Learn the 5 most popular Egyptian bands
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| Hi everyone. I am Peryhan and this is Arabic top words. Today, we are going to talk about something I bet all of you love it. Music. Today’s topic is going to be about five most popular Egyptian bands. Do you know any of them? So let’s get started. |
| 1. |
| كايروكي |
| (kāyrūkī) "Cairokee" |
| The first band is, |
| كايروكي |
| (kāyrūkī) "Cairokee" |
| For example, you can say, |
| هروح حفلة كايروكي انهاردة |
| (harūḥ ḥafleẗ kāyrūkī ennahārdah.) Which means, "I'm going to Cairokee's concert today." |
| Cairokee began their music profession long time ago in like the 2000s or something. However, they were really, really popular during the Egyptian revolution in 2011. They went down to the street and they sat in the center and they composed this beautiful song, |
| في كل شارع في بلادي، صوت الحرية بينادي |
| (fī kol šāreʿ fī blādī, ṣūt el-ḥorreyyah beynādī) |
| “In every street of my home, of my country, the sound of freedom is calling. Freedom is calling us.” |
| And it was such a big hit in 2011 and that’s when their popular profession as a band has started. They also have a very fun song I personally like and it goes something like, |
| حبيبي يا مطلع عيني، ليه دايماً ضارب بوز |
| (ḥabībī yā mṭallaʿ ʿīnī, līh dāyman ḍāreb būz) |
| خلاص نكدت عليا سنيني، ووشك بقى شبة الشوز |
| (ḫalāṣ nakkedt ʿalayyaā snīnī, we weššak baʾā šabah el-šūz) |
| So funny but social. So yeah. That’s Cairokee. They mostly sing political or social problems related songs. Their lyrics are full of statements, personal statements and criticism about the society and the problems we’re facing whether it’s economic, political or so on. So definitely go check them out. |
| 2. |
| شارموفرز |
| (šārmūfarz) "Sharmoofers" |
| The next band is “Sharmoofers” I have no idea what that means. “Sharmoofers.” |
| For example, you can say, |
| بحب أغاني شرموفرز. |
| (baḥebb ʾaġānī šarmūfarz.) "I like Sharmoofers' songs." |
| They mostly also sing social problems. For example, they have the song called |
| خمسة سنتي |
| (ḫamsah santī) “5 Centimeters.” |
| It begins with the singer, the lead singer. He is waking up and he cannot wash his face because there’s no water which is a very common problem in Egypt like the water gets cut and then he goes downstairs to see that the sewers are kind of exploded and there is water everywhere. That’s why the last 5 Centimetres of his pants get this really dirty water in them and then he proceeds to go to his work. He works in the street. Everything is so crowded. He is so late because there is an accident and he gets out of his car and he starts walking to his work but the streets are so muddy. They are so dirty and the ends of his pants yet again get dirty. So it’s kind of it takes you through the daily life of a very normal Egyptian person. What kind of problems, daily problems he or she might face. So it’s also a very good band if you want to know how Egypt looks like, what kind of problems they have, what kind of funny or unique stuff they have. Definitely go check out their album and their video music – video shows. |
| 3. |
| مسار إجباري |
| (masār ʾegbārī) "Massar Egbari" |
| The next band is, |
| مسار إجباري |
| (masār ʾegbārī) "Massar Egbari" which means “obligatory detour or compulsory detour.” |
| And they also make so many underground music. Massar Egbari usually sing also about social problems but maybe more about individual problems sometimes with depression and yeah, the tough like when life gets tough. They don’t really sing romance as much as they sing about the problems and yeah, the difficult parts of life and so on. They have a very nice song called |
| شيروفوبيا |
| (šīrūfūbyā), Cherophobia. |
| I definitely recommend you to go watch that music video. |
| For example, you can say, |
| سمعت أغنية مسار إجباري الجديدة؟ |
| (semeʿt ʾoġneyyeẗ masār ʾegbārī el-gedeīdah?) "Have you listened to Massar Egbari's new song?" |
| If you’re interested in blues, jazz, some oriental music, not necessarily Egyptian but generally oriental, you might want to check out "Massar Egbari" |
| 4. |
| إسكندريلا |
| (ʾeskenderīllā) "Eskendrella" |
| Okay. The next one is "Eskendrella" from Alexandria, the Mediterranean, one of the most famous Mediterranean cities in Egypt. |
| For example, you can say, |
| فرقة إسكندريلا هتغني على المسرح. |
| (ferʾeẗ ʾeskenderīllā hatġannī ʿalā el-masraḥ.) which means, |
| "Eskendrella's going to sing on stage." |
| Eskendrella is a band made of three members and they take really, really vintage music, especially the ones that are made by a composer called Sayed Darwish. So he used to live in the 19th century and he is one of the most popular Egyptian composer and the musician of that time. Their ideology is that the young people now-a-days are so out of touch with Egypt’s old history and the vintage music. So they tried to recycle it, make it modern and they tried to remake it for the young people to be interested in it again and then maybe they can reconnect the old history with the new ways and styles of music and so on. Definitely, try to check them out if you are into vintage music or music that kind of relates to poetry. If you like the sound of oriental vintage instruments like the Oud, definitely try to see them, check out their music videos. |
| 5. |
| مشوار |
| (mešwār) "Meshwar" |
| The next band is, |
| مشوار |
| (mešwār) "Meshwar" Which means, “a journey” |
| For example, you can say, |
| فرقة مشوار من أشهر فرق الأندرجروند. |
| (ferʾeẗ mešwār men ʾašhar feraʾ el-ʾandergrawnd.) "Meshwar is one of the most popular underground bands." |
| Meshwar has a really unique theme of combining the oriental or Egyptian beats with Reggae or Groove African beats. So, if you are into this African/Middle Eastern or Arab kind of music or mix, you should definitely try to watch one of their music videos or concert. |
| I hope you liked the video and I hope you found your next favorite band. All of these bands are self-funded and they are not carrying any famous label name or anything. They are all solely surviving on your love and your support to them and they are also demonstrating and trying to display all the social problems and not just that but also the social uniqueness of the Egyptian society or the African society or the Middle Eastern society. So if you want to know more about all of this through the music videos and through the lyrics, please try to check them all out. Bye-bye. |
| حبيبي يا مطلع عيني، ليه دايماً ضارب بوز |
| (ḥabībī yā mṭallaʿ ʿīnī, līh dāyman ḍāreb būz) |
| خلاص نكدت عليا سنيني، ووشك بقى شبة الشوز |
| (ḫalāṣ nakkedt ʿalayyaā snīnī, we weššak baʾā šabah el-šūz) |
| Something like that. Yeah. |
| “The love of my life, why are you always so frowning. Why are you always so grumpy,” |
| (līh dāyman ḍāreb būz) as in like this kind of thing. |
| (nakkedt ʿalayyaā snīnī) “You have made me depressed. You’ve brought me to depression. You’ve set me to despair for several years of my life.” |
| (we weššak baʾā šabah el-šūz) “Your face looks like a shoe now,” something like that. It’s not funny what is translated. It’s so disrespectful. Yeah, something like that. |
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