This article is also available in:
Italiano
Majed Al Esa, one of the most interesting music producers of Saudi Arabia, able to charm ears and mind, pushing never banal reflections on his country
هواجيس “Obsessions” and the beginnings of Majed Al Esa
Having failed to find a biography, we are forced to retrace the career of the great Saudi producer with his videos, starting with the most famous, able to make him known in the eyes of the world: هواجيس “Obsessions”. Released on December 23, 2016, in a very short time it also became known in the Bel Paese because of the very strong themes staged, most of which have not yet been resolved in the Saudi kingdom.
In fact, in the video clip, Saudi women can be observed riding bicycles, playing basketball and, above all, they hope that men will be extinct because “they are the cause of our mental illnesses”. All this, in a hyper-conservative country like Saudi Arabia, had a very strong impact on public opinion, so much so that it was also shared by Ameera al Taweel, one of the most active and important philanthropists in the country.
Saudi Arabia pop
Majed Al Esa’s career, however, is not limited to Hwages, but also includes videos that are very different from each other but all capable of passing on a message as simple as it is fundamental: Saudi Arabia is not only Mecca and Medina. Each of his videos, in fact, showcases some of the aspects of Saudi culture, however showing the most pop and sincere side.
Many songs will seem like a sort of hybrid between prayer and music and the truth is: that’s exactly how it is. Thanks to this incredible artist, we can indeed observe how strong the impact of Al Saud has been on musical culture, forcing it, at least for sound, to “religiousise” itself. It is impossible not to hear, as well as observe, deep references to adhan and Quranic recitations, a must in most of the new Saudi music but which in Halik see one of its heights. All this, in a normal country, could arouse debate among the most sensitive but, in Saudi Arabia, where religion is an integral part of common life, it is certainly felt as closer than many less easy to hear melodies. If you want to approach Arab contemporary music for the first time, Majed Al Esa can be an excellent starting point, able to give you also the cultural bases of a huge and extremely complex country.
Follow us on our facebook page, Spotify, YouTube,Twitter and Instagram, or on our Telegram channel. Any like, sharing or support is welcome and helps us to dedicate ourselves more and more to our passion: telling the Middle East ..
