Category: Music

I had no idea who Dru Hill were until a few moments ago (thank you Wikipedia). Drul Hill are an R&B group and they’re going to be performing in Kuwait this summer. The event is a dinner at The Crowne Plaza Hotel that starts at 7PM and ends at 1AM with Dru Hill starting performance at 8PM.

Tickets start from KD30 for the regular seats all the way up to KD65 for VIP seating. If you’re interested or looking for more information click [Here]

Thanks Burhan

First a bit of background, a few weeks back Daft Punk released a 15 second commercial during an episode of Saturday Night Live which featured a 15 second sound sample. That 15 second sound sample from the commercial was taken a remixed to a bunch of things (I love the internet) including a drunk Ron Swanson jigging to the song.

This brings us to the video above, it was done by Patrick Semaan and its a video loop of Kuwaitis dancing to a loop of the 15 second sound sample. [YouTube]

When DJ Africa came to me he said he just wanted to make a simple fun video. Fun to watch and fun to make that is. And it defo was. DJ Africa is hilarious. His unique flow and style a hybrid of Reggae,English and Arabic sets him apart from all the other rappers in Kuwait. He is also a producer. We shot this whenever and wherever we felt like shooting. The Gulf Run Car Wash, during a break in the Big D Matrix shoot, our Kuwait Underground Show Practice and some random party. The BBoys of Electrik Crew and the staff of the car washmhad a good time too as you will see. -TJCFILMS

[YouTube]

Sleepz is bringing something new to the Hip Hop scene in Kuwait with his crew KD Makers. He and this group of talented artists are set to do big things. Their main goal is to show the world what living in Kuwait can be like. “Started off broke” is Sleepz love note to Kuwait. It is followed by a little taste of “What Their Missin” a song we will be filming the video for in Dubai. Sleepz and the whole KD Makers crew are out to have fun and help put Kuwait on the Hip Hop map and it shows.

[YouTube]

The British Council is launching a new radio show on 99.7 starting next week called The Selector Radio Show. The show will be presented by the famous British radio presenter Goldierocks and feature the best contemporary British music. It will air every Wednesday from 4 to 5PM. On the occasion of the launch of the show, a musical event will be held this coming Friday at Marina Crescent featuring live music by local bands. Below is the event details:

Event: The Selector Radio Launch & Music Showcase
Date: March 8th Friday
Time: 2:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: Marina Crescent

This collaboration between the British Council and 99.7 is pretty cool but just one hour once a week isn’t enough. 99.7 should consider more of this collaborative work preferably finding something to replace the current morning show with or just BRING BACK LATINA MINA!

Khaled Al-Asfour (aka O-Zone) released the song above for Kuwait’s National Day called “Nothing Like Kuwait”. Not bad considering he’s just 15 years old and recorded this at home. [SoundCloud]

If anyone has a longer version email me it. [YouTube]

[YouTube]

I’ve featured a lot of talented Kuwaiti musicians on the blog from the likes of Faisal Al-Salem who’s a lead singer for a very popular Japanese thrash metal band and Naser Al-Marzouq, the young and blind Kuwaiti piano player. Mubarak Al Rashed is another Kuwait musician who I think is also really talented.

I found out about Mubarak a few days ago when a reader emailed me telling me about him. Mubarak is a cop by day and an extremely talented Hindi singer by night. It’s a pretty strange combination but if you watch him sing in the video above you’ll see how great is. There are even more videos of him singing [Here]

I also found this old cached Kuwait Times article which has a bit more information on Mubarak and how he got into Hindi music. You can check that article [Here]

Thanks Francis

I’ve posted bout Kuwaiti singer Aishya before but back when she used to perform with her sister Sharifa. Well Sharifa has stopped singing but Aishya is still chasing her dream in the States. Aishya now has a page up on ReverbNation with a bunch of her songs so check them out, she’s got an incredible voice. [Link]

[YouTube]

Local label Mouse Music have launched a remix competition for the track Little Girl by tamtam with $750 as the prize.

To enter the Competition and create a remix, go to the Competition’s Folder Page, download the Official Competition Rules and the available Track Samples’ folder at: https://bit.ly/WQI99z

Judging & Prizes
Submitted remixes will be reviewed by the sponsor for eligibility and posted on Zahed Sultan’s Facebook Page https://on.fb.me/dZSjMo, where fans will be able to vote for their three favorites for a limited voting period. After voting closes, Zahed Sultan will pick one Grand Prize winner and two Runners‐Up from among the fan favorites.

One Grand Prize Winner will:
• Receive US $750 (Seven Hundred and Fifty United States Dollars only) in cash
• Have their Remix released on the official “tamtam – Little Girl Remixes EP” (alongside Runners-Up) under the Mouse Music record label

Two Runners-Up will:
• Have their Remix released on the official “tamtam – Little Girl Remixes EP” under the Mouse Music record label

Important Competition Dates
• Download track parts; create and submit a remix: Jan. 21st 2013 to Feb. 24th 2013.
• Voting by fans: March 1st 2013 until March 15th 2013.
• Grand prize and runners-up announcement: March 15th 2013.

About The Artist
tamtam is a young lyricist and singer of mixed heritage. tamtam draws upon personal experiences to tell passionate and relatable stories for listeners, while leaving her songs open to interpretation. tamtam has been most influenced by Michael Jackson’s showmanship when performing live. Onstage, tamtam truly comes into-her-own.

Website: https://www.mousemusic.org
iTunes: https://bit.ly/SICTFU

Contact Information
Tel. +965 2252 4614 Fax. +965 2252 4615
Email. [email protected]

Dance Like Nobody’s Watching is a cool concept that has been floating on YouTube for awhile now. The idea is you go to a public place, put on your headphones and then dance as if you’re at home alone while recording yourself doing it. After posting a video on 248PM last week called “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching: Airport“, I decided I wanted to do one as well. And I did. I headed to Souk Mubarkiya, found a cool spot and then recorded myself dancing to a song. It was hilarious and a lot of fun since no one around me knew what the hell was going on since they couldn’t hear any music and all they saw was some random white guy dancing in the middle of the road.

This was supposed to be just a quick test because I wanted to see if I had the balls to actually do it but a short clip got leaked out (complicated story) and somehow it ended up on YouTube which you can watch above. Since this was just a trial video I’m not planning to upload the full version online but the second one should be better and that one I’ll definitely upload onto YouTube myself. [YouTube]

TJCfilms just uploaded a new music video, this time it’s a live performance by Big D, O-Zone, Hera and DJ Africa at the Southern Smoke Show that was held here in Kuwait. [YouTube]

This is another music video that was emailed to me but this one has a very interesting story behind it. A dear friend of Feras the musician was diagnosed with breast cancer and was given very little to no chance of survival. The song “Won’t Let You Go” takes the listener through Feras’s experience since he wrote and composed the song to illustrate how to deal with such situations. The overall message is to stay strong, keep the faith, and never let go. Feras’s friend who’s survival chances were so thin ended up being cured and she went back to her everyday life continuing to inspire.

Feras Abushaar is 17 years old and is currently a senior at Al Bayan Bilingual School. The song is available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes with all proceeds from all his sales (100%) will go directly to (Hayat Cancer Organization). No profits will be made from the project. [YouTube]

You can purchase the single from Amazon or iTunes

A super talented friend of mine just released a new single called Tara Aadi. It’s very cool since the music is made up of 8-bit sounds generated from a GameBoy. Here’s some interesting trivia regarding Tara Aadi:

1. All the sounds in the music played was generated by a real Gameboy console

2. The melody was conceived in Kuwait, but arranged in Bad Soden, Germany

3. The vocals were recorded at the Arabic Theater HQ, one of the main founders of Kuwait’s performance art scene

4. Besides collaborating with Hussa Alhumaidhi on the melody, Mishari was responsible for every aspect of its production

5. Mishari mixed the song in Aziz’s car on the way to get treated in Hadi Hospital. Mishari resumed to mix the song in Hadi’s parking lot in his PJ’s and a robe.

6. The song was made with the intention of getting people to smile, preferably while dancing.

You can check out the song by hitting play above or you can check out his other songs on [SoundCloud]

tamtam is a young talent that was mentored and produced by local musician Zahed Sultan. Her first single is Little Girl which you can watch the music video above. Once tamtam’s video reaches 10,000 views she’ll be selecting one lucky winner for a very special prize. I have no idea what the prize is but if you want to be the lucky winner you will have to comment and like the video on [YouTube]