Al Jeel, also known as Jeel, Geel (Egyptian Arabic), is an Egyptian alternative to foreign
popular forms of music that developed in the 1970s. Modeled after foreign
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
and
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...
, Al Jeel became oriented around
dance/pop, and had a background similar to
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...
. Al Jeel also included many distinctively Egyptian characteristics, somewhat related to past
Egyptian musical influences. One of the most famous Al Jeel performers is
Hamid El Shaeri
Hamid Al-Shaeri ( ar, حميد الشاعري; born Abdel-Hamid Ali Ahmed; 29 November 1961) is an Egyptian-Libyan singer, songwriter, and musician residing in Cairo. He is known as representative of Westernized synthesizer in ...
.
Overview
The style was called
new wave by many, emphasizing the transition from the first form of Egyptian pop music to spring up in the 1960s,
Sha'abi
Shaabi ( arz, شعبي'' '' ) is an Egyptian musical genre. It is a form of popular working-class music which evolved from Egyptian Baladi in the second half of the 20th century, it's the core of Egyptian people music in streets and wedding ...
. Sha'abi had sprung up in the slums of Egypt as a type of
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...
music, but after a decade of popularity the educated youth of Egypt began to look for different styles of music. Internationally savvy, high-tech Al Jeel became the music of the educated, well-to-do youth. Sharing common roots with Algerian
Raï
Raï (, ; ar, راي, Latn, ar, rāʾy, ), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian folk music that dates back to the 1920s. Singers of Raï are called ''cheb'' (Arabic: شاب) (or ''shabab,'' i.e. young) as opposed to ''sheikh'' (Ara ...
and Pop-Raï, Al-Jeel incorporates Bedouin, Nubian, and Egyptian rhythms with bass and synthesizers.
Middle East Report, No. 169, Crossing the Line, (Mar. – Apr., 1991), pp. 39–42
/ref>
Although radio stations frowned upon the simple lyrics and music of the Al Jeel performers, the under-25 crowd embraced Al Jeel more than any other style of Egyptian music.
Jeel usually shares the same central themes with traditional and popular Egyptian music, yet it is usually about love and often about lament rather than joy. As for the sound of al Jeel music itself, just as rock and roll is perceived differently by different people, the same is true of al Jeel. The music style is simple, yet carries with it a beat that one is able to dance to, almost always produced by a Roland TR-707
The Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine released by the Roland Corporation in 1985. Features
The TR-707 has fifteen digitally sampled sounds. The instrument is capable of 10-voice polyphony. The alternate bass drum, snare, and hi-hat ...
drum machine. With regard to belly dancers, al Jeel is quite often the genre of choice. Al Jeel, as well as other classical Arabic music ensemble in Egypt, often consists of instruments such as the 'oud
, image=File:oud2.jpg
, image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921
, background=
, classification=
* String instruments
*Necked bowl lutes
, hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum
, ...
, qānūn, rabab, ney, and violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
.
See also
* Arabic pop music
References
External links
* JSTOR, Rai Tide Rising, Middle East Report, No. 169, Crossing the Line, (Mar. – Apr., 1991), pp. 39–42
* Afropop Worldwide, https://web.archive.org/web/20080516040645/http://www.afropop.org/explore/style_info/ID/3/Al%20Jeel/
* Afropop Worldwide, https://web.archive.org/web/20020113110538/http://afropop.org/explore/style_info/ID/6/shaabi/
* MySpace, Fathy Salama, http://www.myspace.com/fathysalama
* Fathy Salama, http://fathysalama.free.fr/gb/gb-biographie.htm
* Salome, http://www.orientaldancer.net/guest-stories/guide-arab-music.shtml
{{Middle Eastern music
20th-century music genres
Egyptian music
Moroccan styles of music