AUC Discovers Underground Music Bands

By: Mariam Mohsen and Farah Khaled

 

AUC held its first underground concert, ‘Underground: Discovered,’ on Nov. 23, where four Egyptian bands performed original tracks and covers.

 

Karim Kobtan, a member of the audience, said that the event was the first of it’s kind to take place on campus.

 

“It was acknowledging the underground scene; I don’t think AUC has ever really done that,” he added.

 

Wael El Mahalawy, Director of the music group, oversaw the concert, which took place at the Malak Gabr theater.

 

He explained that the event was also different because usually, concerts held on campus are either classical or contemporary; music that the youth usually do not relate to.

 

“We look forward in the future to make underground concerts a permanent event to support and help new underground bands,” said El Mahalawy.

 

‘Blues Attack,’ ‘Dro with the Band,’ ‘Safi’ and ‘Nagham Masri’ were the bands that performed in the concert.

 

While they are all “underground bands,” they performed different types of music.

“This is just a small festival of underground with different genres like blues, rock, Arabic and jazz fusion,” said El-Mahalawy.

 

Omar Hassan, also known as Dro, the lead singer from ‘Dro with the Band,’ announced that the band’s name was recently changed to ‘Raseef El Abkareya,’ which translates into ‘Sidewalk of Genius.’

 

He explained that the new name reflected the fact that real art is born in the street.

‘Raseef El Abkareya’ mainly performed a mix of Arabic rap with Latin melodies, discussing political unrest and romantic affairs.

 

Ahmed Safi El-Din, better known as Safi, performed Arabic songs with genres ranging from Pop to Waltz.

 

He said that his band, which is yet to select a name, would release an album within the upcoming month.

 

“Blues Attack” performed original songs and covered records by award-winning artists such as Lana Del Rey, Ray Charles and SIA.

 

The band’s lead singer, Alia Afifi, said that the event granted her band a different kind of exposure.

 

“[Exposure at AUC] can be something that we can take as a benefit,” said Afifi.

“Nagham Masri,” which translates into ‘Egyptian Melody,’ was the most popular band participating at the concert.

 

With tens of thousands of YouTube views, the band performs songs with revolutionary lyrics and oriental tunes.

 

“Their lyrics talk to the people; it’s not only romance it touches the new Egyptians,” said El Mahalawy.