The Arabic pop music scene is hitting a new peak, and it’s looking to history to do it. While stars like Amr Diab, Najwa Karam and Mohamed Ramadan are dropping records full of modern production twists, there is a growing number of number of artist seeking inspiration from the past.
Chief among them is rising Egyptian star Mohamed Mohsen—a singer and composer whose combinations of his own music and innovative covers hits from the likes of Sayed Darwish and Mohamed Fawzi, is striking a chord with generations both old and new…
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Do you remember your first memory of music?
I’m not sure I can actually pinpoint it. I do remember particularly loving when we would sing the national anthem at school every morning. For as long as I can remember, music has been my life and my life’s focus. So when did you realize you wanted to become a singer? It must have been around the same time. When I was a kid I used to love mimicking the voices of all the singers I liked. I also used to listen to Quran readers, and would be fascinated to hear all the differentiation in their voices.
You mentioned some singers that you liked. Like who?
Pretty much the legends of Egyptian music. People like Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Mohamed Fawzi, Sayed Darwish and Umm Kulthum. I still love their music to this day. What first inspired you to sing? It was my father. He was an Arabic calligraphist, and he was also in the army during the war and used to draw maps for them. I remember when he retired he would play the music of those singers I just mentioned and then test me on who was singing! He was the one who instilled in me a love for music, and was the one who discovered that I had a good voice and helped me build it.
Did he push you into an artistic career?
No, he never did. He just instilled in me a love of music. I initially wanted to be an engineer. I went to engineering school—and to this day I love building and fixing things around the house and studio. I particularly like buying and repairing antique radios.
What’s are your favourite songs to perform?
There are many! But of my own ones I’d say “Fe Alby Makan” and “Men Zaman”; in terms of covers of traditional songs it would be “Teslamy Ya Misr”. It’s the old national anthem from 1923 until 1936. I was actually filmed singing it six months ago and it was a very big hit. That brings me back to the first question, because that’s what I used to sing in school which had a lot of memories for me so it means a lot.
Which song usually gets the best reaction from the crowd?
Normally when I try to perform “Fe Alby Makan” the crowd don’t even let me sing it because they are all ready singing along!
Despite your success, you are not someone who is overly active on social media. Why is that?
I’m quite a private person. I’m most comfortable being within my close circle of friends, either at home or in my studio. I feel lucky to do this job because I love it, and I love to be on stage, but I don’t feel the need to post three videos a day of me doing a dance on Tiktok, or show people a picture of my morning coffee. Nowadays I see people sitting together but they are in their own bubble on their phone and not present in person. I feel that if I focus on social media, then it takes away moments from my art, my family and my life, and I’d rather exist in person than on digital.
What does the rest of 2021 look like for you?
Earlier this year I released a song “Ahlan Beek” with my wife, which is the first song from my new music project. Today the music industry tends to favour people releasing individual songs rather than working on entire albums, so I am planning to release an album’s worth of 10 to 12 songs but individually, each with a music video.
You mentioned your wife, the actress Heba Magdi, do you consider her as your muse?
I could say that, but it is more the case that we listen to each other and respect each other’s opinions. It is amazing to have someone who supports your dreams and pushes you forward. The simple truth is that she makes me a better person.
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