Abed Azrie

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Abed Azrie
Born 1945
Genre(s) Arabic music
Occupation(s) Musician
Years active 1990s–present

Abed Azrie (born 1945), also written as Abed Azrié, is a Syrian singer who performs Arab classical music,[1] although he claims to belong to no particular music tradition.[2] In his work he sets ancient and modern Arabic texts to traditional instruments (such as the ney, kanun, darbuka, violin, flute and lute), and synthesizers.[2][3]

He was born in Aleppo, and after living for a time in Beirut moved to Paris at the age of 22 where he studied Western classical music. While there he translated classical poetry, such as the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, into French.[4] He has stated that he prefers to live in the West, saying in a 2000 interview that he has an "inability to work in the Arab countries, in which the way people live is still conditioned by halal and haram. Here I can produce contemporary art, I can work in freedom, and there is 'motion' around what I produce: journalism, concerts, programme…Nobody tells me to write a song for a specific political occasion."[5]

His music has been featured in the films Al Leja, directed by Ryad Chaia,[6] and Elia Suleiman's Chronicle of a Disappearance.[7]

Singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley was a fan of Azrie's music, and two once had dinner.[8]

[edit] Discography

  • 1990: Aromates
  • 1994: Epopée de Gilgamesh
  • 1996: Lapis Lazuli
  • 1999: Pour enfants seulement
  • 1999: Omar Khayyam
  • 2001: Venessia
  • 2006: Suerte Live
  • 2007: Chants d'amour et d'ivresse

[edit] References

  1. ^ Abed Azrie profile. Nat Geo Music. National Geographic. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
  2. ^ a b Linafelt, Tod (2000). Surviving Lamentations: Catastrophe, Lament, and Protest in the Afterlife. University of Chicago Press, p.31. ISBN 0226481905. 
  3. ^ Holden, Stephen. "The Pop Life", The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 1991-03-20. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. 
  4. ^ Nidel, Richard (2005). World Music: The Basics. Routledge, p. 204. ISBN 0415968003. 
  5. ^ Rakha, Youssef. "The francophone predicament", Al-Ahram Weekly, 2000-07-27. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. 
  6. ^ van Gelder, Lawrence. "An Unforgiving Landscape", The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 1997-04-01. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. 
  7. ^ Janet, Maslin. "In a Holy Land of Kitsch, Politics and Terrorism", The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 1997-03-22. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. 
  8. ^ Farrar, Josh (1996-02-29). "Kingdom for a Kiss". DoubleTake.