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I was born on September 4th, 1978, in Wimbledon, England. My mother is English, my father Egyptian. I was raised in Kuwait and went to British and American International schools. I am a bit of a mix. I have been very fortunate in that I have experienced many different cultures from very early on. I have lived both in Scotland, England and Norway for brief periods, have traveled as far East as Tokyo, Singapore and Malaysia and as far West as Canada and the U.S. I currently live in Cairo, Egypt. My two favorite things in the world are singing and writing. Ever since I can remember, I have been writing short stories and poems, and singing into a mic. The following is a little of what I have been up to over the years: Highlights: Summer of 1998: Instead of splurging on clothes or CDs, I bought myself a guitar and began teaching myself how to play. From that point on, I was able to combine my poetry and singing and experiment with writing my own songs. October 2000: I traveled to Munich, Germany to meet with reggae musician & good friend, Jahcoustix, and had the opportunity to record one of the first songs I had ever written, Speaking of Colors. By this time, I had been playing the guitar and composing music for three years. April 2004: Cairo’s newest and most popular radio station, 104.2 Nile FM, started announcing that they were accepting local talents’ demos for on air coverage. Without hesitation, I handed in a CD with Speaking of Colors and Elef Beh Teh (Arabic Alphabet) on it; the latter song I had previously written myself and recorded a few years later with the help of the renowned, Egyptian guitarist, Ousso. Not long after, the station held a Battle of the Bands competition, where local talent were able to go head to head, and audiences could vote in to say who they preferred. Speaking of Colors came in first place, and as well as having one month’s regular air rotation, the song received incredible amounts of exposure. After this, I began working with film director, Omar Khodeir, to make a video clip for Speaking of Colors which was released November 2nd , 2004, on the Arabic satellite music channel, Mazzika. July and August 2004: Time spent in London taking part in many open mic nights and playing for audiences at numerous different venues. Soon after I flew to Munich, Germany, and supported the reggae band, Dubios Neighbourhood, at the Lilalu Festival. I also did a preliminary recording and wrote lyrics and a melody for Poor Mother Cry. Back in Cairo, I worked on co-producing a new track, Angolian Child, with members from one of Egypt’s most talented and admired bands, Wust El Balad. The track has been featured several times on Cairo’s Nile FM radio station. January 2005: I went back to Munich for two months and worked on recording a few more songs including Winter Thoughts and Precious Moments, both have been aired on Nile FM. April 2005: Upon returning to Cairo in the spring, I teamed up with Mariam Ali, to form The Tamariam Experience. We have performed our own originals in Cairo’s under-the-bridge venue, Sakkia, and at the Wadi Digla Festival. September 2007 - 2010: Time spent in Europe studying and working in non-musical related sectors. On the side, professional bedroom singing and making my own garage band/iMovie music videos for my YouTube page. January 2011: Working on a repertoire with jazz musician in Cairo, but interrupted by a revolution! Watch this space for updated news... |