Recently, we have witnessed the Cairo music scene undergoing an evolution, with artists being drawn in a variety of creative directions. While the electronic and rap scenes here continue to break ground and carve a stronger Egyptian identity, we are also seeing many more young artists picking up traditional instruments and going back to the roots of Arabic music as a basis for creation. The most exciting projects come from a fluid realization of different influences.Dokkan is a self-described “Contemporary Egyptian Music” project made up of members Tarek Al Azhary on oud, Omar Magdy on guitar, Naeyr Osama on drums and Mohamed Mallawany on bass. The members have played in other groups, together and separately, in a variety of styles. Their fresh yet familiar sound is one born of their collective influences, both oriental and western, fusing into beautiful, elegant and slinky songs. We had the pleasure of sitting down with them before their performance in the beautiful garden space of Darb 1718 to chat about their influences, thoughts about the state of the Egyptian music scene, and their coming plans.
For more information follow Dokkan on Facebook and check them out on Youtube for more videos.
