Ahmad Tilawi

Hala Habibi (Welcome, My Love)

• Sa'et Kaher (Agony Hour)
• Htha Al Ghareeb (This Stranger)
• Hala Habibi (Welcome, My Love)
• Har Al Wadi (Valley)

• Mawal
• Ataba
• Andi Sadeek (I Have a Friend)

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Location Issued

Artist Origin

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Ahmad Tilawi achieved a considerable amount of his success thanks to his dominance in the field of ataba and mawal, and we can understand why while listening to this cassette. Over time, Tilawi developed a rich and deep voice, coupled with a sophisticated singing style. On this recording, released by Al-Faihaa records from Aleppo, we hear Tilawi’s voice drenched in echo, accompanied by the rebab like a close shadow. Another Tilawi cassette characterized by its slow performance in a way that allows the listener to relish the details of his poignant voice. Tilawi opens the second side of the cassette with his performance of the poem I Remembered the Days of Union Near You, of unknown origin. His voice echoes heavily, acquiring a certain awe, while the string instruments weave an ambient sound curtain in the background. This same poem is also well-known in the voice of Aleppo singer Adeeb Al-Dayekh. Ahmad Tilawi is considered a cornerstone in the recorded archive of the Syrian shaabi music scene. Prominent in the 1980s and 1990s, he was a key figure in performing ataba, shaabi, mawal, and dabke at private parties and weddings, to the extent that it's almost impossible to review a few cassettes in our archive without encountering his name. Sharing the stage with Tilawi was often seen as a rite of passage for emerging shaabi singers, both male and female, including Fariha Al-Abdullah, Ibrahim Al-Saad, and Hussein Al-Abdullah, especially in the field of ataba, which Tilawi’s name became synonymous with. Tilawi spent most of his life in his hometown of Saraqib, located in the countryside of Idlib, until heartbroken, armed conflicts forced him to do so.