Egypt: Instrumental Music – Ud (Hazem Shaheen)
We’ll listen in this episode to the long-awaited instrumental album by the Egyptian Ud virtuoso Hazem Shaheen. The album Zekr was officially released in April 2025. Hazem wrote this instrumental album for a small ensemble leaving plenty of room for other instruments, such as the ney (flute), violin, and even the trumpet. “Zekr” (which is also the title track) means “remembrance or invocation” (of God), in the spiritual sense. It refers to an important form of meditation within the Islamic Sufi tradition, in which a word or short phrase is repeated rhythmically and for an extended period.
For more Ud music from Hazem Shaheen , check here
Hazem Shaheen:
- Zekr 06:34
- Raqset El-souq (The Market Dance) 06:22
- Magnoun Omniyat (wish-obsessed) 05:23
- Nile 06:04
- Zakariya Ahmed (forever) 05:58
- Taqaseem Ud & Longa Nahawand (adolescence) 09:04
We’ll listen in the second half of the episode to another Egyptian Ud virtuoso of the same generation: Tarek Abdallah who is based in Marseilles, France. in this album “Ousoul” (out last year), Tarek -accompanied by the wonderful riqq player Adel Shams El-Din- dives again into the the world of the sophisticated Arabic rhythmic cycles.
Tarek Abdallah (from the album Ousoul 2024)
7. Hanine (nostalgie) 05:36
8. Bashraf Rast 06:31
9. Taqsim Rast 02:07
10. Istihlal Rast 06:08
