Mazaher

With their trance-inducing perfromances, Mazaher have made their mark on our stage and on groundbreaking festivals such as Le Guess Who? The ensemble practices an ancient musical tradition named Zar, that has its origin in healing. Vocals, dance and percussion are part of a ritual aimed to calm the spirits. Mazaher translates this to the stage by performing in a half circle formation. In Zar, women plays a leading role and the musicians in Mazaher are Um Sameh, Um Hassan and Nour El Sabah, who are among the last performers of the genre.

Zar is said to have its origin in the Horn of Africa and the music mostly flourished in Egypt. Polyrhythmic layering and uplifting antiphonal singing are at the heart of this extraordinary repertoire. In addition to various frame drums, the ensemble members use the tanbura, a lyre-like instrument, and the manjur, a leather belt with rattling goat hooves attached to it. The lyrics are about love for nature and the divine. Marked by time, the women of Mazaher display an undiminished zest for life, passing on their words of wisdom through song and dance.

Fatma Abouelella Mohamed lead vocals/Mazhar/Tabl Sudany, Fatma Khalil Tabla/Tabl Sudany/vocals, Nourelsabah Abdelaziz Sayed Mazhar/choir, Emam Mohamed Emam Tanboura/vocals, Ekhlas Mohamed Hafez Mazhar/choir