Canción “Ala Shawati Dijlah”
Video series about varied themes of Arabic music from the perspective of well-known songs.
The series consists of 5 videos on Casa Arabe’s YouTube channel
Che Mali Wali
Che Mali Wali translates to (I have no one to take care of me) is an Iraqi traditional song sung from the perspective of a woman who is hurt from the separation of her lover. I grew up with this haunting melody and wanted to reinterpret it with both my violin and my voice.
Layth Sidiq - Violin/Voice
Fadi Saba -
Piano Inna Dudukina - Mixing/Mastering
Nathalie Botbol - Video
Bachawand
Bachawand is an interpretation of Bach’s Partita no.2 in D minor (Allemande) for solo violin. As an Arab musician with a western classical upbringing, I have often identified with Bach as one of the closest western classical musical figures to Arabic music. His melodic development, improvisation and use of ornamentation ties many musical roots together and has been an inspiration to me for many years. This video is an interpretation of this wonderful piece viewed from the perspective of Maqam ‘Nahawand’, thus the name ‘Bachawand’. Join me on this journey of taking this sacred music to the forest and to celebrate the spirituality of nature.
Layth Sidiq - Violin Fadi Saba - Organ Manuel Lógar - Director Inna Dudukina - Mixing and Mastering
A Letter to Paco
A composition by Layth Sidiq which highlights the ancient roots between Arabic Music and Flamenco and gives tribute to one of the most influential Spanish musician of our time, Paco de Lucia.
‘Finjan’ - Migration of Arabic Music
A conversation with Layth Sidiq on the podcast show ‘Finjan’, talking about many topics including music, education, culture and love.
Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samja (Live at Berklee)
In 2017, the Berklee Indian Ensemble presented a landmark collaborative concert with its fifth Artist in Residence, Indian playback singer Shreya Ghoshal. The Ensemble is delighted to share an excerpt from that evening: a reimagining of the 1962 classic, “Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha”. Presented here with just four musicians — Ms. Ghoshal, lauto player Vasilis Kostas (Greece), violinist Layth Sidiq (Iraq/Jordan), and tabla player Giri Subramaniam (India) — this simple but soulful interpretation was performed in tribute to one of India’s most iconic voices: Lata Mangeshkar.
HAMSA,2019
It began as a friendship between two musicians from two traditions:
Layth Sidiq, an Iraqi-Jordanian violinist, and Rohith Jayaraman, an Indian-American vocalist. Sparked by their common interest in the rich musical traditions of India and the Middle East, Layth and Rohith embarked on a 6 year collaborative journey that culminated in this EP — Hamsa. Entirely crowdfunded, Hamsa raised over $4,000 in just 2 days. When the campaign ended, they had raised more than 150% of their original goal, with backers from around the world!As individual artists, Layth and Rohith have shared the stage with icons including A.R. Rahman, Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, Simon Shaheen, Shankar Mahadevan, Tigran Hamasyan, Ranjit Barot, Javier Limon, and Shreya Ghoshal; and Antarctica aside, they’ve played on every continent. Perhaps not a huge feat, but it sure is fun to say!In a world of heavily arranged and produced music, Hamsa is an homage to the simplicity and energy of live, improvised, classical-folk music. The music you’ll find in Hamsa is honest, traditional, and maybe a little blasphemous — just the kind of music they love to play.
Son of Tigris, 2016
Son of Tigris is a five movement suite composed by Layth Sidiq that brings together the two profound and expansive worlds of traditional Iraqi music and Jazz. The suite in full was premiered at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2016.
