Beirut-born Zeid Hamdan, one of the most prominent alternative musicians in the Arabic world, is returning to Dubai (Dusk Terrace, Radisson Blu Hotel) on March 17 with Zeid Hamdan and the Wings.
Twenty years since he exploded onto the scene with the bold, contentious and pioneering electro-pop duo SoapKills alongside fellow experimental artist Yasmine Hamdan (no relation), Hamdan continues to tour music for the same reasons.
“I still do it to meet people, to have fun and to dance. I love dancing, and I enjoy the most dancing to my own music,” he told tabloid! over the phone. He was only 10 when his interest in music began. He started playing instruments, badly.
“I was never a virtuoso. That led me to research and to create — to compose things I could play, because I was so bad at playing other people’s music,” he said.
“It made me very creative — finding new sounds, finding a new way to compose. Somehow my handicap helped me.”
In 1997, when Hamdan was entering his early 20s, he joined forces with Yasmine Hamdan to create indie band SoapKills. By 2005, they had released three albums and two EPs, cultivating a cult following. They flew under the radar for years after, prompting fans to wonder whether they would reunite. A post recently appeared on their Facebook page with an old newspaper clipping and the hashtag #SoapKills2017.
“[Yasmine] estimates that she gave a lot of her life to Soapkills and now it’s time for her to focus on her own solo individual music and taste, so she doesn’t want now to collaborate again,” admitted Hamdan. “But we are very close friends and we appreciate each other as musicians, so it’s not out of the question, but it’s not the moment yet.”
In Dubai, Hamdan — on bass, guitar and vocals — will perform with musicians he’s never before played with. Bashar Farran on bass, Marc Ernest Diab on synth and organ, Pavlo Wardini on drums and Gihane Hage on backup vocals and keys.
“We also have vocoders on our voices, so sometimes it will give fun voices — robotics. It’s a show where I’m going to have a lot of fun,” said Hamdan.
He has long possessed a youthful love for experimental music. A common thread between his songs is that they are sung in Arabic.
“In Lebanon, we have a huge scene of English-spoken bands that are very good. But I’m not so much into them, because I’m always careful about the Arabic language. That’s my challenge. It’s very challenging to create something Arabic, original and extraordinary,” he said.
For Hamdan, there’s something missing in the pop and folk-rock scene in his home country. It surprised him that in Lebanon, a place of tolerance and communities mixing, there wasn’t more alternative Arabic music being created.
“You can feel it’s like New York, or London, you know?” he said. “There’s no connection at all with the Middle East. It doesn’t have to be — it’s not a rule. It’s not because you’re living in the Arabic world that you need to make Arabic music. But it’s surprising that Lebanon produces so much Western music.”
North Africa and Gulf countries, in contrast, were entering what he called a “music revolution”.
“All in all, it’s growing, and it’s very interesting and intense,” he said. “The radios and TVs need to open up, give them exposure. Internet is good, but it’s not enough. People need, when they’re going to work every morning, or watching TV at night, to see and hear alternative Arabic music.”
Despite Hamdan’s own rich discography of alternative music — he recently scored the Saudi romantic comedy, Barakah Meets Barakah, and has an upcoming EP with the Wings coming out — his “best production ever” is a boy named Abel who turns four in May.
“Fatherhood brought me back to what is important,” he said.
“Before I got Abel, I was really starting to bite my tail. I was losing time on uninteresting stuff and getting depressed over not knowing where to go. When Abel came, when I got married, it allowed me to focus on the essential things that make me happy,” he said.
*Zeid Hamdan and the Wings will perform with girl group Iklil at Dusk Terrace on March 17. Entrance is free for those who pre-register on vibeseries.up4what.com, up until March 16. Walk-ins are Dh75 before 10pm and Dh100 thereafter.