Ahmad Tilawi

Al Nahren Party

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On this cassette, we listen to a lively concert performed by Ahmad Tilawi, likely during the 1990s. The first side of the tape is distinguished by a series of fast and energetic dabke songs, with an acoustic arrangement free from electronic instruments, while on the second side, Tilawi transitions more into the mawwal form, which showcases his mastery of measured singing. Ahmad Tilawi is considered a cornerstone in the recorded archive of the Syrian shaabi music scene. His was strongly present in the 1980s and 1990s, performing ataba, shaabi, mawwal, and dabke at private parties and weddings, to the extent that it became difficult to check a few cassettes in our archive without encountering his name. Sharing the stage with Tilawi was a rite of passage for entering the shaabi scene for several female and male singers, such as Fariha Al-Abdullah, Ibrahim Al-Saad, and Hussein Al-Abdullah, especially in the field of ataba, which Tilawi’s name became synonymous with. Tilawi lived in his city of Saraqib in the countryside of Idlib for most of his life, and did not leave it, heartbroken, until armed conflicts forced him to do so.