Mohamed Sawwah is mostly know from El-Nafikha (The Blowers) band, a highly successful ensemble, which he founded and has managed since 2014.

Since its creation, El-Nafikha took the Egyptian music scene by storm, with its presentation of arrangements of classical Arabic music repertoire - from Um Kalthoum to Abdel Wahab, among other icons - reinvented for brass instruments.

The band generated interest, appreciation and a high demand from the audience. It has given countless concerts in Egypt and performed across the Arab world.

And while El-Nafikha carved a solid place in the music scene, Sawwah’s creativity moves far beyond the commercially successful band. 

The Cairo Conservatory graduate finds his new voice in a more intimate project that he calls simply Mohamed Sawwah Band, an ensemble that has served as a platform for his original works for almost two decades now. 

Mohamed Sawwah Band launched its activities back in 2006, with a concert in Bern, Switzerland, as part of the grant offered by Pro Helvetia. The event saw collaboration with European musicians.

Following this encounter, the band released its first solo album titled Egyptian Mawal in 2008.

The second solo album followed shortly after, supported by Al Mawred Al Thakafy. 

“We perform mostly my original compositions, works through which I express myself as a musician, but also a human being,” Sawwah reveals to Ahram Online, mentioning however how El-Nafikha overshadowed the many musical values and originality of his own project.

Though the band gave a few concerts here and there giving occasional glimpses into his original compositions, it is now that Mohamed Sawah’s band re-emerges, starting with a release of the single Reset on YouTube.

The over-three-minute work is a fully instrumental composition with the trumpet being its main protagonist.

As the trumpeter explains, the single is the first of a series of compositions - instrumental and songs - that will constitute his upcoming album.

“Reset’s story is linked to self-discovery,” Sawwah explains, adding that the concept of self-analysis has preoccupied his mind for some time already.

The video presents a series of visuals created by Radwa Fady, Sawwah’s friend, with the use of AI technology, directed by the trumpeter himself. It is a story of two people meeting one another, entering a relationship and then hitting the harsh road of separation and an eventual need for distance and space for re-thinking oneself.

“However it is not just about a romantic relationship. My music talks about any kind of relationship in which success is directly linked to one’s emotional stability. It is about the human state and our condition that we need to be aware of. This awareness comes through the journey of self-discovery. My music is just about that,” he says, applying this philosophy to his other compositions.

While Reset is purely instrumental, Sawwah also has compositions that he sings. Those were already presented during a couple of recent concerts, such as those at the Goethe Institute in Alexandria, and during the Shubbak El-Fann programme at Goethe-Institut Cairo, last month.

“To me, singing is just using vocals as yet another instrument. I always liked to sing, and in this project, I feel I can add voice as a form of expression.”

The band’s music cannot be boxed within one genre. While being a contemporary Egyptian music genre, it also fuses elements of jazz, some shaabi accents, and maqam music, providing a unique presentation of sound, and its creator’s musical thoughts.

In works that include lyrics, they are drawn from the contemporary poetry by Mohamed Ibrahim, and Mostafa Ismail.

“I choose lyrics that touch me the most, and express my approach to life, people, and surrounding.”

The upcoming concert of Mohamed Sawwah Band will take place at Room Art Space on 25 July. The evening will include mostly original compositions and some arrangements of known works. Sawwah will be joined by Mohamed Abdalla on the piano, Abdalla Asabgi on contrabass, Ahmed Khaled on drums and Magdi Gerges on darabouka.