Reviving the forgotten sounds of Lebanese folk legend Roger Fahkr middleeasteye.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from middleeasteye.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In a scene from Henry Barakat’s 1971 film Ebnati El Aziza (My Dear Daughter), the iconic Egyptian electric guitarist Omar Khorshid plays a slow building improvised solo in the kurd scale on his Fender Stratocaster. Dressed in a black dinner jacket and bow-tie with a slicked back hairstyle and charismatic smile, he stands alone on stage, his shadow extending out behind him onto a dreamlike set.
The camera switches to the enchanted audience watching his show. Legendary actor Rushdy Abaza and the singer Nagat al-Saghira are sitting in the front row. Then the camera zooms in on Khorshid’s distinctive fast-picking technique as he changes tempo and scale.
El Oudal Mensiyye
(The Forgotten Room, 1969).
A true musical maverick, despite working with celebrated mainstream artists Rahbani was one of the pioneers of alternative and underground music in Lebanon. Early in his career, he experimented with the latest electronic instruments, and was one of the first to use synthesisers in Arabic music.
He also introduced contemporary international music trends to Lebanon, exploring genres such as ye-ye, psych-rock, 60s pop, Franco-Arab, Latin, beat and chansons.
In the 60s and 70s, he wrote and produced some of the country’s most innovative records, frequently collaborating with upcoming artists. Some of them found short-lived fame, such as Lebanese-Armenian psych-rock band The News, while others became established names like Maya Casabianca, Manuel and Sammy Clark.