The members of popular Egyptian band Black Theama have shared with Ahram Online their excitement over their latest single 'Bohoor Alwan' (Seas of Colors), produced and performed at the Awladna International Forum of Arts for the Gifted, for fourth edition for which was held in late October.

"This song is a very important experience in our lives generally and for our career specifically," said the vocal trio band, which consists of the multi-talented Ahmed Bahr, Mohamed Abdo and Amir Salah El-Deen.

The lyrics to Bohoor Alwan were written by Diaa Abdel-Rahman, the composition was by Amir Salah El-Deen and the arrangement was by Sherif El-Wesseimy.

The videoclip for the song, directed by Safwan Nasser ElDin, saw the notable participation of talented special needs kids participating in the forum.

"Working with such amazing kids was extremely fun. The shooting day was not tiring or exhaustion as with regular shooting days. On the contrary, there was a huge energy of mutual love between the whole crew and that helped the videoclip come out the way it did," the band said.

Under the helm of forum president Soheir Abdel-Qader, the Awladna forum held a series of activities under strict safety measure, with the ministers of culture, tourism, social solidarity, and youth and sports attending the opening at the Cairo Opera House on 20 October, where various art forms were practiced by the kids in a number of workshops.

"Bohoor Alwan is our second song with a focus on special abilities, after 'Hor' (Free), which we shot in sign language," Black Theama added.

The band is preparing some surprises for fans in its upcoming concert at El-Sawy Culture Wheel on Friday 6 November, amid the continuing celebration of its 16th anniversary.

"This is our second concert since the end of the coronavirus lockdown. The first was at the Cairo Opera House in early August celebrating our 16th anniversary. In the Culture Wheel, we will continue the celebration at the venue where we first started live performances."

Always combining some of the top musicians in the country, Black Theama's arsenal of instruments now merges keyboardists Faisal Fouad, bassist Mounir Maher, guitarist Mostafa Fathi, drummer Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, percussionists Adel Mekha and Mohamed Zatouna, saxophonist Reda El-Sayed, and Eslam Elabty on oud. Each musician is involved in many music projects with the most well-known names in the country and the Arab world.

"After the Bohoor Alwan experience, we are now choosing our next single from up to four ready productions. We are taking our time deciding to introduce to our beloved fans something that fulfils their taste by the end of 2020," Black Theama revealed.

In addition to dozens of singles, the band, who initially gained fame for revolutionary lyrics before turning more towards romantic and social topics, released two albums; 'Bahar' in 2010 and 'Gawi Baniadmeen' in 2015.

As their name suggests, Black Theama, who are deeply influenced by southern roots of Nubian, Sudanese and African music, introduced a big collection of a commercially-appealing sounds that adopt various aspects of genres like Reggae, Hip Hop, Blues and Jazz alongside slang Egyptian lyrics.

Sponsored by both the state and the private sector, the Awladna Forum, which was initially supposed to take place in March with representation from dozens of countries from across the globe, has a main mission to develop and enrich talents “through cultural interaction…and by emphasising cultural and artistic achievements.”

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