Admit it: We all love
the unusual rhythm and melody of Arabic music.
It's so relaxing to be going about your typical day and hear those magical
notes from an instrument most of us don’t even know how to pronounce. Today’s post is all about Arabic music and a very talented Buzuq player.
Music of the Middle East has a long
tradition going back many centuries. It has had influence on other kinds of
music around the world. We can even see this influence in the work of composers
like Mozart and Beethoven. There are 4 genres in today’s Arabic music: Modern, Classical, Pop and Arabic Gulf style music. Because of the more elastic sound of Arabic
music, the songs are sung in a minor key, which is why they are not that up
beat in pop.
Enough with the general knowledge lesson, now take a look at the video
below.
The first name of the artist in the above video is
Yes, that’s right! The artist is named after the
music note “Si-bemol” (B flat en anglais!). His
full name is Si-bemol Younes and by the
way, his father is
himself is a renowned Lebanese musician (pretty cool right?).
Si-bemol was born in Canada when his parents came here during Lebanese
civil war. However, they went back to Lebanon when he was just a one year old.
Growing up in Lebanon, Si-bemol starting playing violin at the age of 8 and
then followed his passion for music by learning a dozen other instruments. Being a music composer, he has worked in the
Lebanese music industry and has composed music for a couple of movies as well.
Si-bemol came back to Canada in 2017 and is currently
pursuing his Masters in Musicology at
the Université de Montreal. Interesting
enough, he is doing his thesis on the Buzuq.
He thinks that this is not a very known musical instrument and deserves much
needed recognition in the western world.
Inspired by Arabic and classical
music, he looks up to the legendary Lebanese composer and pianist Ziad Rahbani
and one of the greatest Buzuq players of all times, Mohammed Matar, as his idols. Si-bemol likes to paint, read about history and
philosophy when he is not playing music. This talented artist realizes that
it's a harsh world out there in the music biz, but also understands that word
of mouth marketing is key to live music which encourages him to perform at
public places like metro stations.
Even after coming to Canada he is in constant
touch with his friends in Lebanon and has been working on a commercial
arabic-jazz music album along with his band called “YANSOON”. They are
expecting their next album to be released in
5 months.
I spotted this talented artist at Henry Bourassa
metro station. Standing there listening to his music made me appreciate the fact
that he was out there
doing what he loved and was performing
in the metro, where it is not particularly
remunerative but yet it was somehow fulfilling to him. His passion for the
Buzuq is
incredible: it has driven him to pursue this art for the rest of his life and it really does not matter
how he does it.
It definitely shows that he has worked hard on it for years and is in fact
a true master of his art.
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