El Tanbura are a collective of veteran master musicians, singers, fishermen and Sufi philosophers. For the past 17 years they have been custodians to some of Egypt’s oldest folk traditions at their home in Port Said, at the gate to the Suez Canal. Their music is driven by the seductive call of the Simsimiyya - an ancient lyre dating back to the times of the Pharaohs. The origins of the Simsimiyyia are lost in the mist of time and legend.
Le Trio Joubran (Arabic: الثلاثي جبران) is a Palestinian oud band, consisting of the three brothers Samir, Wissam, and Adnan Joubran from the city Nazareth. The Joubran brothers come from a well-known family with a rich artistic heritage. Their mother, Ibtisam Hanna Joubran, sang the Muwachahats (poems that originated in Arab Spain) while their father is among the most renowned stringed-instrument makers in Palestine and in the Arab world.
Sami Yusuf (born July 1980) is a British singer of Iranian Azeri descent. Sami's first album Al-Mu'allim was self-produced and released in July 2003 which attained huge success. His second album, My Ummah, which was released in 2005, comes in two versions, a musical version and one with just percussion. Yusuf's music comprises mostly of songs to do with Islam and being a Muslim in today's world. He also deals with many social and humanitarian issues in his music. Presently, he is fast becoming a very popular figure in the Islamic world, having made videos for several of his tracks.
The Yeah You's are an English pop band comprising Nick Ingram (vocals, guitar) and Mike Kintish (piano, vocals). The two met in London when Ingram auditioned for a play that Kintish had written. Their debut single "15 Minutes" is due to be released on 1 June 2009 by Island Records. Its music video premiered on YouTube on 22 April 2009.
Algeria’s Mehdi Haddab has radically transformed the image of the oud by plugging in and amplifying the ancient fretless lute, bringing rock’n’roll attitude to an instrument at the core of traditional Arabic music. With bassist Pascal Teillet and beat mistress Hermione Frank, Haddab references everything from the Cure and the Chemical Brothers to Algerian rai.
There are at least 3 groups using the name Dam:
1) A Black/Death Metal band from London, UK, also Dãm
2) A Palestinian hip-hop group
3) Former GDR tape underground act 1) Dam (also Dãm) is an extreme metal band from England whose influences include Carcass, Emperor, Philip Glass, Kyuss, Death and Suffocation. They were signed to Candlelight Records thanks to a recommendation from Samoth (of Emperor and Zyklon), and have extensively toured in Europe and the UK with the likes of 1349, Napalm Death, Testament, Entombed, Decapitated, Cathedral, Obituary, Zyklon and Cephalic Carnage.
Michael Beach is a San Francisco-based musician. The formative years of his musical career were spent in Melbourne, Australia where he released several EPs with Electric Jellyfish (Ecstatic Yod, Twin Lakes) as well as his debut LP, Blood Courses (2008). Michael has toured the USA three times with Electric Jellyfish (2007, 2008, 2010) and twice solo (2008, 2011). He has toured Australia twice with Electric Jellyfish (summer 2009, winter 2009) and twice solo (2009, 2011).
More than one artist has used the name Demian. Demian (1) was a Texan psychedelic rock band (formerly known as Bubble Puppy), formed in 1966 in San Antonio, Texas by Rod Prince and Roy Cox. Looking to form a "top gun rock band" based on the concept of dual lead guitars, Prince and Cox recruited Todd Potter, a gymnast, saxophone player and guitarist. With the addition of Danny Segovia, the original line up of Bubble Puppy was complete. Bubble Puppy's live debut was as the opening act for The Who in San Antonio.
