Cairo Magazine - Culture, not politics

Hassan Hassen sees a small triumph in playing Sudanese music in Cairo.

Neveen Keating

On the night of 8 April, the Sawy Center in Zamalek was transformed into a stage for Cairo’s vibrant Sudanese subculture. Just under 100 of the city’s Sudanese residents turned out at River Hall to support vocalist Hassan Hassen and his eight-man ensemble as they performed traditional and original songs from Egypt’s neighbor to the south. Featuring tabla, conga, saxophone, bass guitar and keyboard instrumentals, Hassen’s concert is a boisterous musical introduction to the culture of Sudan. “Sudanese music is here, in the world, and people should know about it and hear it,” says Hassen, “I’m trying to spread a message, not about politics, but about the Sudanese people themselves.”

The mood at River Hall was jubilant as concert-goers familiar with Hassen’s repertoire saluted the performers with traditional dance-steps and stood for several ovations. Even the uninitiated were soon tapping their feet and clapping in rhythm with Hassen’s enthusiastic drummers. While the refrains of “Habiba” and “Al Aziza, Al Wahida” were old news to audience-members used to stock Arabic pop, the uniquely Sudanese flavor of the music gave all who attended a taste of life on the Blue Nile—for many of Hassen’s fans, home.

Traditional Sudanese music, known as shaar, is an art form that draws on diverse cultural elements. “Some shaar music is written in classical Arabic,” says Ghazaly Kamal Al Tayib, a shaar composer who attended the concert, “Some is written in the local dialect. It deals with many themes that are unique to Sudan.” With subject matter as wide-ranging as Saharan African folklore, Islam and romantic love, shaar demonstrates the distinctive confluence of Arabian and African values present in Sudan.

If Hassen’s music is any indication, Sudan is not the only place where shaar music is part of pop culture. With its distinctive bass chords and 2/4 time, shaar’s influence on western reggae is obvious. While Bob Marley fans expecting “Buffalo Soldier” in Arabic will be disappointed, Hassen’s music provides a unique look at the cultural source of a popular modern genre. For those interested in African music for its own sake, the ecstatic tabla and conga solos don’t disappoint.

For Hassen, performing shaar for an Egyptian audience represents something much deeper than a fun night of familiar music—it is also a quiet cultural triumph. “The focus now is on the political and social problems in Sudan,” he says, “but despite the political problems, the music endures. It is possible to see it and feel it, and not just in Sudan. This is important.”

Sudanese music will also be performed on Tuesday 19 April, when Mostafa Gomaa will play folk music in Wisdom Hall at 8 p.m.

Sawy Cultural Center, 26th of July St., Zamalek, at 8 p.m. Tickets on sale for LE10 at the door.