Mufeed Ismael & Sahar Al Amir

Muhawara (Dialogue)

• Um Gaddada
• Atabat
• Yam lshala (The One With the Scarf)
• Sweihli w Nael
• Ayel Yal Asmar
• Attaba

• Mulaya
• Attaba
• Buyah Muhammad
• Attaba
• Al Wardeh Al Dimasqieh (Damascene Rose)
• La La Sharqieh (Eastern Lala)

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Location Issued

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This cassette brings together the young Mufeed Ismael and the obscure Deir Ez Zor singer Sahar Al Amir in attaba dialogues and vibrant, danceable shaabi songs, capturing the sound of Syrian shaabi in the Jazeera region during the early 2000s—at a moment when the keyboard had just begun to enter the scene, but before its dominance over musical arrangement took hold. A native of Deir Ez Zor, singer and composer Mufeed Ismael began his musical career in Damascus, where he performed romantic and emotional songs within the framework of Syrian shaabi music. When the revolution broke out in Syria, he joined its ranks. In 2012, while recording a song titled Madhyouma Ya Deir in a studio in Hassake, he and his band were subjected to what he described as a major raid, resulting in their arrest. He left Syria for the Turkish city of Urfa in 2015, and since then has specialised in revolutionary music and performances at Syrian community events in Turkey. He has released several songs in collaboration with opposition poets such as Abdul Aziz Abu Al Izz and Ali Safan—songs that he either composed himself or were composed by his older brother Wahid Ismail. His track Ya Deir Ya Em Al Zlam, with lyrics by Ahmad Al Atra, gained widespread popularity among Syrians.