Issam Hajali is a
Lebanese
Lebanese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic
* Lebanese people
The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...
jazz and
folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk music, folk and rock music, rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the American fo ...
musician.
In 1975, when the
civil war in Lebanon started, he was a guitarist of a
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
band Rainbow Bridge in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
. In 1976, Hajali, who was politically ultra-left, fled Lebanon with his wife, first to
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
, and then to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, where he stayed in 1977, before going back to Beirut. In his last week in Paris, Hajali, together with
Rogér Fakhr, another Lebanese musician, and a number of musicians from various countries, whose names were eventually lost, recorded his debut album, ''Mouasalt Ila Jacad El Ard''.
The record combined
santur
The santur (also ''santūr'', ''santour'', ''santoor'') ( fa, سنتور), is a hammered dulcimer of Iranian origins.--- Rashid, Subhi Anwar (1989). ''Al-ʼĀlāt al-musīqīyya al-muṣāhiba lil-Maqām al-ʻIrāqī''. Baghdad: Matbaʻat al-ʻ ...
with the Western-style music with vocals, jazz guitars, and
synthesizers. The texts were taken from
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
revolutionary poet
Samih al-Qasim
Samīħ al-Qāsim al Kaissy ( ar, سميح القاسم; he, סמיח אל קאסם; 1939 – August 19, 2014) was a Palestinian Druze poet with Israeli citizenship whose work is well known throughout the Arab world. He was born in Transjordan ...
. The album was not properly released at the time and circulated on tapes, with estimated 100 copies. In Beirut, it came to an attention of musician
Ziad Rahbani
Ziad Rahbani ( ar, زياد الرحباني, born 1956) is a Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator. He is the son of Fairouz, one of Lebanon and the Arab world's most famous singers, and Assi Rahbani, one of the fou ...
who popularized it. In 2019, the record was re-released by
Habibi Funk
Habibi Funk Records is a reissue record label based in Berlin, Germany dedicated to music from the Arab world. It was co-founded by Jannis Stürtz, who also works as a DJ using the name Habibi Funk. The label is mostly known for its albums and a ...
.
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'' ...
'' and described as innovative in Lebanese music.
Albums
* ''Mouasalt Ila Jacad El Ard'' (1977)
* ''Oghneya'' (1979)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hajali, Issam
Lebanese musicians
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Artists from Beirut