Mohamed Mounir proves he’s still got it with a magnificent performance
CAIRO: The first time I was introduced to Mohamed Mounir s music was in 1999, when I listened to his album “El Farha (The Joy). I have personally never been a true fan of mainstream Arabic music, and none of Mounir s previous few songs that I listened to throughout the years succeeded in changing my views.
The music of El Farha, however, differed from the regular Arabic music that was making the rounds – it was original, with multiple layers of traditional Nubian music; smart yet accessible and serious without any self-important sentiments.
The lyrics were full of social commentary, simple yet profound philosophical thoughts and little nationalistic ditties. El Farha was the beginning of a long fascination with Mounir s music that has been nurtured ever since.
Mounir is not simply an accomplished recording artist, but also a great live performer as well. The full Mounir experience is never complete without attending his famous concerts, which is where the scope of his music is fully expanded and realized. His latest performance that took place last Friday at the Cairo Opera House is not only a reminder of his excellence at his craft, but a testament to the never-fading popularity of Egypt s finest musician.
Mounir s first concert of the year began on somewhat shaky ground, despite the unexpected legions of fans that showed up. The concert was supposed to start at 10 p.m. and, as usual, Mounir was late – exceedingly late, in fact. Fans were warming up by chanting some of Mounir s most popular hits and cheering for the band, but the excitement started to wane and was gradually replaced by frustration and fatigue. The fans started to call on Mounir without getting any response. Finally, and after almost an hour and half, the band arrived on the stage followed by Mounir, who emerged from a small blaze of fireworks.
Mounier began the set with the raucous Hela Hela, a stupendous patriotic song devoid of any tackiness or fake sentimentality. The whole place suddenly erupted with ecstasy, with every single person singing the words “Hela Hela to start an evening shadowed by political subtexts.
The crowd was not completely won over yet, and remained unable to forgive Mounir for causing them to wait for what seemed like an eternity. Mounir attempted to give some vague, unconvincing excuses that didn t fool anyone before mentioning how sorry and hurt he is for recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Mounir followed Hela Hela with the beautiful Alimoony Enake (“Your Eyes Have Taught Me ), an upbeat song that puts all the necessary ingredients of a jazz melody into a memorable, flawlessly crafted pop tune. Mounir s performance, along with an excellent Saxophone solo, was too good for the crowds to hold any more hard feelings toward him.
Ibn Marika (“Marika s Son ), a playful, indirect attack on the U.S. was next. The song tells a story of a young expatriate living in Egypt who strives to inject his foreign, destructive ideas into his neighborhood using underhanded, covert methods. The song is full of cynicism and doubt and filled with conventional eastern dance rhythms, resulting in one of the most of the unusual dance songs of recent years.
Later on, Mounir expressed how grateful and pleased he is with the reform in the Press Law, before singing Salah Jahine s undying words of El Kelma (“The Word ).
But despite the clear undertone of Mounir s songs, his comments for the night seemed somehow uninspired and too gracious, which is why it was shocking hearing a new version of his celebrated hit Hadoota Masreya (“An Egyptian Tale ) with utterly different, politically bashing and extremely agonizing lyrics such as, Amid the blood and pain we re born. The song lasted for less than two minutes, yet it was arguably the highlight and the most memorable moment of the evening.
Men Awel Lamsa (“From the First Touch ) was the sole disappointment in a rather eclectic set. Mounir s rendition of one of his classics was bland and wholly forgettable.
Mounir quickly redeemed himself with a quartet of some of the best songs he s ever sung. Ya Ana (“Hey Me ) is a cute and overwhelmingly endearing ditty about a new blossoming love, Lama El Naseem (“When the Whirlwind ) is one of Mounir s most tender, heart-throbbing love songs and the simply brilliant “Lehaf El Sheta (“Winter Cover ), is a jaunty account about the death of a dream.
The concert came to end with the new crowd favorite El Donia Ressha Fi Hawa (“Life is a Feather in the Air ), which drove the crowds to a state of frenzy. The Saad Abdel Wahab s long forgotten classic found new life through the hands of Mounir, who transformed it into a soaring epic of freewheeling life. This was, without a doubt, the most joyful and liberating moment of the evening.
Mounir s music is not ordinary, mindless pop songs or mild folk music – it is unique music filled with plenty of passion, intelligence and power. Mounir s music continued to evolve throughout the years until it reached the refined state presented in his numerous concerts. This concert was filled with different people from different backgrounds, different social strata and different age groups. Young and old men, mothers and young women, foreigners and children were all singing, dancing and imitating his signature gestures and moves. What Mounir created is not mere pop songs but little anthems for the lives of different generations.
The crowds kept shouting Mounir, you re still the greatest throughout the evening and, judging by this concert, it s hard to believe otherwise.
