As they continue marching steadily against the flow, the Alexandria-based band Massar Egbari knows how to take you with them.
The progressive rock group derives its name from the road sign (Massar Egbari means compulsory detour), mocking Egyptian society’s conforming rules that force the average citizen to stray from his/her own purposes and follow the norms.
By enterprising in music, Massar have “created their own compulsory detour, drummer Tamer “Toussy Atallah told Daily News Egypt.
Members of Massar first met as part of Nabil El-Bakly’s band, El-Hobb Was-Salaam (Love and Peace). Massar Egbari spun off six years ago, when Bakli passed away.
Both the band and its members have scooped many awards in their tours between Italy, Malta, Turkey and Egypt. In 2006, they won the Best Band Performing Original Songs award in Arabic at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s (Bib Alex) first International Occidental Music Competition.
Massar also won the Special Award in two consecutive years at the Other Songs Contest organized by Euromed Café in 2005 and 2006 for the songs “Kol El-Khal and “Taam El-Beyout (Taste of Houses), respectively.
While the subject of love is not their main concern, playing last week at Sawy Culture Wheel’s Wisdom Hall, the six-member band accorded Valentine’s eve with two numbers.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Hany El-Dakkak’s mellow voice crooned Sayed Darwish’s “Ana Haweet (When I Fell) and their original “Reihtik Ma’aya (Your Scent Stays with Me).
These aren’t your regular fare of “commercial love songs, says Toussy. Massar’s music, on the other hand, is new and groundbreaking. Yet it manages to touch a chord few others do.
“Everyone has their own tempo, says Toussy, speaking the language of his instrument, “to catch people, you have to make a parallel with their tempo.
Sure enough, even with more complex rhythms, Massar had the audience enraptured beat for beat, clapping along or swaying, complementing the music.
Seated at the front row at Sawy, Macedonian Ambassador Verka Mitanoska was one of the many audience members cheering for the band.
Massar members had participated in Seven Gates Music Workshop in Skopje, Macedonia, along with musicians from Bosnia, Herzegovina, Turkey and Italy. The collaboration will continue, it is hoped, in next April’s World Music Festival in Alexandria, with a workshop and visiting artists from Macedonia.
Being “in tune is how bassist Ahmed Hafez describes the congruence between audience and musicians.
The songs and their themes are familiar. “Ghammad Eineek (Close Your Eyes) is a philosophical contemplation from late Egyptian contemporary poet Salah Jahin’s famous “Rubaiyat (Quatrains).
Many of Massar’s covers of Darwish’s speak of ordinary life. Their finale swing number “E’era El-Khabar (Read the News), for example, paints an image of a group of employees talking to themselves. The jaunty music gives a taste of the regular, timed, but fast-paced life.
Momentarily dipping into a slow tempo, the song then escalates into frenzy. The audience drives the song along with their clapping which, too, escalates into applause.
“You try to make a mélange between their way of life – their tempo – and pure music, said Toussy about the audience, “We have to entertain them.
Massar credits the likes of Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, and Pink Floyd among their influences. Locally, they hark back to Sayed Darwish, Fairouz, and Ziad Rahbani for inspiration.
When it comes to love songs, “we are not convinced by anything but [Mohamed] Mounir, said Hafez, referring to the esteemed Egyptian singer. Yet the band does enjoy Cairo’s Wust El-Balad and Eftekesat, and jams with other bands in Alexandria.
Many of Massar’s works are collaborative. “Ta’am El-Beyout, which continues to be one of the most popular songs at the Euromed café website, was made with French musicians.
In fact the band has its own studio. Set up in 2004 for private rehearsals, the Hi Hat Studio soon found itself jamming with local and visiting bands.
“Then we realized that we are the best jamming space in Alex, said keyboardist Ayman Massoud, “maybe because the place is good, and we are musicians used to helping younger musicians.
Hi Hat has also conducted workshops, including sound engineering with a Swedish engineer, and music production and management with an Australian partner.
Despite the large following they amassed over the years, the band members also have more traditional jobs, and a few work at Bibliotheca.
There is a wide-spread expectation in Egypt that the concept of a band is to play “baladi music for people to dance, claims the drummer. But the road is far too beaten for the revolutionary likes of Massar, who want to make a “difference with what you play.
Toussy is positive. “You can change things with music, adding that like anything in life, music and artists influence people.
“Think about yourself, he says. “You are influenced by artists. Music is like anything in life. You can find your own tempo, your melody. Catch Massar Egbari at the SOS Festival at Bib Alex on February 21, at 8 pm. For more information, visit http://www.myspace.com/massaregbari.
