Battle of the Bands Round 3: Gawy vs. El Madar vs. Salasel

We know you guys have been following Battle of the Bands closely so you'll be ecstatic to hear that this week three quirky bands are taking the stage in round 3 at Horreya Garden, Zamalek, on August 26 at 6 pm. Promising to deliver an experience that will literally expose you to the freshest and newest styles. Gawy, El Madar and Salasel will be intensely battling it out to move ahead in the competition but also to bring to the table music you’ve yet to hear. But first, can you guess who the guest performer will be? No you can't. It's none other than songstress and folk phenomenon Dina El Wedidi. Let the games begin!

Gawy

Founded by Mohamed Abd El-Latif and Nehal Kamal in 2015, Gawy is a contemporary Egyptian band fusing rock with funk, oriental and folk tunes. The band’s name alludes to sweet-smelling incense that perfectly captures the state the audience reaches and the vibe Gawy is going for with their lyrics. With their very own poet (we're impressed!) in Ahmed El Gamal, Gawy seeks to provide an alternative art that cares about blending poetry, art and music together as well as reviving traditional crowd-pleasing songs in all forms. The band, which is composed of eight members and which is known for songs like ‘3atshana ya Zeina’, believe that Battle of the Bands encourages young and talented artists not only put themselves out there but to also make original music. In regards to the competition, they say that they think it “is an opportunity for undiscovered talents and unknown bands to be in the spotlight with known bands like Cairokee and Sharmoofers since they don’t have the chance to show their talents and be able to make people happy using their music. ”

El Madar

Dabbling in blues, rock and Sufi funk, El Madar’s members are wide-range musicians who include the oud just as much as the saxophone in their music. The band’s name alludes to the elliptical orbit of the planets, and they chose that imagery to represent their diverse music which they compose and write lyrics for themselves. The members, who like to stay faithful to their independent underground status and not cave to the market, are eager to prove their talents before other bands and new audiences. They believe that Battle of the Bands “highlights talented people who are undiscovered and who need the help of an entity” because the Egyptian music scene is not as strong as they would have hoped and they know that underground bands don’t get a lot of financial or professional support.

Salasel

Salasel focuses its efforts on making progressive and Oriental Arabic metal in fous-ha and ‘aameya. Its three members, Mohamed Mamdouh 27, Abdullah Negm 31 and Patrick Khalil 28, have had a crazy huge amount of experience making music in Egypt having all played in previous bands producing music from punk rock to death metal. Disliking the current music scene in Egypt which they consider “too mainstream,” repetitive and directed at making profit more than quality art, they’re hoping to bring back richness to music in the country. They’re extremely excited about Battle of Bands because of its potential for exposure, the fact that it drives a spirit of competition for bands to reach first place and also that a larger audience will get to listen to their work. The band, according to them “conveys a lot of different types of music instead of the mainstream."

You can find more about the event here.

Photography by @MO4Network's #MO4Productions.