5.25pm
Friday 16 December 2022
I wrote – Mona Al-Muji:
Singer Fayrouz Karawi has released her new book, “Why Was All This? A Critical Narrative About Songs and Leading.”
The book was published by Dar Diwan for Publishing and Distribution, and was reviewed and edited by music critic: Fadi Al-Abdullah, and the cover and inside pages were designed by artist Ahmed Al-Labbad.
The book deals with the journey of Egyptian singing and its transformations from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day, starting with the diffusion of lyrical taqtuqa and musical theater and then of the lyrical monologue, then the rise of Umm Kulthum and Muhammad Abdel Wahhab to beginning of the 20th century, then the wave of the new song during the Nasserian era and the transformations of the popular song and the cassette era, and the waves of Arab pop, up to the age of digital internet platforms, rap and festivals . It is a question of analyzing the political and social contexts that have surrounded the music industry during these transformations and have contributed to the formation of the taste and type of popular and widespread song.
Fayrouz is an Egyptian writer and artist, she received a master’s degree in cultural anthropology from the American University in 2009. She has released five albums and 40 singles.
