Personal Info
- Country of residence: Lebanon
Information
Fareed Shehadeh, known
professionally as The Shehadeh Brothers, is a Palestinian-Lebanese musician and
singer. From the people of the Old City in Jerusalem, Farid (born in 1975),
where the Shehadeh brothers began studying music at an early age and mastered
the oriental musical and poetic art forms of zajal, spinning, hija and taksim.
Rami was the singer in the band, and the brothers demonstrate virtuosity in
playing all the well-known Arabic musical instruments, ranging from melodic
instruments such as the oud, bouzouk, qanun, violin and nay, to percussive
instruments such as the tabla, katam and riq.
profession
Until the late 1990s, Farid and
Rami Shehadeh had played in many concerts in a number of Arab countries and in
some international festivals representing Middle Eastern music all over the
world. However, the two brothers dreamed of a professional life that went
beyond the national and revolutionary scene or the circle of cultural
festivals, where they only performed folk Palestinian songs. They wanted to
make their mark on 'popular music' in the broadest sense, with all the
implications that this might have. So they headed to Beirut, Lebanon, where
they joined the newly created Oriental Roots Orchestra, an oriental “big band”fashioned by Michel Elefteriades with the aim of bringing together the most
famous musicians from the Arab world. This collaboration has enriched his
compositions with different ethnic influences, making his musical style evolve
towards the fusion of world music, while clearly maintaining his Middle Eastern
roots; A style that has been promoted as belonging to the "Nuwaristani"
music.
album
Their collaboration with Michel
Elefteriades resulted in Shehadeh's first album. Composed by the brothers and
arranged by Elefteriades, the album captures the famous tarab mood of the time.
They are aided by poet Elia Azar, who contributed to the album with a set of
poetic lyrics that only the brothers' talent, coupled with Elefteriades'
mastery of the art of world music, could turn into such subtle music known in
the oriental concept as "inaccessible simplicity". This first album,
titled A Bridge Over the Mediterranean, was released by Warner Music Group in
2004.
Nowadays
In 2005, the Chehadeh Brothers
began touring throughout Europe and the Middle East, performing in the United
Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Cyprus, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt,
Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
Achievements and Awards
Award nominations
The Shehadeh Brothers were
nominated for two BBC World Music Awards in 2005:
BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards
BBC Radio 3 Audience Awards
(Finalist)
source
- Years in active
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