RFY: Massar Egbari

By Muhammed Amirah

Jaha's Music page begins it’s new series “Reviews From You” by introducing you to a band out of Alexandria, Egypt named Massar Egbari. Music lover and Massar Egbari superfan, Muhammed Amirah, explains his love for the group and recommends some of his favorite Egbari songs.

Massar Egbari is an Egyptian band created by four singers which are Ayeman Masood(Keys), Hani Dakak (Guitar/Lead Vocals), Ahmed Hafiz (Bass guitar), and Tamer Attaallah (Drums)/.  Mahmoud Siam who joined the band in 2008 is a guitar player.

Massar Egbari is considered an independent band and classifies its music as alternative music which is different from the commercial Arab pop music (See Elissa, Nancy, Fares Karem to get an idea of our Arab pop music [sigh]). One of the things that separates the group from other music from the region is its lyrics and ideas which address the regions social consciousness and focuses on the social issues/phenomenon’s in Egypt.

Massar Egbari reflects in some of its music the problems of the street and some of Egypts most pressing social issues as clearly heard in the song “Mororr” while other areas of their music focus on love but in a way that is much different then our regions usual love songs. A great example of this is the song “Ana howait”:

The best way to classify Massar Egbari's music is oriental rock. The band tries to mix sounds of Arabic music of the past with rock to produce a unique mix of sound and create a genre of its own. Massar has not only focused on this unique style. It has also re-arranged old Arab classics such as “Morsal le habeebti” by Ali Al-Hilbowee in a way only Egbari could do.

For me, Massar Egbari is like a love story which starts with the first glances of admiration and finishes with utter adoration. I especially like the way Massar Egbari plays the song “Ghemit aynik”. You hear the eastern sound on the electric guitar that shapes a nice mix of the original Arabic sounds and modern music all in one track. However if we want to talk about the lyrics that the band uses I can honestly say that these are some of the best lyrics describing love that I have ever listened to. One of the best examples of this is in “Morsal le Habeebti” . I had not heard in my life lyrics that let me feel the meaning of the real love. This is completely in contrast to the lyrics of nonsense found in our modern pop songs.

I believe Massar Egbari are one of the regions independent bands that need encouragement and support from Arab lovers of music to be able to make a change in music in the Arab world and develop a new sound for a new generation. I hope for them all the best and that they continue to make progress in making the change in music.