Skint and unemployed, this blog shares the crazy story about how from the depressing time that is the Corona Lockdown, I managed from basically nothing other than friends, make and release a new song and music clip
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Im soooo excited to be writing about A NEW SONG AND MUSIC CLIP I HAVE RELEASED: A Mahragran Song!
My newest song, is called Wala3 written and sung by Mohamed Mashakel!
I LOVE IT - it is a fun fresh Mahragran song THAT I LOVE and is has a great story as to how it came into existence. Mahragran is a type of post Arab Spring Shaabi Music. You can find out more and learn to dance to Mahragran Music in this Downloadable Workshop
The story begins - every cloud has a silver lining!
Well, if you have been keeping up-to-date with me you will know I have been doing a series of Online Zoom haflas with my amazing co host, Anna Chandler. These haflas have been helping to support me and other Egyptian Artists during the Corona Lock-downs. LOCK-DOWN HAS BEEN HARD: emotionally, artistically and financially. (There is NO GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR UNEMPLOYED ARTISTS IN EGYPT and it has been 4 moths that we have been unemployed).
I asked Mohamed (the cousin of my Tannoura friend and dance colleague: Osman) who is a Shaabi/Mahragran singer and Rapper if he would come and perform at our June Hafla. I wanted to bring something new and different to our haflas. He agreed, and even said he would make a song especially for me! I said ok, never thinking the song would actually come about, but within less than 10 days Mohamed had gone to his home-made bedroom studio with friends and, from the streets of Giza he made me a Maharagan song: WALA3!
I LOVED IT! REALLY LOVED IT! - It was fresh and fun, said my name a lot and had a sound bite from a really old Egyptian film which said: "The most important thing about dance is the feeling"
Knowing we had to do more! I knew we had do do more than just have it performed at the hafla: I also thought the song was perfect for a CRAZY MOBILE PHONE BASED MUSIC CLIP -It was an idea I had been playing around with, a "TikTok" style music clip. I had seen adverts done in this style but never a full-on music video. I presented the song and my "TikTok" styling idea to my good friend, Rami from Tera Media, who helps make my Youtube series, Yalla Nor2os.
I knew it would be something that he would love the idea and that it would be a project he couldn't resist working on.
Rami LOVED IT and was as excited as me about this idea .....
NO MONEY JUST PASSION AND FRIENDSHIP But how were we going to make it? We were all SKINT! Lock down has effected all of our work! Rami offered a solution ...... He had been employed to do a documentary, filming interviews, in a studio over two days..... We could slip in and film over night between the two shoots. It would mean the Tera Media crew would be on set more than 50hrs straight but they were all up for it. On 15th July I finished the first dance work I had had on the boat in 4 months and went straight to the studio. We filmed for 12hrs non stop. The small crew (Rami, Opt, Estar and Moody) took it in turns to take naps. Our only outgoings were to rent some neon light bulbs for the background. Everything else was done for free, out of love and friendship. Rami's wife, Emie and best friend, Reem, came to do the make up and Osman and his friend came to be backing dancers.
I felt overwhelmed with friendship and love! How the team went on to film another full day of documentary interviews I don't know! I went home and died!!!
THE FINAL CLIP Our aim was to get the clip out by EID and HERE IT IS!! I hope you enjoy!!! Rami and his team expressed my "TikTok" idea perfectly. They are amazing! Please have a listen to it, and a dance. Please like it and share it and subscribe to my YouTube channel. You can buy the song here and profits will be shared between the team! Also, I taught a short choreography to this song in my Maharagan Workshop which you can download a copy of here.
I HOPE YOU ENJOY <3 <3 <3