Music Matters: Rediscovering the forgotten sounds of Somalia

Iftin is the The Ministry of Education’s band. (Supplied)
Short Url
Updated 17 September 2020
Follow

Music Matters: Rediscovering the forgotten sounds of Somalia

  • Some of the Arab world’s most intriguing music is uncovered in Analog Africa’s latest compilation ‘Mogadisco’

MUSCAT: In the aftermath of the Ogaden War, Somalia’s Bakaka Band found themselves “somewhat meaningless,” in the words of singer Shimaali Ahmed Shimaali. Founded to sing patriotic songs by the government’s Ministry of Interior in 1978 — the height of the Somali-Ethiopian border conflict — peacetime presented a crisis of identity.

After reinventing themselves as a private party band, playing to tourists in Mogadishu’s hotels, the musicians were arrested — all because they had inadvertently chosen a new name, Gor-Gor Band, (meaning “Eagle”) that also happened to be the title of a militant group opposed to Siad Barre’s ruling regime.

As Shimaali tells it, the president had to personally intervene to get the group off the hook, ordering them instead to take the name Dur-Dur Band, and they went on to become one of the best-known groups from a golden era of Somali music that has gone largely unheard beyond the country’s borders.

Tracks by both Bakaka Band and Dur-Dur Band make up a healthy share of “Mogadisco: Dancing Mogadishu (Somalia 1972-1991),” a compilation released by the eclectic Analog Africa imprint at the end of 2019. It is more than a record, it’s a musical archaeology project accompanied by vintage photos and fresh interviews, in which Shimaali’s story is told.




Dur-Dur Band became one of the best-known groups from a golden era of Somali music that has gone largely unheard beyond the country’s borders. (Supplied)

Analog Africa’s Tunisian founder Samy Ben Redjeb tells Arab News that his visit to Somalia was the first by an international label, his efforts uncovering miraculous musical moments otherwise forgotten — such as “Hab Isii” (literally “Hug Me”) an infectiously seductive dance-floor filler driven by a stonking reggae rhythm and tropical flavor, recorded by singer Omar Shooli in 1986 — that offer a window into the culture of a country often overshadowed by its tumultuous socio-political situation.

“The thing with Somalia is that all the news you get from the country is only negative,” says the 49-year-old Redjeb.  “So to imagine that this was one of the most beautiful towns in Africa and extremely rich culturally – that was basically the message I wanted to navigate through the compilation, to paint a more positive picture of that country.”

After finally obtaining a visa, invite and host for his stay, Redjeb spent five weeks in the Somali capital in late 2016, waiting each morning to be picked up by the armed guards who would take him to the dusty archives of the state’s Radio Mogadishu, where he dug through stacked boxes of hundreds of often sparsely labeled cassettes.

“I knew I was not going to come back empty-handed, that’s for sure, but I didn’t know what exactly I would find,” he says. “That’s basically my job — to go into uncharted territory and try to find music that is interesting enough to be released for an international market.”




Samy Ben Redjeb is the Tunisian founder os Analog Africa. (Supplied)

Amid the radio jingles, political speeches, background music, devotionals and theater soundtracks, he uncovered documents of the capital’s thriving ’70s and ’80s band scene, original multilingual material heavily influenced by the era’s Western disco and funk flavors, but rooted in regional Balwo musical poetry traditions, and often smattered with a Latin and Caribbean lilt. More than mere ethnography, the music he assembled for release is as fun and familiar as it is fascinating and obscure — just listen to Marvin Gaye-loving singer Mukhtar Ramadan IIdi’s primitively recorded foot-tapping “Check Up Your Head” and “Baayo.”

Collectively, the release’s 12 tracks tell the story of a period both uniquely fertile but strictly controlled. Now the subject of their own standalone Analog Africa retrospective gathered from the same visit (“Dur-Dur of Somalia – Vol. 1, Vol. 2”), Dur-Dur Band’s story is not uncommon; after assuming the presidency following the 1969 coup, President Barre invested heavily in culture, and almost every government ministry boasted its own well-funded band. “While other African countries were going down musically and culturally in the Eighties, Somalia was going up,” says Redjeb. “Ghana in the Eighties was completely dead, while Somalia was exploding just because of the political environment.”

But the Bakaka Band’s brand of patriotic music is far more than the crude jingoism associated with the genre, the languid “Godonimada” (Choose Freedom) pits lazy call-and-response tribal chants over reggae groves, while the trippy “Geesiyada Halgamayow” (Brave Fighters) bounces between slow, spooky, and furious funk passages.




The state-funded bands were frequently called on to provide live accompaniment to musical plays staged at the National Theater of Somalia. (Supplied)

When they weren’t on government duties or representing Somalia at international festivals, these incredibly versatile state-funded bands were frequently called on to provide live accompaniment to musical plays staged at the National Theater of Somalia, with The Ministry of Education’s Iftin Band contributing the eerie, sci-fi-flavored synth instrumentals “Sirmaqabe” (No Secrets) and “Ii Ooy Aniga” (Cry For Me).

With new productions staged on a monthly basis, there was a constant demand for new, audience-pleasing scores, big on singalongs, which were hastily recorded and distributed to the public prior to the production’s opening. That’s the source of the compilation’s “Waakaa Helaa” (I Like You), an imploring falsetto sung by young female singer Fadumo Qassim, backed by the legendary Shareero Band.

After these formal theater gigs, the musicians would typically pile into a minivan with their equipment to moonlight at the city’s higher-end hotels, playing Michael Jackson or Tracey Chapman hits to a mix of Italian tourists and moneyed locals. When the revellers went home in the early hours, the bands would often stick around until dawn, writing and recording DIY cassettes of their own original music away from the demands of dancers and the pressures of politics.

“You couldn’t be totally independent, you always had a toe in politics, because you were a voice and the government would use that voice whenever they wanted,” warns Redjeb. “You might be independent, but when they called you, you had to be there.”


Julian Assange open to political action as Cannes hosts documentary

Updated 18 sec ago
Follow

Julian Assange open to political action as Cannes hosts documentary

  • WikiLeaks founder makes surprise showing at festival
  • The Six Billion Dollar Man documentary premiered at Cannes and it highlights Assange's extradition fight

CANNES: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is at the Cannes Film Festival this week for the documentary “The Six Billion Dollar Man,” is thinking about how to become politically active again once he has fully recovered from prison, said his wife, Stella.
Assange, 53, returned to his native Australia after pleading guilty last June under an agreement with US officials to one count of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security materials.
The plea ended Assange’s five-year stay in a British prison, which followed seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy as he sought to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations.
Assange denied those allegations and called them a pretext to extradite him to the United States over WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks in 2010 released hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents on Washington’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — the largest security breaches of their kind in US military history — along with swaths of diplomatic cables.
“He was in a very grave situation in the prison. He’s recovering from that,” Stella Assange told Reuters in Cannes.
“But now he’s coming to understand how grave the situation outside (prison) is and thinking, making plans to find the means of what to do about it,” she added.
“He’s very, very concerned about the state of the world and the state that we’re all in right now,” said Stella, who met Assange in London in 2011 while working as part of his legal team.
Julian and Stella Assange, wearing a brooch with a picture of British designer Vivienne Westwood holding a sign saying “Stop Killing,” walked the red carpet on Wednesday evening.
Julian has so far not spoken at any of his appearances.
Assange’s extradition fight 
The documentary from Emmy-winning director Eugene Jarecki takes on the tone of a high-tech international thriller to recount Assange’s fight against extradition, using WikiLeaks footage and archives, and previously unpublished evidence.
Jarecki, who began filming before Assange was released, said he never expected to see him walk around Cannes as a free man.
By inviting Assange, the festival was sending a message about the need for freedom of information and a free press, Jarecki told Reuters, as those values are in decline in many parts of the world according to an index from Reporters without Borders.
The director called Assange “a canary in the coal mine” in foretelling the US government’s current moves to exert more control over media access to US President Donald Trump.
“If we had taken that bit more seriously, we might have seen a bunch of this coming,” said the US director.
Assange’s lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, told Reuters that the film portrayed the WikiLeaks founder as he should be shown.
“This film is absolutely necessary in terms of telling the story of free speech and what Julian Assange, his case means for the world, not just for him, but for the world,” she said.


Tradition drives the contemporary at Downtown Design Riyadh fair

Updated 21 May 2025
Follow

Tradition drives the contemporary at Downtown Design Riyadh fair

  • Rugs, light fixtures, furniture seek to redefine modern design
  • Carpet ‘The Noorah’ based on Saudi Arabia textiles on display

RIYADH: Design is always evolving, but at Riyadh’s first Downtown Design fair, it is tradition that is shaping the contemporary.

From elegant, oversized rugs to gleaming light fixtures and bold statement chairs, artisanal pieces line up the exhibition halls at Riyadh’s JAX District, showcasing a medley of heritage pieces that are redefining what modern design looks like.

Trame Paris’ collaboration with Maison L. Drucker brings new meaning to Parisian cafe bistro chairs. The “Enlace” collection utilizes an algorithm to generate unique digital patterns that make every customizable chair a one-of-a-kind piece.

Ismail Tazi, founder of Trame, said they were “continuing this conversation between technology and craftsmanship.”

He added that as an Arab he was “very proud because ‘algorithm’ is derived from Al-Khwarizmi — a Muslim scholar who was born in today’s Uzbekistan.

“So it’s really something that represents me today and how I’m looking to balance my own heritage and still be part of this cultural revolution and define a new Arab aesthetic within this digital revolution.”

Iwan Maktabi, a brand that specializes in contemporary takes on antique rugs, displayed a number of eye-catching carpets — particularly a piece called “The Noorah.”

Made of handwoven wool and silk, the black base of the wall rug stands out with pink, orange, and silver accents, embellished with gold motifs; and is inspired by traditional Saudi Arabic textiles.

Jordan-based Naqsh Collective centralizes the concept of engravings, which is one of the first forms of art.

Blending architecture and design with traditional embroidery methods, their work becomes a mode for storytelling. One of the pieces on display is derived from the embellishments on women’s thobes, specifically around the collar.

Nermeen Abudail, co-founder of the collective, said: “In this piece, we talk about how the ladies did their embroidery in the backyards. They sat together collectively creating motifs inspired by their flora and fauna.

“Each pattern comes from a region. Amulets, flowers, cyprus trees — each holds a name, comes from a region and tells a story of why it was embroidered.”

Each piece is hand-cut, inlaid, and finished with solid brass on walnut wood.

The four-day event, running until May 23, showcases collectible works and ultra-high-end collections presented by international galleries, independent designers and manufacturers.


Brad Pitt’s ‘F1 The Movie’ to premiere in Abu Dhabi this June

Updated 21 May 2025
Follow

Brad Pitt’s ‘F1 The Movie’ to premiere in Abu Dhabi this June

ABU DHABI: Brad Pitt’s Formula 1 film will return to Abu Dhabi for its regional premiere on June 25, ahead of its official Middle East release on June 26.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, “F1 The Movie” was partly shot at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by FORMULA 1 (@f1)

The Apple Original Films production follows fictional former driver Sonny Hayes (Pitt) as he returns to Formula 1 decades after a career-ending crash, teaming up with a struggling race team and a hotshot rookie played by Damson Idris.

The cast and crew will return to Abu Dhabi for the red-carpet premiere after filming 29 days across the emirate, including at Yas Marina Circuit and Zayed International Airport. The production involved 284 local crew members and 15 interns, supported by local partner Epic Films and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s rebate scheme.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Warner Bros. (@warnerbros)

Mohamed Dobay, of the Creative Media Authority, called the return “a fitting closing moment” to a project that has made a significant impact on Abu Dhabi’s creative economy. The film is one of 180 major productions supported by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission since 2013.


Art Basel to launch new fair in Qatar

Updated 21 May 2025
Follow

Art Basel to launch new fair in Qatar

  • Sheikha Al-Mayassa is leading the initiative in Doha
  • Builds on ‘thriving ecosystem of culture and sports’

DUBAI: Art Basel is set to launch a new edition of its globally renowned fair in Qatar, scheduled for February 2026 in Doha.

Announced on Tuesday, the inaugural Art Basel Qatar is a joint partnership between the organization’s parent company MCH Group, Qatar Sports Investments, and QC+, a cultural commerce collective.

The fair will be held at M7 and the Doha Design District in Msheireb, at the heart of the city’s creative quarter.

It promises a tightly curated showcase of leading modern and contemporary art galleries, spotlighting talent from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and beyond.

The initiative builds on Qatar’s long-term cultural vision, championed by Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums.

“We have built a thriving ecosystem of culture and sports … and are pleased to welcome the Art Basel organization as our partner,” she said.

The project follows Qatar’s successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup and aims to further position the nation as a hub for arts, sports, and tourism.

QSI’s Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi called the partnership “part of the legacy” of the World Cup and a new chapter in QSI’s investment in culture.

Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz said the initiative “supports artists and galleries and develops new collecting audiences,” while MCH Group CEO Andrea Zappia added that it “will attract art buyers and fans from the region and all over the world.”

Art Basel Qatar will be the fifth fair in the Art Basel portfolio, joining editions in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, and Paris.


Elyanna to perform at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix concerts

Updated 21 May 2025
Follow

Elyanna to perform at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix concerts

  • Elyanna known for mix of Arab, Western beats
  • Concerts to feature some of world’s top stars

DUBAI: Palestinian Chilean singer Elyanna will perform at this year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix After-Race Concerts on Dec. 5 at the Etihad Park on Yas Island.

The young star is expected to sing some of her most popular tracks, including “Ghareeb Alay,” “Mama Eh” and her Arabic rendition of “La Vie en Rose.”

Her performance is a part of the Yasalam After-Race concerts, held alongside the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, one of the UAE’s biggest entertainment and sporting weekends.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Yasalam (@yasalamae)

Elyanna joins a high-profile lineup of artists already announced for the four-night concert series, including Benson Boone on Dec. 4, Post Malone on Dec. 5, Metallica on Dec. 6 and Katy Perry on Dec. 7.

Access to the concerts is exclusive to Formula 1 ticket holders, with each night set to feature large-scale performances at the open-air Etihad Park.

Meanwhile, Elyanna has been normalizing Arabic lyrics in the Western world, taking inspiration from artists including Lana Del Ray and Beyonce, as well as Middle Eastern legend Fayrouz.

The Los Angeles-based singer’s music is a mix of Arab and Western beats, which she attributes to her multicultural upbringing.

Elyanna has built a strong relationship with British rock giants Coldplay, collaborating with them on the song “We Pray” and joining them on stage in multiple cities, including Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Barcelona and Paris.

One of her standout appearances was during Coldplay’s four-night concert series in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, part of their “Music of the Spheres” world tour.

In April, Coldplay announced that Elyanna had again teamed up with the band to release a new version of “Ma Meilleure Ennemie,” a track originally performed by Belgian artist Stromae and French singer Pomme.

The reimagined version is featured on the extended soundtrack for season two of “Arcane,” the popular Netflix animated series based on the League of Legends universe.

The extended soundtrack features a star-studded lineup, including Twenty One Pilots, Stray Kids, King Princess, and D4vd.