Just like everything else in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s music is changing too. There is a misperception that Saudi Arabia is a land without music. This simply is not the case. In the last year I have been invited to live performances of everything from classical piano concertos and jazz to traditional Arabic music and rock. Some concerts have had Western sponsors, such as consulates or international schools, but others were held in private homes or on compounds.
In the past, the musicians at concerts in the Kingdom used to be mostly expatriates, but now a lot of Arabs are featured. Even though the guitar originated in Persia, there is something a bit strange about seeing a guy in a thobe with an electric guitar slung across his chest. The first time people encounter a Saudi belting out classic rock they usually stand, gawking. But then the beat takes over, they get into the grove, the thobe fades into the background and all that matters is the music.
And it really is incredible music. For some reason most people expect that Arab musicians will play standard rock hits. Well, Saudi bands can do renditions of the Beetles, the Rolling Stones, the Who and others. But even more important, they write their own music and lyrics too. It’s only fair to be clear though. Rock has not eclipsed Oriental music. Why should it? The situation at many performances is that the music slips back and forth between Eastern and Western rhythms. One song might be in Arabic and the next one in English. Often the musicians are playing just for family friends and the evening moves from request to request until the guys run out of voice or the sun rises.
Another potential assumption that should be shut down quickly is that these guys are weird and out on the fringes of society. We’ve all seen the freaky Western rockers with their bizarre hair, tattoos and piercings. In the Kingdom, just being a musician is unusual enough to preclude any additional weirdness. Forget the idea of the starving musician, as well. All the Saudi musicians Arab News met, held excellent mainstream occupations such as physician, engineer, administrator or university student. It’s even all right to take these young men home to meet prospective in-laws. Nader Sulaiman Al-Fassam is engaged to be married. He said that his fiancee’s parents know that he loves to play music and they applaud his talent.
“I am sort of unusual in that my day job is at least related to my music,” said Al-Fassam. “I work as a sound engineer. It pays well. I can freelance too and make about SR200 an hour doing sound engineering for special projects. I’ve come a long way with my music. Before 1995, I was influenced by the West completely both in ideas and values. Then I found myself and came back to my roots. I have to point out though that when I first became a musician my parents thought music was a big waste of time. They didn’t have the right view. Before I had music all I did was waste time on TV, smoking and driving around. When I found the guitar, I got rid of all my bad habits.”
The older generation in the Kingdom is generally skeptical about the value of music. They remember when satellite TV first made its way to Saudi Arabia and youngsters aped international music stars.
“It’s a big social dilemma,” commented Dr. Ali Al-Ibrahim. “Some people like music but they hate to admit it because they don’t want to appear too liberal. Among the most conservative elements in the society, music is unacceptable. This is because music and musicians have been associated with bad behavior. In Saudi Arabia, people aren’t used to the idea of music as art. They aren’t used to the idea of using music to express thoughts and bring understanding.”
Al-Ibrahim, who plays oud, explained that the hardest problem with being a musician in the Kingdom is just getting started. The majority of the musicians in Saudi Arabia are self-taught. There are very few teachers available to give lessons and they only consider spending time with the most advanced students. Even for the classical Arabic instruments such as “oud,” commonly known as the lute in the West, it is very difficult to get any kind of instruction or advice.
William Abboud, a Syrian oud player, living in the Kingdom, felt that when Saudi youngsters take up an instrument they must be persistent because their families will often oppose them at first.
“I have one student whose father hates his son’s music,” Abboud said sadly. “This teen’s father has found three of his guitars and smashed them. The teen is not playing guitar as some sort of rebellion. He is talented. I think that his father is not really worried about the music, but he’s worried about where music might take his son.”
Over the years, at Arab News we have watched one young man fight for his music and his dream. Fouad Saleh, a Lebanese teenager who lives in the Kingdom with his family, always planned to study music at university. His parents were opposed. It’s not that they didn’t like music but they worried that he would be unable to support himself in the future as a musician. They urged him to study something practical, to become a pharmacist or an engineer.
“They didn’t mind if I had music as a hobby,” said Saleh. “They were worried though that if I studied music I’d never earn a living and I’d struggle forever. I have convinced them that getting a degree in music is very important to me and that doing something that I want with my life is more worthwhile than being wealthy. I wish there were any sort of exchange program where musicians in Arab countries could get exposed to the music industry in other countries. It’s very difficult to find anyone who will take a chance on us to get us the experience we need to succeed as professionals.”
Mohammed Al-Sulaimani knows all about struggling to make it as a professional. By day this Saudi works on aircraft and by night he has his music. He’s been able to land temporary gigs across the Causeway in Bahrain and he’s just brought out his first CD called “Moving & Grooving.”
“Keeping a band together is a problem here in the Kingdom,” said Al-Sulaimani. “It’s possible to find musicians to play guitar and keyboard but drummers are in short supply. Producing my first CD was hard because there was no one with the right experience to help out. Sound engineers here only have experience with Arabic instruments. Plus, we don’t have excellent sound studios in the Kingdom. The CD didn’t turn out like I expected but I have achieved something and I’m pleased.”
He continued, “The music on the CD was all in my head. Except for two songs, all the others are original. One of the strangest things is that when Westerners hear my songs sometimes they get really shocked and suspicious. They ask, ‘Why is he playing our music?’ All I can reply to them is, ‘How can music belong to anyone?’”
The young Arab musicians are constantly on the lookout for new talent. They frequent local music stores, hoping that someone new will stop by.
“Some of the music shops are very welcoming to us. They let us try all the instruments. I know they do this because they are selling to us but sometimes you come in and hear someone playing something interesting and it can be the start of a friendship,” said Syrian Tarek Atassi.
Atassi learned to play guitar after his older brother brought one home. He’s very interested in Flamenco, but again he is handicapped in learning this type of music properly because he can’t find a teacher.
“Playing my guitar, is like talking to myself, to my soul,” said Atassi. “When I play something new, that’s when I am really discovering something new about myself. Music gives me a chance to be myself and to know who I really am.”
Arab News Features 20 December 2002
