After many years of dreaming and wishing, our very own Wyvern, the leading Egyptian metal band, has released an album to prove to everyone that dreams can come true, but only if you fight hard enough…
Rock Era was there in the back scenes and had an interview with Ahmad El-Wahsh the owner of Wave Studio and Production House where the album was recorded and given a label.
Wave. How did it start and when?
Ahmad: The idea came two years ago as a jamming studio for the underground bands, since I’m a musician and in the underground scene, then the it turned to one of the famous places for jamming, both for underground bands and commercial ones. Even Haifa and Amr Diab and Shereen come to jam here, especially after being one of SOS sponsors for like 3 volumes, and this proved and showed everyone that we support underground bands.
What difficulties did you face while establishing “Wave”?
Ahmad: Actually it was all about the license and the paperwork, it’s really hard to have a full legal studio and a musical organization, plus it needed time, effort and money which was really exhausting for us.
How did “Wave” turn from a jamming studio to a musical organization and a label? Was it planned from the get-go?
Ahmad: It all started because I play in Sahara band and we always had a dream of recording an album. We found out that recording in other studios would cost us A LOT, which is why I decided to buy the needed equipment and establish a control room for recording, we then looked for many producers but unfortunately they were all interested in commercial music, so either they refused the whole thing or put conditions to the extent of interfering in our music. That’s why I made Wave a music production house. You can find many producers for underground bands but after the album is released you’re STILL an underground band, because the tools these companies use are not enough. Imagine that an album is released and there is not EVEN ONE AD telling you about the album or telling you about a song from it. That’s why we wanted to market our production in a commercial way, so we signed an agreement with companies for ringtones to market our productions through TV, newsletter and magazine ads and with the FM radio stations, which also helped us broadcast our production on the radio. We are not making albums to have a memory, we are marketing business, and it’s our responsibility to get bands heard.
So no, it wasn’t planned for us to turn Wave to a production company and a label but I thank god for it, this is very good for a 2-year-old project
Let’s talk about “Wyvern.” How did you get the idea of recording and producing for an Egyptian metal band?
Ahmad: Wyvern members are all my friends, so we thought about producing an album for them especially that I love the band and I love their music myself, besides they have a very great fan base, and since all the tools were available for the project as a studio and a label, we decided to start immediately. Wyvern was one of the fastest and the most high quality albums recorded in the studio and this was of course because we felt at home there.
What do you expect for the album?
Ahmad: In fact I expect and wish a lot, because our dreams are endless and I feel we will gain the fruits of our great efforts. We really put too much time and effort in this great project and we made it right, so I believe that even people who don’t listen to metal will like the album if they gave it a listen.
How do you think the Egyptian society would accept this album as the 1st Egyptian metal album?
Ahmad: I think that anyone who attends Wyvern’s concerts or even metal ones in general would see that the audience really loves the band. When Wyvern performed in the S.O.S in front of 25000 people, their reactions were great. I really wish that people would appreciate this project because we really put our hearts into it. Wyvern’s album is metal but they added some original touch which will make them closer to people, even the ones who never listen to metal. The whole thing is unique and I believe it will attract many listeners, god willing.
Are there any rock or metal bands beside “Wyvern” that are going to record with “Wave”?
Ahmad: So far there are no confirmed deals. We are working on a hip hop project and it’s almost done and I hope it will be good. It’s full of new ideas. We are talking to many bands who saw our work and started to talk to us about their albums. To be honest, I wish that this will continue, I want people to believe in themselves because we have many underground bands with really amazing music but they just need to have some faith, so I guess with the release of Wyvern’s albums, things will start to turn around.
Will wave specialise in recording for rock and metal bands? If so, will it be strictly for Egyptian bands?
Ahmad: We record all styles of music, but we are not into commercial music and we are not planning to go for it. We have recorded many things: Sahara, Wyvern, Hip Hop, Flamenco and even Jazz. The 1st album recorded in Wave was by a Jordanian band called “Zaman EL Za’tar” and it’s a great band. I guess this answers your question about the genre and nationality.
Is there any message you want to deliver to people?
Ahmad: I have two messages in fact. To the underground musicians, I want to say: “Trust yourself and believe that any given effort will come back to you and you will gain its fruit. Don’t ever think that you are just an amateur, you are a professional, ever since you decided to perform in front of everyone, all you need is just some faith. Don’t stop at concerts, as long as people have come and paid money just to see you and listen to your music, then you can make you dream come true, so don’t ever give it up.”
To the fans and audience: “I know that you really gave up on this misery because every day we find 20 or 30 new singers and bands who do the same thing over and over again in the music and in the videos. Don’t worry, all that will have to change one day because there are some really good musicians who work hard and all what they need is your support, so support them, try to listen to their work, and I’m sure you’ll feel the difference.”
