Music of Jordan
The music of Jordan can be distinguished from that of its neighboring countries like Syria and Saudi Arabia by its strong Bedouin influence [1]. Rural zajal songs, with improvised poetry played with a rabab and reed pipe ensemble accompanying is popular [2].
Popular music
The musician and composer Sameer Baghdadi, the bedouin singer Omar Al-Abdullat, and Diana Karazon, winner of the Arab version of Pop Idol, are perhaps Jordan's biggest stars, known for his patriotic song "Hashemi, Hashemi" [3]. Other well-known Jordanian musicians are Qamar Badwan, who won the golden prize in the 2000 Cairo Song Festival, percussionist Hani Naser, the pianist, and composer Khalid Asad. A new age group called Rum, lead by Tareq Al Nasser has been gaining regional and international popularity.
In Amman, the capital of Jordan, there has been a movement of alternative music in the last two decades. Rock bands that mix western and eastern influences are continuously becoming more popular, examples of which are Ethereal, which was famous early this decade, Sign of Thyme, Jadal and Illusions - who are famous for their pure classic rock style. with many bands reaching international audiences such as Ala'a Tarawneh who first performed a concert in PSUT ( Princess Sumaya University for Technology ) in their annual Open day and cover Alternative/Rock hits.
Jordan is also known to have a fairly large underground heavy metal scene that is always erroneously connected to satanism causing people to attack it. Examples of Jordanian metal bands are Tyrant Throne (Death Metal), Blind vision (Progressive Metal), Bilocate (Doom/Death Metal), Esodic ,Spade (Thrash)and Ajdath who currently reside in Poland. Other bands, like Augury (Black Metal) and Darkcide (Doom/Death Metal), had to stop due to the lack of support or band members leaving the country.
One of the most important musicians in Jordan are the Faqir family which extends for more than 100 years. The founder of Jazz music in Jordan Omar Faqir whose reputation reached the world is a person whom you really need to learn from. www.omarfaqir.com
Jordan's western radio station, Play 99.6, works towards exposing new local artists, including many western pop singers such as Humam Ammari, Al'a Ayyoub, and Walid Karadsheh.
The thriving Indie Rock scene was achieved thanks to artists such as Hana Malhas, Kais Khoury, Ibrahim Baggili, Hani Mitwasi and Yousef Kawar, as well as the Cowboys from Jordan; a band managed by Yousef Kawar himself. Other notable genres in Jordan are Hip Hop; which was popularized through DJ Shadia, who was hailed as resident DJ for the lofty club Nai, as well as a host on Play 99.6. DJ Shadia had previously opened for global stars such as Sean Paul and Massari. Other popular Hip Hop artists include LSP, MC Maze as well as MC Niz-R.
As of recent times, Jordan's Trance and electronic music scenes are rising rapidly within Jordanian youth, and techno and house have become staples in the musical tastes in Jordan. This was helped by the rapid rise of talented DJs such as Bee Bee and DJ Flava, as well as heavy airplay of trance songs on Jordanian radio channels. Many raves and underground techno gatherings occur, and electronic music is currently reaching number one status of music genre in Jordan; such a status was reached due to DJs playing continuously throughout Amman's many nightspots, a few notable DJs were Ali Saadi and Zafer Saadi, DJ Exoda, and the Hip Hop superstar, DJ Shadia. This was all achieved in a very short time frame starting from the 21st century.
References
- Badley, Bill and Zein al Jundi. "Europe Meets Asia". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 391-395. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
- "Jordan: Arts and Literature". Cultural Profiles Project.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Tuning in". Al-Ahram Weekly.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Jordan Talents". Play 99.6.