Western Front is pleased to present a concert by Nadah El Shazly, for which she will perform selections from her debut album Ahwar (2017), alongside other works. In Ahwar, El Shazly melds improvised textures, noise, electronica, and the influence of early Egyptian recordings with her own haunting vocals, in a profound and complexly layered reinvention of Egyptian classical music from the 19th century. “Ahwar” translates from Arabic to “marshlands”: “If you are new to the marshlands you can easily get lost in them,” El Shazly says. The album was developed over two years, during which El Shazly divided her time between Montréal and Cairo, and features many familiar names from Montréal improvised music.
Nadah El Shazly is a producer, vocalist, and sound artist from Cairo, Egypt, based in Montréal. She tours and performs her music internationally, and composes for film and visual art.
Presented with the support of the Government of Canada and SOCAN Foundation.