Blues…who doesn’t enjoy this utter music? Since 1912, people listen to blues; bands were formed, bands ceased, but the secret of the blues music remained for more than a 100 years. To be honest, blues now isn’t anything like the 50s, 60s and 80s blues. So, valorous men decided to revive the blues scene in Egypt. A bunch of music lovers & enthusiasts decided to form a band to play the style of music they love to hear, BLUES! And we, have listened to them.
Well, Starting with your marvelous name, how did you form your band?
Mohamed: Well, blue note is a note played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes, and this separate between blues and other genres. Bluenotes band started 10 years ago, when Hatem Hossam the vocalist gathered with Mohamed Adel, Mohamed el azhary and Ahmed Hani deciding to play their own music. They played for a long time together. But, some of them decided to join other bands and Hossam traveled for a while. He returned and reformed the band with me, Hazem Sadek the keyboardist and Mohamed Mamdouh the guitarist in June 2010.
So, Have you met anyone of them before?
Mohamed: Yes, I used to play with Hazem and Mamdouh for more than 6 months before joining Hatem’s band. Then Maged the drummer joined us. Later, Ally joined us.
Which Genre do you play?
Mohamed: Mainly Pure Blues. We play Blues-Rock also. Country and urban blues are also favored.
What bands or musicians had influenced you?
Mohamed: We cover for Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Moore, B.B. king, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Susan Tedeschi, Muddy Waters, Albert king, and Albert Collins. Sometimes The Doors and Led Zeppelin.
Great… only 3 months since your formation and I heard that you had your first concert. Please tell me about it.
Mohamed: Yeah, we performed a live concert at Cairo Jazz Club on the 3rd of August .We played for a consecutive 4 hours. The place was crowded, I guess.
Which tracks did you play?
Mohamed:
If You Be My Baby – Gary Moore
Hoochie Coochie Man – Muddy Waters
Five Long Years – Eric Clapton
How Blue Can You Get – B. B. King
Little by Little – Susan Tedeschi
If Heartaches Were Nickels – Joe Bonamassa
Pride and Joy – Steivie Ray Vaughan
In your opinion, how would you describe the Blues scene in Egypt?
Mohamed: Generally, Blues music is one of the most respected arts in the world. You can find a lot of people who are listening to blues without even knowing that it’s called “Blues”, but they just like it, as it’s a lovable music. In Egypt, its fan base isn’t that huge, but I am sure that people just need to listen more to it and for sure they will love it.
How do you picture yourself in the next 4-5 years?
Mohamed: For sure we are intending to produce our own originals. An album would be such a great idea. For now, we are playing for fun and we are trying to reach the blues fans as much as we can.
So, you still didn’t make your first original?
Mohamed: Not Exactly, we’ve used the old song of Mohamed Abdul Motteleb “ساكن في حي السيدة” and mixed it into the blues style!
In the end, what would you like to add?
Mohamed: Thank you very much for your concern, and I hope that the blues scene in Egypt reaches higher levels.
Interviewed by: Ahmed Emad