Category: Music

Local musician and artist Zahed Sultan has a new track out and I really like the new more personal approach he’s been taking with his music. His previous track “Layl” was related to his father while “Hindi Majnoon” is about how he was bullied for being half Indian while growing up in Kuwait. I’ve embedded the YouTube link above but the song is also on Spotify and Apple Music.

Below are some old National Day songs you can download as MP3s as well as a few music videos that are available on YouTube:

Downloadable MP3’s (Right click and save as)
Beladona Il Kuwait
Shadi Al Khaleej – Kaseeroh Dalah
Sana Al Kharaz – I7na IlKha6awi AlAkeeda
Sana Al Kharaz – 6ig Ya Mu6ar 6ig
Sana Al Kharaz – Al Azrag
Sana Al Kharaz – Salam Ya Wa6ani
7naina Il Ayadi
Il Wa7id Allah (Om A7med – Wainich Yal Ibra)
Imbarak 3alaik il3id
Abdul Kareem Abdul Qader – Wa6an Al Nahar
Abdullah Al-Ruwaishid – 3ashat Lina Il Kuwait (Original)
Hussien Al Jasmi – La Telomoni (Hala February)
Nabeel Sh3ail – Ya Dar (Hala February)
Rashid Al-Majid – 6ayir Men El Far7a
BBS Kids – Wa6ani 7abeebi
Kuwaiti TV Band – Ya Wardity Ya Nidiya
Kuwaiti TV Band – Al Ziman Dawar

Music Videos
حفل المعاهد الخاصة سنة 86 – كلما زادت المحن – شادي الخليج
شادي الخليج وسناء الخراز _اروحنا سورها(كل مازادت المحن)
شادي الخليج 1986- كاسروه دله اربع انات مله
شادي الخليج – كويت و العرب من اوبريت شراع الوفاء
لقيناه ” جابر أبونا من عمر” – سناء الخراز
نبيل شعيل – الكويت حرة
Free Kuwait Song
Free Kuwait Song by Americans

If there are more music videos I should add let me know!

Back in 2019, I posted a review of the KEF LSX Wireless Speakers which I fell in love with. Since that review, I had been using them with my record player and a few weeks ago I bought an SVS SB-2000 Pro subwoofer to pair with them. For some reason, my record player and the sub didn’t get along really well, when I’d stream music onto the speakers from my phone they sounded incredible with the sub, but when I played any record, I’d get a really low deep humming bass note that was just awful.

I couldn’t return the subwoofer (and didn’t want to honestly) so I decided to get a second pair of LSX speakers to connect to my main computer and the sub. I had been using my old Onkyo home theater amp connected to a pair of Bose Acoustimass 5 Series III speakers with my Mac and although they sounded a bit boomy sometimes, they weren’t bad at all, I was just looking for an excuse to get new KEF LSX speakers after seeing them on sale. When I posted about the KEF LSX back in 2019 they were selling for 340KD but, Xcite have been heavily discounting their speakers (I got my KEF R7’s for 50% off) and the LSX were now on sale for KD250, so I picked up a pair of white ones.

These are probably the best speakers you can get for your computer. You can read my original review where I discuss why they are so good, but the experience of using them with my Mac is so unreal. Although the speakers are located on the corners of my desk, the sound feels like it comes straight out of my iMac in front of me. On more than one occasion I’d bring my ear up to my Mac to make sure the sound wasn’t really coming from there. I think it has to do with KEF’s phase correction or DSP but you really need to hear it to believe it, I love it. Also just to add, the LSX alone already sounded great but paired up with the SVS sub and I started to semi regret not getting this combo for my gym instead of the R7 and saving a ton of money (but not really cuz I also love my R7’s a lot).

If you were interested in the LSX speakers previously but thought they were too expensive, check them out now. They don’t have many in stock right now and I think I got the last boxed white pair but worst case you could pick up a display model. Also, the Xcite website says they’re all out of stock but they aren’t really, my white ones were out of stock online but they still had stock in-store in addition to the display models. Just make sure you go to the large Xcite on the 4th Ring Road in Al-Rai or the Avenues location next to IKEA since these are the only two locations that carry them.

Update: 6 months later I have to say, my LSX 50 paired up with the SVS SB-2000 is such a great combo and can easily hold its own versus my much more expensive KEF R7 speakers. When it comes to bass, there is no competition, the LSX SVS combo beats the R7 easily so if you’re into electronic music, this is the setup to have.

Dine-In Records is a local online record store with a decent collection of albums. I’ve previously posted about two other local stores, Vinyl Destination and Misfits and although Dine-In has a smaller collection than both of those, the three combined give you a larger variety of albums to choose from. Prices start from KD10 and you can check out their collection on their website dineinrecordskw.com

Of course, if you want older or used records you still have the option of the Antique Basement.

Boom Diwan is an ensemble of traditional Kuwaiti musicians who combine Kuwaiti bahri (sea) music with global jazz. This Saturday they will be teaming up with South African jazz pianist Nduduzo Makhathini and I’ll be streaming their performance live on the blog.

Event by NYUAD Arts Center
Date: Saturday, February 6th 2021
Time: 7PM
Location: YouTube and Facebook

The event will take place at 7PM on Saturday so check back then for the YouTube link or, watch the stream on Facebook.

Here are more details of the event:

For this performance, Boom.Diwan will collaborate with and feature special guest pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, the first ever South African musician signed to the legendary Blue Note Records. The two will co-compose a suite that will be performed as an immersive ritual of music, the visual, and dance that takes into account ideas about the self, the community, and the spiritual in the face of modernity. The music touches on ideas of cosmopolitanism, community, dialogue, and healing.

Founded by applied ethnomusicologist Ghazi Al-Mulaifi, Boom.Diwan is a collaborative global jazz ensemble that revives the cosmopolitan tradition of the Kuwaiti pearl diving music of the Indian Ocean trade. With influences spanning Zanzibar to Calicut, improvisation, fluidity, and dialogue are at the center of Boom.Diwan.

At its core, Boom.Diwan is comprised of Al-Mulaifi on vocals, percussion, and electric guitar and members of the Mayouf Mejally Ensemble, who are the among the oldest and most widely respected pearl-diving music ensembles in Kuwait and the GCC. For this performance, they will be joined by Steven Bedford (NOON) on electric bass, and Claude Cozens on drum kit. Improvisation and cross-cultural collaborations are the foundation of Boom.Diwan’s mission.

Update: Here is the YouTube stream!

Since I started working out at home I had been using my portable B&O Beolit 15 speaker for music. It was ok, but I felt I needed a bit more oomph to get me going during workouts plus I needed a CD player anyway. I still have all my CDs and there are some really great albums (like The K&D Sessions) that aren’t even available to stream. So I went out and bought myself a sound system and wanted to write about my experience in case anyone was interested in getting one, or just wanted to know what brands are available where.

There are three main places in Kuwait to get good audio system from:

Adawliah (Shuwaikh, Life Center location)
Brands: Bose, Jamo, Klipsch, Yamaha

Best Electronics (4th Ring Road, Shuwaikh location)
Brands: Denon, Definitive Technology, Earthquake Sound, Paradigm, Technics

Xcite (Avenues and Al-Rai locations)
Brands: AudioQuest, Bowers & Wilkins, KEF, Klipsch, Marantz, Onkyo, Polk Audio, SVS

In addition to the above, I also checked out Samma3a.com and Amazon.co.uk for AudioLab and Cambridge Audio brands since both sites would deliver to Kuwait. Samma3a had free shipping and Amazon UK although has expensive shipping, they remove the 20% VAT from the cost of the item when exporting so with the shipping cost the price balances out.

Like with everything I tend to buy, I do a ton of research first. I didn’t have a budget at first, I just found a nice setup at Best Electronics in Shuwaikh that had a Denon amp and CD player paired with Definitive Tech speakers and a small Earthquake sub for around KD500 which I liked. I initially decided I wanted to pay a lot less than that for my system, but, if I was to pay that much then I needed to make sure it was worth it. So I started the research process by looking at different brands locally and online.

I read and watched a ton of reviews and the more I did the more confused I was getting. The problem was that everyone had a different idea of what good sound is supposed to sound like. Most audiophiles for example would find what I like very “musical” which is their polite way of saying not authentic and over-exaggerated, but I also couldn’t agree with their idea of what bass is meant to sound like. In the end, the best thing I did was listen to the speakers myself before buying them. I had basically narrowed my options locally to three speaker brands, B&W, Definitive Technology, and KEF. I went to the showrooms expecting the salespeople to be unhelpful and I didn’t think they would actually let me test out the speakers, but, surprisingly, they were all super helpful. I had such a great experience in the audio sections of Adawliah, Best, and Xcite, they were all just fantastic. The salespeople I interacted with had no issues picking up and moving heavy speakers from one end of the showroom to the other just so they could connect them to a working amplifier and I could listen to them. I usually don’t like dealing with salespeople but something about the guys working in the audio sections, they all seem to have a passion for what they do.

In the end, I mostly stuck around at the Xcite branch in Al-Rai (shoutout to Cezar) since I decided I wanted KEF speakers and they had most of them on display there. I already had a pair of KEF LSX speakers which I had been using in my main living area and I really liked them so I decided to stick with KEF. Xcite had the KEF LS50W which is the LSX big brother selling for KD400 which was half the actual retail price and I was very close to getting it until I heard the KEF R7’s. While browsing I noticed the KEF R7’s were discounted and priced at KD379. So I had the salesman hook them up and I started listening to some of my music and that was it, I fell in love instantly. They were everything I was looking for in a speaker and I couldn’t believe I finally found the speakers I REALLY wanted. So I decided to buy them. The salesman checked his system and told me they were the last piece. It was odd cuz I could see his screen said he had 2 pieces left so I asked him about it and that’s when he hit me with the bad news. Turns out the R7’s were sold individually, not as a pair. Meaning the KD379 price was per speaker, so around KD750 for the pair after discount (close to 1,500 before). I ended up leaving empty-handed and sad since they sounded incredible but also cost wayyyyy more than I wanted to pay.

I spent the next few days thinking about a lot of things. Music was always something I was really into while growing up and something I always spent all my money on. The last time I bought a decent pair of speakers was 20 years ago, I was fresh out of college and right after moving back to Kuwait I bought a pair of Jamo X870 speakers from Adawliah. They were also discounted around 50% off and I spent maybe KD200 on them. And that was back when I was broke with maxed-out credit cards. I still have those speakers today and use them in my living room. So if I could spend that much money 20 years ago when I was broke, surely I can spend more now, so I did. I went back to Xcite and ended up picking the KEF R7’s. I then passed by Adawliah and picked up the Yamaha R-N803 integrated amp which was also discounted down to KD200. A few days later I headed back to Xcite and picked up a Marantz CD5005 CD player which was discounted down to KD60. And finally, this past weekend I dropped by Xcite one last time and picked up the SVS SB-2000 Pro subwoofer which was discounted down to KD259 to connect to my KEF LSX in my other room. My total bill is absurd, but, it’s been a a hell of a year so whatever.

So just a quick review, it’s been over a week now since I got the KEF R7’s and I really really love them. The sound comes out so clear and the bass really deep. I used to think my Jamo’s were great but they just sound so muddy now compared to the KEF’s. I’ve started listening to music more now while at home. Definitely no regrets with my purchase. The Yamaha amplifier has also been great, it pumps a lot of power to the speakers and also has the convenience of built-in WiFi. Because of the WiFi, I’ve now set up the KEF R7’s as AirPlay speakers making it super easy to stream to them whenever I want to. I also have the SVS subwoofer connected to my KEF LSX speakers downstairs and those sound even better than they did before, definitely worth the money.

If you’re looking to buy a proper sound system then Adawliah, Best and Xcite are your best options. Make sure you visit the locations I’ve specifically mentioned since that’s where you’ll find the brands I listed, their other showrooms won’t have them. Also, not everything is listed on their websites. Actually, nothing I bought was listed on any of the websites. At Adawliah the employee had to search through his system to tell me what 2-channel integrated amps they had in stock, at Xcite everything was showing as sold out, and Best doesn’t even have any of the brands I mentioned listed on their website.

Got questions? Let me know in the comments and I’ll try and answer them for you.

Kuwaisiana is a New Orleans-based band led by Kuwaiti singer-songwriter +Aziz. Kuwaisiana recently released a new music video called Bara7a which means sandlot. It’s a song about adolescence and dealing with bullies, and is the lead single off their upcoming EP, ‘Chapter 2’. Check it out the track above.

Back in July I posted that I was looking for a copy of the Iftah Ya Simsim vinyl soundtrack (اغاني من افتح يا سمسم), and this past weekend I finally managed to get one. I actually got a lead to a copy for sale back in July and since then been in an on and off discussion with the owner about buying it as well as the price. In the end, the transaction went down like some sort of drug deal and I ended up picking up two other difficult to find LP’s from the guy (شادي الخليج ‎– السندباد and ٢٥ عامًا على الإستقلال).

There doesn’t seem to be much info about the Iftah Ya Simsim record, I know it was produced in 1979 but that’s about it. Supposedly only 100 prints were made and were given out to the staff of the show as a thank you but I haven’t been able to find any proof of that. I do know the record is really hard to come by and those who do have it don’t want to sell it. Because of the limited number of copies and the fact that the show was broadcasted around the GCC and so is very nostalgic, the demand for the record is really high. A couple of months back a friend of a friend sold his copy to a guy in Qatar for KD500. I paid half that for mine which is the average price for it for the condition my copy is in (6 or 7/10).

Even though the record is pretty expensive, it does hold its value due to the fact they’re very hard to come by. That’s why I was ok with spending so much money to aquire one because I figured if I ever got bored with it, I can just sell it to someone else. If anyone wants to get a closer look at the cover, I took some really high-resolution photos which you can check out below:

Front Cover
Back Cover
Inside Cover

Update: I’ve decided to sell this so if anyone wants it let me know.

CD stores used to be plentiful a few years ago but for obvious reasons, they’ve all disappeared. I’m lucky enough to still have all my CDs although I don’t have a CD player set up at home but that’s on my to-do list. I am curious though to find CD stores in Kuwait that sell English CDs so if you know of any, let me know in the comments.

I found one place in Salmiya that sells CDs although at a ridiculous price. Most of the CDs looked used with their boxes all scratched up and the store wanted KD5 per CD! The store is called CoolQ8y in case you’re still interested and it’s located in Salmiya.

Misfits is a local online store that sells vinyl records as well as record players and music-related merchandise. They currently have around 50 different records for sale but also a whole bunch of other things including record and cassette players, t-shirts and sweatshirts, and accessories like vinyl cleaning kits and vinyl storage.

If you’re looking for records or merchandise, check out their website misfitskw.com

It’s been 5 years since I last posted about Big D, probably the most controversial musician I’ve posted about on the blog. For some reason, he used to get a lot of negative comments to the point he had to release a music video in which he responded to some of the hate. Love him or hate him though I like the fact he’s still going and “Open Your Eyes” is his latest track so check it out.

Tareq Almulaifi is a Kuwaiti singer/songwriter who officially launched his new band Cobra Club this past summer with the 80s inspired track “Razor“. They had also previously released the single called Ghost and this past weekend they finally launched the music video for it. You can check out the video above or listen to the track on Spotify. Some really good stuff.

Local musician and artist Zahed Sultan has a new music video out that is a cover of the old school Bandaly Family song, “Do you love me?“. Here is what Zahed had to say about the track:

Recorded during the Covid-19 lockdown in London, ‘Layl’ is a reimagination of a famous Lebanese disco song from the 70’s by the Bendaly Family ‘Do You Love Me.’ In this song, I reframe the original version as a contemporary cinematic piece; placing it in a more melancholic and sombre space. With spiraling vocals, deep synths, and rich violin textures, I give greater meaning to the song by expanding on its themes of love and loss; particularly fitting in light of the tragic explosion in Beirut and the crippling of its creative community.

I found a personal connection in ‘Layl’ through the original version’s music video which was shot in Kuwait on the Waterfront, a project designed by my late father Ghazi Sultan. The release of ‘Layl’ marks a new path for me as I dedicate myself to rethinking Arab culture through music and multimedia performance.

You can follow Zahed on Instagram @zahedsultan

Firstly, I think the place should actually be called Cleopatra’s Records based on the Arabic but their Instagram account name is Cleopatra Recorders so we’re just gonna stick to that. Cleopatra is a music shop in Hawalli that’s been around since back in 1969. I only found out about it last week from a friend and was pretty disappointed in myself that I didn’t know the place.

The store isn’t even hidden in some back alley of Hawalli, it’s actually on the main road opposite Promenade Mall. The store doesn’t look like much from the outside, nor the inside frankly. It’s a long skinny store with shelves filled with cassettes as well as some CDs and 8-track tapes. According to the employee, the original store owner had passed away and the son had taken it over.

I ended up buying a bunch of cassettes of old Kuwaiti music at an average price of KD1.5 each. What’s great is you can listen to the music before you buy it so I was randomly picking up albums off the shelves based on haircuts and outfits, and then I’d listen to them and if I liked it I got it. If you’re looking for old Arabic cassettes this is your place. Their Instagram account is @cleopatra_recorders and here is their location on Google Maps.

Thanks Abdullah

Melemele is Kuwait’s first Karaoke house that opened up recently at The Palms. Not sure how karaoke works when you’re sober since I’ve only ever done it when plastered, but it seems it’s doable based on the videos in their highlights.

The whole place along with the karaoke rooms looks pretty cool and they have over 10,000 tracks to choose from. The price is 4KD per person on weekdays and 5KD per person on weekends but depending on the size of the room you want, there is a minimum number of people that have to sign up. Booking is done through their website in advance and they’ve got a bit more information there so make sure to check it out.

We don’t get a lot of new things to do in Kuwait so it’s good to see something fun like this pop up especially during the pandemic. They’re on Instagram @melemelekaraoke and their website is melemelekaraoke.com

via @teachsmartwithfay