| Kulna Sawa readies for breakout success in Arab world and Europe Syrian pop band fuses Eastern, Western musical styles April 11, 2003 Brooke Anderson Special to The Daily Star DAMASCUS: Pop music bands in the Arab world are a rarity, as is trendy dance music that expresses strong humanitarian and social messages. However, a relatively new band, Kulna Sawa, based in Damascus, is breaking new ground with their fusion of Western and Middle Eastern music styles that are appealing to on-the-go, socially conscious young Arabs. In 2000, the group signed a record deal with EMI, and now they are making a name for themselves in the Arab world. “We wanted the name Kulna Sawa (Arabic for “all of us together”), to reflect the idea of a band,” says Ammar al-Ani, co-producer of Kulna Sawa and husband of female lead singer Sonia Bittar. “Pop bands are not common in Arab music; there are only five or six at present. We wanted to emphasize that everyone was involved.” What began as a friendship at Damascus University a decade ago between the group’s lead singers is now a growing business. Their first concert had an audience of 500 spectators. Their latest show drew over 6,000. “People like the music and we like doing it,” says Sonia. “Now we’re sailing with the wind.” To date, most of Kulna Sawa’s fans have been young Arabs living in the Middle East. This may soon change. Britain’s ambassador to Syria, Henry Hogger, has been a faithful fan since a meeting in September 1999. He has helped promote the band by arranging for performances with the British Council, and he hopes to send them to Britain this spring. A compilation of Arab tracks, including some of the band’s own, has sold over 130,000 copies worldwide. Denis Lyon, a former country western singer from Tucson, Arizona, was taken with the band’s message and is arranging for them to perform for Michigan State’s Arab community in the United States this summer. Kulna Sawa made their first album in 1997 and their second in 1999; both were then released together in 2001 on one CD containing 18 tracks, and it is from this one album that people know the band. Finding a record company was a major challenge. When band manager Bashar Musa found out that the company in Lebanon they’d signed with had simply put their CD on the shelf, he went to Dubai, looking for a record company that would give them the publicity they needed. After a two-week trip, in which he met with about 10 record firms, he was introduced to an EMI representative. They listened to the demo tape on the car stereo and drove straight to the EMI office. “This was the first company that didn’t want to change our style,” recalls Bashar. The two main styles on the album include pop adaptation of Arabic music with many Western elements, including bass, solo guitar and keyboard, as well as new original tracks from the band. Seventy-five percent of the production is Western; however, the lyrics are in Arabic. “We sing about things that relate to our generation in the region, such as social and economic difficulties,” says Bittar. “We rarely sing about love.” One of their songs, Rasassa Moutaradedah (Hesitating Bullet), is about a bullet trying to assassinate a victim, in reference to the many victims of the Arab world. The story is told from the point of view of the bullet. Another song, Koulshi Esmo Jedid (Everything Called New), is about coming to terms with the 21st century and the fast pace of modern life. Rassam al-Lail (Night Painter) is particularly relevant to the current generation of those living in the region who have never enjoyed social or financial freedom, or who grew up under or near a foreign occupation. In Rassam al-Lael someone knows that the city has become gray. No one else realizes that the city is gray because they are used to the gray life. Every night, the painter goes out and paints the city’s walls with colors to remind people of the past and how life should be. In the morning, people see colors. Kulna Sawa also takes folk music and reproduces it in a new style. “There is a new life coming in and we should not forget our past. We should keep our culture alive not just in a museum,” says Ammar al-Ani. Ironically, one problem the band faces is treatment by Westerners, some of whom have been disappointed that Kulna Sawa’s style is not purely Oriental. “We think we deserve the chance to deliver a message to the world, merge cultures, and not be typical of anything,” said Bashar. The band has no desire to change its style even if that would mean earning more money. What the members like about EMI is that it respects their identity: The record company arranged the sequence of tracks on their first CD and designed their album cover. Otherwise, everything on the album is the band’s original production. In September 2000, Kulna Sawa and the Irish-British band Sin’e (pronounced Shinay) broke new ground when they performed three concerts in Syria, two in Damascus and one in Aleppo. It was the first time in Syrian history that a British and Syrian band played together. The idea came from the British Council, which wanted to see a “fusion of rhythms.” At first, both bands were hesitant, but after an exchange of CDs, they decided to give it a try. Nineteen musicians played together, 11 from Kulna Sawa and eight from Sin’e. The oud was played with the bagpipe; and Sin’e’s lead singer, Taz, sang in Irish with Bittar, who sang in Arabic. The shows drew crowds of thousands and afterward, high demand for the CDs took both groups by surprise. Kulna Sawa would like to reach out to the West, which they feel still does not have a sense of Oriental culture. The band thinks it has interesting elements to add to the music world, and it wants to keep Arab folk music alive for the next generation. “We hope we can bridge cultures so European audiences will listen to Arab elements, and we’d like to introduce Western ways of producing music, such as multiple voice recording, guitars, bass and computers … while still maintaining our own material and subjects,” says Bittar. “We’re trying to introduce folk music to a new generation and bring a new style to the older generation.” Kulna Sawa is working on a second album, to feature songs with Sin’e and due for release soon. They were also set for recent concerts in Belgium and Holland. The band’s videos play regularly on MTV Europe, and EMI France haa already expressed an interest in releasing the new album. With the large Arab communities living all over the world, and an international record label, the band feels there is a good chance to “cross over” and be a hit outside of their own country. The band is already off to a very promising start in the Arab world and is now waiting for the figures to come in to see if they have a gold record in the Gulf. |