Day one (Oct 27)
Myriam Faris
8.30pm-9.45pm
Talented Beirut-born singer (and now actress) who struck it big aged just 21. Think Christina with a bit of Britney thrown in and the full-on Lebanese glam.
Listen to… ‘Ana Wel Shou’ (YouTube).
Freshly Ground
10pm-11.15pm
Up-tempo South African fusion band bringing together kwela (street music of Southern Africa) and African folk. Feel-good music with a hint of R&B.
Listen to… ‘Doo Be Doo’ (www.freshlyground.com).
Day two (Oct 28)
Music Hall
7.30pm-midnight
An old-fashioned cavalcade of Lebanese entertainers, including beard-wielding multi-instrumentalists The Chehade Brothers, mustachioed crooner Tony Hanna as well as Raphael Gio’s tribute to rock. It might err on the wrong side of kitsch at times, but the atmosphere promises to be electric.
Listen to… Tony Hanna’s ‘Yaba Yaba La’ (YouTube).
Day three (Oct 29)
Beat Antenna
8pm-8.45pm
One of the most prominent members of Dubai’s music set, UAE rock regulars Beat Antenna released their first EP, Half Now, Half Later, earlier this year to some acclaim.
Listen to… ‘As Soon As I Left You’ (MySpace).
Soul II Soul
9pm-9.50pm
Around the end of the ’80s, UK dance-R&B act SIIS struck it huge with hits like ‘Back to Life’. Jazzie B and co return to rekindle fond memories.
Listen to… ‘Keep on Movin’ (YouTube).
Hussein Al Jasmi
10.15pm-11.45pm
UAE-born singer and entertainer Al Jasmi has a huge following in his native land, although he will be unfamiliar to most Western ears.
Listen to… ‘Wahactini’ (YouTube)
Above & Beyond
Midnight-1.30am
UK trance gods A&B are well known on the dance scene and even host their own weekly radio show, Trance Around the World (check out their website www.aboveandbeyond.nu).
Listen to… ‘Alone Tonight’ (YouTube).
Day four (Oct 30)
Ragheb Alama
10pm-11.30pm
A Lebanese popstar whose career has spanned a lengthy 25 years.
Listen to… ‘Nassiny el Donia’ (YouTube)
DJ Dany Neville
1am-2.30am
Previously the youngest professional DJ/radio presenter in the Middle East, the prominent Dubai disc spinner gets his decks out on the corniche to end day four.
Listen to… The Edge on Radio One
Day five (Oct 31)
Dahab
7.30pm-8.15pm
Described as acoustic ethnic rock, with a ’70s influence, this Dubai-based band are regulars at the UAE’s various jazz festivals.
Listen to… ‘I Am Gold’ (MySpace).
Mohamed Hamaki
8.30pm-10pm
The Egyptian pop singer Hamaki has a strong following in the Arab world.
Listen to… ‘We Aftakrt’ (YouTube)
The Wailers
10.15pm-11.30pm
Led by the Ashton ‘Familyman’ Barrat (so-named because he has 52 children), he is the one remaining link to the original line-up that backed Bob Marley, but they still remember all the hits.
Listen to… ‘Exodus’ (YouTube).
From Lebanon with love
Not familiar with Arabic star Fares Karam? Chris Lord found out more about the Lebanese guru of pop.
What’s your music about?
I believe that the issues being dealt with in my songs and the style of my music talks about the feelings, worries and, if you like, the imagination of all who hear and come to enjoy it.
You’re often associated with the dabke style of dancing. What is this?
Actually, dabke is a traditional Lebanese dance that’s filled with high energy and rhythm. This music is close to my heart and the style in which I sing. I have tried to take the traditional part of it and make it closer to a modern style, resembling my character and dedicated to the ‘talk of the people’.
The dabke uses a special sort of drum. What role does it traditionally play?
The tabla is a percussion instrument held by the musician as he dances, carrying it by his side while beating it with a baton. Its significance is important in Lebanese culture as it’s a popular dance performed at many occasions.
Can we dance the dabke?
For sure… it’s a group dance. We all join together holding hands and move in synchronised steps to the rhythms of the music.
How do you keep pop relevant to the traditions of Arabic music?
As long as you keep the essence of the lyrics at a certain high standard and don’t try to modify or replace tradition to make it purely modern, then traditional becomes pop. Lots of people have tried to do so but few have accomplished this.
How is Arabic music changing at the moment?
In every period in time comes certain artists that try to break into the scene with low standards of musical essence and so on. I don’t like to call them one-hit-wonders because they don’t even have hits. At the end of the day there’s a common saying that says: ‘You have to give the people what the people want.’ I don’t believe it is correct; you have to give the people what you want to set as a trend as long as it’s of a high standard.
Fares Karam performs on the corniche stage on October 27 from 11.30pm-1am.
Abri-cadabri
Abri are back, but it’s only a fleeting visit. James Wilkinson found out why the UAE band packed their bags.
When did you decide to leave the UAE? Was it an easy decision to make?
The plan was to go to the UK as soon as we released [Abri’s second album] Blank Notes here in the UAE. It was recorded in London, so we did a couple of gigs in the city and we just loved being there. I’m in love with London’s vibrancy. So it was definitely an easy decision to make.
Will we ever be able to develop a stable scene along the lines of New York or London?
I think people have to realise that the music scenes in those places took years and years to grow; first and foremost, our music scene needs time. There’s also an infrastructure for the music to develop there – permit rules need to be relaxed here – UAE music is not always going to be Arabic-style. It needs to be realised and embraced that the UAE is a multicultural country and that amazingly different styles of music, art and fashion can come out of here if given the chance.
Is leaving the UAE inevitable for any band hoping for wider success?
I think at the moment if you are not doing commercial music – and by that I mean the kind of music that artists like Ramzi, Massari and Karl Wolf are doing – or Arabic-infused music then you will have no choice but to leave and go to a place where you can be more successful.
Abri perform on the corniche stage on October 30 from 9pm-9.45pm.
