El Mastaba established Balady in 2012, and has organized a number of successful performances for audiences in various Egyptian governorates. The band presents a new genre of contemporary Egyptian music that combines traditional instruments, such as simsimia, tanbura and gandouh with Western instruments, such as the violin, saxophone, and guitar. Baladi presents a unique collaboration between folk musicians from El Tanbura Band and musicians from popular Egyptian bands, such as Wust Al-Balad, El Dor El Awal and Black Theama, bridging the two quite different musical worlds in Egypt.
The Baladi Band project is vital to El Mastaba’s goal of the creative development of Egyptian folk music, giving the chance to new generations of musicians to learn about and draw on each others’ traditions, as well as introducing the two audiences to a wider ranger range creative musical traditions.
The Baladi Band project is vital to El Mastaba’s goal of the creative development of Egyptian folk music, giving the chance to new generations of musicians to learn about and draw on each others’ traditions, as well as introducing the two audiences to a wider ranger range creative musical traditions.