dylan put together. More generally, each member is inspired by widely different genres; and it is to their credit that they manage to combine their influences into a holistic whole. Guitarist Assad Nessil, for example, is a devotee of Flamingo, while bassist Ahmed Omar has a reggae background. Both sounds emerge in Wist Al-Balad concerts. It is the two percussionists, Meezo (Mohamed Gamal) and Bob (Ihab Abdel-Hamid), who form the backbone of the band; and their complex rhythms and multi- faceted background serve as its principal energy source. During a live performance the two percussionists have the most direct relation with the audience, projecting their delight with the music in a physical way that sometimes seems to be shared by Adham. Assad is more discreet, while Ahmed Omar and Ismail pay attention, first and foremost, to the accuracy of the song, acting as the band's unofficual chefs d'orchestre so that everything goes as planned.
The songs have a timeless feel to them. A song may begin with a one-note background accompanied by minute guitar riffs and percussion fill-ins, for example. Then the opening melody itself is introduced by long vocal improvisations by Adham as he sings Ya Leily Ya Leily, until the rest of the band subtly, gradually, pick up the pace, adding strong percussion and Spanish guitar rhythms. Ten minutes into the song, and it seems as if it has just begun. One appealing aspect of the band's charisma is that they congratulate each other while on stage, when someone has contributed an exceptional riff or solo, for example. They maintain their momentum both during performances and while thinking, optimistically, about their future as an entity. "We try not to treat our performances as routine sessions. Even if one of us makes a mistake, it's not the end of the world, we laugh about it," Assad says cheerfully. "Artists are never completely satisfied with their work; and we're no exception. We always feel that we can do better."
"The greatest moments on stage take place when there is a sense of unity and harmony between us and the audience," Assad resumes, followed, once again, by Adham, "and when this happens through the music itself. When we look at each other while playing we feel like a single entity, one mind or soul if you will. This not only affects the band members but also opens the door to audience participation. We feel it when the audience is on the same wave-length as us. The feeling of being inside the melody, in sync with the rest of the band, is priceless." Laughing, Adham adds, seconded by nods from his partners, "But of course, you must realise, that doesn't always happen."
Despite their current reputation, Wist Al-Balad's journey was not always as easy. "When we started off we didn't even have a guitar, we had to look all around until we found one to borrow for the performance," explains Assad. "Our mixer was usually out of order and on many occasions we had to play without one," elaborates Hany. "The audience had to lower their voices at parties so they could hear us." The surroundings were not entirely encouraging. "Everyone," Adham buts in to make this point, "Everyone doubted the viability of this band at the beginning. No one expected us to last." Only two years ago, it seems, the band began to gain in credibility.
"One of the things I like the most about this band is that there is no leader, each of us playing an equal role. If someone wants to add something to a song, they add it. Of course we go through many intense quarrels, but all in benefit of the band," Ismail explains. "The only member of the band who actually studied music is Ahmed Omran, who plays the flute and oud. But we are all music lovers, and that's all you need to deliver a good performance. Music is based, first, on feelings, then education. Nothing and no one can teach you to feel for music. It's something you have or you don't."
Band members can evidently be impatient in deeling with the struggles they confront outside the musical sphere. "The main problem," Hany retorts, "is that there aren't any producers who are willing to responsibly finance an eight-member band."
"I feel that the music industry in Egypt is still dominated by solo musicians," Ismail insists. "Bands may be quite successful abroad, but Egyptian society still maintains the tradition of a solo following. The only band that was relatively successful was the 4M; and part of the reason they were accepted was that they were siblings. Our audiences frequently tell us that we sound professional, but we do not think of ourselves in that way," he adds equivocally. "We just love to play music; and that's all we can do.
"The question is, after all the TV and radio programmes, all the magazines and newspapers that promoted us, when will someone come and produce a studio album that could really present us to the public? We have made 76 original songs together; we have the right to a large audience. We only play four cover songs, and they're all reinterpreted. We have enough material to make at least four studio albums..." As the excitement soars, it is no longer clear whether it is Ismail or any number of band members who are making these statements.
"Out of all the concerts we've had so far, one of the best was the performance that took place in Al-Alfy Street, an occasion on which the French Embassy contacted the Metro to make it possible for us to perform in public, as such. Only then did we feel we were reaching the audience we target." This time it is Meezo speaking. "Our aim is to play music and have it heard everywhere. From villas to slums. Everybody is our audience, the high class and the low class. That's the way we are, and that's the way downtown Cairo made us."
For details of Wist Al-Balad performances see Listings
