Indie band finds audiences opening their minds to new music styles

AMMAN — Members of Jordanian indie band Zaed Naes, one of the groups contributing to a boom in the Jordanian alternative music scene over the past decade, are seeing a change in regional audiences’ taste in music from commercial radio fare to a wider range of styles.

“We already feel the cry for change towards less commercially repeated ideas. It shows in the increasing number of fans following not only Zaed Naes, but a lot of other Jordanian artists as well,” Basel Naouri, who plays the trumpet and keyboard, told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

Founded in 2008, the group, whose name means “Plus Minus” in Arabic, has had increasing success on the regional music scene, according to Naouri.

“We had a number of shows this year, two of which were out of Jordan. We performed in Beirut and Cairo, which was one of the best experiences for us so far. We collaborated with Maii Waleed from Egypt on a number of tracks.” he said.

Naouri explained that while the group’s three members — the others are Ammar Urabi  on drums and Amjad Shahrour on bass, guitar and vocals — were involved in projects as diverse as a jazz group and an Arabic rock band prior to Zaed Naes’ beginnings, their sound did not begin to gel until two years later, when they completed studies abroad.

“It was as if we got introduced to music all over again, experimenting with sound and going crazy with our instruments, as if we wanted to reach a certain sound that we all visualise but can’t really define,” recalled the musician.

Electronic music was “the major game changer”, he said, and the group was inspired by the idea of achieving an electronically produced sound while still playing with the same set of instruments they had  in hand.

With the band’s overall sound as the main goal — not just songs or melodies — daily practice over about a year and a half led to new styles, ideas and — eventually — tracks, Naouri said.

The band members felt freed when those constraints imposed by styles or genres disappeared, he explained.

“The idea of having one style, or a genre to fit in was not what we looked for...we tried to match sounds and frequencies that best suit each other. In other words we started the music production process parallel to the composition process, which makes this project not just another band,” Naouri stressed.

“We collaborate with singers, other musicians, video artists and visual artists to try and create a clear idea of what Zaed Naes’ sound represents,” he added.

The musician observed that perception of music and art as “a hobby, not a real job” in Jordanian society is a major obstacle faced by young people aspiring to those professions.

 “Art in Jordan is not on the same page as medicine, engineering or any other ‘decent job’, “ he said. “We have to try to cope with this idea, as it seems to dominate the minds of the majority around us!”

 Nevertheless, Jordanian audiences are increasingly recognising the significance of culture in society, Naouri argued.

 “People around us are more aware of the importance of art and music in particular in transforming ideas into experiences and new grounds to build on.”