April 2014
Falaki Theater, Cairo
Mehdi Haddab is an Algerian French musician, and a pioneer of the electric oud (lute). Over the years, he’s played a major role in developing and adapting the instrument to different music genres. Haddab is known in the West as “Jimi Hendrix of the electric oud” for his masterful performances. He founded several band including Ikova, DuOud and Speed Caravan and has collaborated with prominent musicians, including Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.
In April, Haddab visited Cairo and performed with a group of Egyptian musicians, including Ahmed Saleh, Abdullah Miniawy and Mohamed Sami as part of the “Free Voices” concerts in D-CAF 2014. Medrar.TV met with Haddab in Cairo, and culture journalist Victor Salama chatted with him about his musical career from the first high school band he started to his latest project which blends Arab music with African beats.
Hagar Ezz-El Din translated the interview into Arabic.