Edward Powell
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Souad Mohamed - who is she???
Can anyone tell me a bit about Souad Mohamed?
...how is she different than OUM?
Was she really famous.... etc?
Thanks!
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katakofka
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hi Ed
Souad is not famous as compared to any singer in Egypt. She's Lebanese and went to Egypt to make a carrier their in the mid-50s. Got Married with a
famous composer (muhammad sultan) where she got a bit famous. After her divorce she came back to LB and I guess she lives there now.
However, her voice is amazing as you hear. She loves Um Kalthum as she said it many times and sang her songs. Briefly, she couldn't make a strong
carrier but she sang immortal songs such as "awwedak" composed by her ex-husband.
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samzayed
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http://www.orientaltunes.com/listening_page10b.html This has some info on her. The main difference between her Om Kolsum is that she really
didn't have the long spanning career that O.K. had. If I were to ask the older generation who grew up in the Middle East, they'd be hard pressed to
name 1 or 2 songs by her. She's an amazing singer, don't get me wrong, but no where near the popularity and impact of O.K. and no where near the
repetoire (O.K. sang about 350 songs throughout her career http://almashriq.hiof.no/egypt/700/780/umKoulthoum/Songs/)
That's just my quick 2 cents...
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JT
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Hey Guys,
Souad Mohamed is actually of Palestinian origin, not Lebanese...
You really cant say how is she different to Oum K (OK). Oum Kalsoum has her style of singing and Souad came after her singing classical repertoire
where nothing was really written for her till later in her career.
Oum Kalsoum created her style(ofcourse with the help of the best composers and poets at the time) and her songs are a separate musical form in
themselves. I believe to really understand Oum Kalsoum you have to listen to her earliest of recordings to know why she is who she is, as I think
towards the end of her career is not the best representation of her work, but these seem to be very popular songs.
Oum K is a school of poetry and music, her greatness lies in the pronunciation of the lyrics (correct Arabic pronunciation due to Koranic background)
combined with her amazing technical vocal capabilities (again you you have to hear her earliest works and vocal improvisations Amana ayouha al Qamar
al Moutelon compsed By Sheikh Abu el Ella Muhammed is an example of her vocal capability). She also found popularity through formality, presenting an
art form which prized itself on amazing lyrics and Qasa'ed (the plural form of Qasidah), one of the hardest forms of Arabic song to the complex
classical Arabic language and its pronunciation. Where around her time when she arrived in Cairo in the 20's, there were meaningless songs (lyrically
meaningless) a type of cabaret style with Vulgar lyrics...Anyway, I can go on for ages...
I respect Souad Mohamed very much. She has an amazing vocal capacity, but I think its hard to crack a market if you are singing covers, and not have
any real big composer stand by you in the beginning like Oum K and other singers had.
Here is a clip of Souad Mohamed singing an Oum K song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1CkAnJ-GDE&feature=related
Best regards,
JT
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JT
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Nour Al Hodda is another example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UturOBp5sTg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iWgLYuEOUU&feature=related
Cheers,
JT
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katakofka
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JT
Hey Guys,
Souad Mohamed is actually of Palestinian origin, not Lebanese...
JT |
From where this info JT?
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Edward Powell
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Wow, Nour is great... and looks really sexy too 
---this is another thing I am confused about. . . . I have always figured that Arab women have always been pretty much veilled up and covered etc. .
. . . . but perhaps this has only been the case of the country-side where things have forever remained very traditional - - and in this case the
'covering' is not in fact anything to do with Islam, but rather just an old tradition... I mean, look at Balkan, and Eastern European women in
villages even today, the women wear veils.
One of my friends here, a city woman about 35 years old, was telling me that in the 60 and 70's all the women were waring miniskirts and no veils etc
etc--- she was saying (also similar in Turkey) that the veiling you now see in cities is a NEW thing, kind of a new political statement that some
women choose to make - showing sympathy with the more traditional and perhaps religious side of things.
So it looks like 40 or 50 years ago, in the big cities of the Arab world, the women looked very Western, and open..... this has always been a point
of real confusion for me. . . . WHAT IS THE "REAL" CHARACTER OF THE WOMEN?????? some people are telling me that the veil is a contrived political
statement, others are telling me that the veil is the REAL way that all women dressed throughout all of Euro-Asia for countless centuries. . . . .
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Edward Powell
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Wow... this Nour performance is incredible - - - real XTC!
...what FORM is this?
I am sometimes a bit confused when I see such a clips- everyone is saying that OK is the best singer in the UNIVERSE and that no one has ever even
come close to her, but when I listen to SOUAD and NOUR to my ears they all sound on par - - ALL GR8!
...but of course, "hype" will always be a huge part of the music industry... let's face it there are countless great musicians kicking around that
nobody will ever hear about.
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JT
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Hello Kata,
I saw this on documentary once and it always stuck...I willing to be wrong...
Ill look into it...
JT
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katakofka
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Edward Powell
I am sometimes a bit confused when I see such a clips- everyone is saying that OK is the best singer in the UNIVERSE and that no one has ever even
come close to her, but when I listen to SOUAD and NOUR to my ears they all sound on par - - ALL GR8!
...but of course, "hype" will always be a huge part of the music industry... let's face it there are countless great musicians kicking around that
nobody will ever hear about. |
Ed, NOUR, SOUAD, and before them Asmahaan were not allowed to compete with OM.K.
There is a rumor, not sure if it's true tho, that OM. K was behind the sudden death of Asmahaan.
Souad was accused of jewelry trafic between Egypt and Lebanon and was not allowed to enter egypt in the mid-50th till 1961 ( date when syria and egypt
made the unity, one country). It was a kind of political release and permission for Souad to sing in Egypt. To what extend OM.K played a role in all
this? some analysts confirmed the role of OM. K in all this mess.
Bottom line is beside the fact that OM.K had a great voice she was musically and especially Politically well served.
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katakofka
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Edward Powell
Wow... this Nour performance is incredible - - - real XTC!
...what FORM is this?
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This is Qasiid I guess. This is for Abdel wahab, ya gaarata lwaadi, the song that makes abdel wahaab popular.
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Edward Powell
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I wouldnt at all be surprised by the truth in what you suggest about OK's possible "CIA-type" protectionism. . . . but the more I can fathom about
what kind of sponsorship and corporate organisation that was obviously behind here, it leaves no doubt in my mind that it would not have been her
personally who would have done those things, but rather, the mafia behind her. . . . .
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JT
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Ofcourse, havent you guys seen The Godfather, its all about OK mafia activities...Please dont slander my darling...
JT
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wsb3383
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I'm surprise no one mentioned one of the greatest (in my opinion) songs of Souad Mohamed: "Wahashtini"
here's a video of Nour Muhanna singing it (couldn't find a video of Souad Mohamad):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqqhd7QbLaQ&feature=related
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