The Ahmed Adawia thread أحمد عدوية صوت الحب ملك موال شعبي

[sufi]

I have gone on extensively over the years about the mighty balladeer Ahmed Adawiyah

Ahmed Adaweyah - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

here's an excellent biography that explains his significance and appeal in 20thC Egypt entertainingly, if hyperactively, and has fine subtitles


here's the big tunes cited






maybe this is my favorite from Adawia in London, 1985 (?)


so now he has a thread of his own, i'm not expecting huge numbers of replies tbh but who knows he deserves to be an AI at least

 

[sufi]

😍 also this

🔥🔥🔥

 

[sufi]

the english wikipedia page entirely omits one of the most famous incidents of his career of which details remain obscure but according to arabic wikipedia via goofle translate https://ar-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/أحمد_عدوية?_x_tr_sl=ar&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

He retreated from work for a period after an assassination attempt by an overdose of heroin and cocaine by Sheikh Talal bin Nasser Al-Sabah,

and Adawiya and his wife denied press allegations that Talal Al-Sabah had undergone a castration operation, but it was an assassination attempt that put him in a coma and caused a change in the sound and it took a long time until his health stabilized. After an absence that lasted more than 10 years, he began to return to the masses from meetings in programs and appearances

& neither does the documentary above

 

[sufi]

& the arabic page doesnt mention how he was initially banned from egyptian radio and tv for being too common, though the documentary goes into that episode in some detail

 

[sufi]

or that he starred as dracula in the egyptian version of the rocky horror show

 

[sufi]

Although Adawia has been described as the most perfect voice for the Egyptian popular ballad, I'm not sure that his voice was as important as his identity/background in establishing his rep on the street and his enormous influence on Arabic music - a rural lad (the 13th sibling) who'd worked his way up through the business etc, so he was able to assemble a sound that combined great musicians and writers in a freer format than previous artists,

 

[sufi]

Now we have awesome AI tech I'd love to see some remixes of his early work that pull out the dubbed out psychedelic funk elements (and demote the clattering trad sections) - I think there is an "AI Nusrat Ali Fateh Khan" out there already...