Urban Mawawil in Alexandria
The "urban mawwal" in Alexandria is what happened to rural music and songs when they came to the city. The characteristic spirit of Alexandria can be linked to its openness to the confluence of cultures that settled there. Not only the surrounding countryside, but also, Upper Egypt, the canal zone, Italy, Greece, Turkey and other parts of Europe have all added their mark to Alexandrian culture.
The urban mawwal has kept the basic form of the baladi or earthy spirit of the mawwal and the taqtouqa ("light" song) of the Egyptian Delta, while taking on the character and colour of the sahbagiyya, the traditional music of Alexandria. A defining feature of this music is the "call and response" form where the solo singer performs short, strophic songs in alternation with a choral refrain know as the hana.
Other features of this music reflect Alexandria's development as a cosmopolitan city, the beat and groove becoming stronger and more intense and urban instruments replacing their rural and folk counterparts. The aramenca, a kind of pedal piano, was a characteristic feature of this music, even though it was not adapted to the 1/4 tones of the Arabic melodic system. Perhaps, for this reason, it was eventually replaced with the accordion. The trumpet and, sometimes, the saxophone also replaced other more traditional instruments.
The rural roots of this music have haunted and hindered its success. For example, although singers Badria El Sayed, Anwar El Askary, El Sheikh Amin and Abdou El Iskandarany ("Master of Mawwal") were hugely popular starting from the late 60's, their songs created controversy among critics, some praising them and others dismissing them as shaaby or "folksy". Until today, critics tend to ignore this music, preferring to focus on the media pop stars and songs.
Nevertheless, in spite of the critics' opinions, the urban mawwal flourishes and can be heard at popular weddings and nightclubs. We even find that some pop stars have adapted and integrated urban it into their repertoire of media pop songs.
Track I
download
Track II
download
