Concert At Sahara Desert Resort, Dubai, on 28^th Nov 08

By Caiyad Phahad

Karen Zoid:

Karen Zoid (born Karen Louise Greeff) was born on 10^th August 1978 in Brussels, Belgium, to a South African diplomat, She grew up in Belgium and then Johannesburg, where she developed from being a teenage busker on the streets of Johannesburg, into  an award-winning national figure.

On 3^rd May, 2008 she won the South African Music Awards, SAMA, for Best Female Solo Artist of 2008. These are very much the Grammys of South Africa.

She is also an acclaimed songwriter with 55 of her songs released over her three EMI albums (36 in English, 19 in Afrikaans). She married Don Reinecke, the lead guitarist of the band, on 29 January 2007 & with him she has a baby boy – Ben Francis Reinecke.

In 2001 she released her first album, “Poles Apart”; in 2003 she released “Chasing the Sun”. In 2005 she released“Media”, through EMI, which was an instant success & achieved a Gold Record status. In fact, her songs are part of the first year university curriculum in Afrikaans at some universities. In 2002 she was a nomination in the finalists for South African Woman of the Year.

On 2 August 2007 she released her fourth album “Postmodern World” through Just Music. Two of her songs featured in the 2006 movie “Number 10″.

Her status as a cross-cultural icon was exemplified when she performed at the inauguration of State President Mbeki & at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert, where she shared the stage with Queen and Katie Melua. She has performed alongside John Mayer, Metallica, Seal, Hothouse Flowers, Collective Soul and Simple Plan.

Kamal Musallam:

The new group was formed in early 2007 with Rony Afif on drums, Elie Afif on double bass & Rami Lakkis on electric bass and multi instruments. The band showcased for the first time, the sound of Arabic Jazz as a trio. Kamal has been a pioneer in this genre since 1999. He is an architect by profession, but decided to do music, as it is his passion. He went through various musical experiences such as traditional Arabic music, Flamenco, Rock and the Blues. From the late 80’s to early 90’s, he began discovering more Jazz sounds through records by the Pat Metheny Group, Miles Davis, George Benson, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, among others. He moved to France in 1994, where he experienced another true musical atmosphere for four years, which helped him develop his playing styles on both the guitar and the oud. He is also influenced by Ziad Rahbani, Abdul Wahab, and Farid Alatrash – all renowned Arabic composers. He produced his first album “On a Jordan River’s Side” – released under his own label K&G Productions in 2003. The group has also been joined by a big variety of musicians among which are: Khaled Yassine, Dasha Tichanova, Sevine A, Rasha Rizk, and Julien Mathonet, among others… Recently Kamal introduced a new instrument innovated by Godin, called theGlissentar, which is basically a true marriage between the guitar and the oud. He is currently designing a new concept guitar with IBANEZ Japan.

About the Event / Concert itself:

The event was well organized.

The venue, sound, lighting … everything was perfect. This may well have been because their own company, Jumana Production, which is one of the best sound, light and fireworks productions in world, was in charge. The venue could have been used in better way, as it is very huge place. The crowd was moving and grooving to almost every track. I personally enjoyed one track by Karen which she wrote especially for Barrack Obama and her own African and black supporters.

I got a chance to meet Karen personally. She was very natural, humble and nice; nobody would even imagine, at least I didn’t, that she is as beautiful from inside as she is from the outside

Boney M, legend and godfathers of Disco music! Who doesn’t know their name, and who doesn’t know songs such as Daddy Cool, Hooray Hooray, Sunny and Ma Baker? These are some of the greatest songs of all time. They have been playing on radio stations and iPods for ages.

Boney M was formed in 1975 by West German record producer Frank Farian. The band had a four official members’ lineup – Liz Mitchell, Marcia Barrett (Jamaica),Maizie Williams (Montserrat), and Bobby Farrell (Aruba). P.S. Frank got this name from an Australian show called Boney.

In 1976 they came out with their 1^st album, Take The Heat Off Me, and in the same year, they gave the world Daddy Cool. All the way up until 1985, Boney M continued to give the world 8 great and well cooked albums, till they sadly disbanded in 1986. The main reason for this was lack of interest on the part of Farian, in Boney M, which resulted in their last studio album Eye Dance being uninspiring and a disappointment.

Bobby Farrel took a step forward and attempted in taking over Boney M. They went to record a new album without Farian, who took them to court in 1990. In court it was decided that all 4 members of the band could use the name of Boney M and could release albums and do concerts under it.

The original members of Boney M got back together again in 1988, but it didn’t work out well for them, owing to high tension between members of the band.

Bobby Farrel brought disco back to Dubai on 2^nd of Dec 2008, at Club Elegante, but to my surprise, their performance which was scheduled for around 11 PM, started at 1.15 AM. This was due to lack of interest showed by people present at the event, probably because it was National Day, or perhaps people were just too tired after George Michael and Alicia Keys’ shows. To me it was the best gift a person who is staying in the UAE, could ever receive – Boney M performing on National Day! Seeing them live, performing in front of your eyes, gives you a feeling that you are watching Jurassic Park come to life! Bobby is truly a legend and the godfather of Disco music. He, and the band, should have been welcomed appropriately.

Bobby was at his best, and the highlight of the show. To my surprise, he didn’t act like a superstar; he talked to the crowd, he mingled with them and asked them to come on stage and sing and dance with him. He is one of the best entertainers I have seen performing live. People were so amazed by him that they were shocked into silence, and Bobby said ‘is this a graveyard’? This made people laugh out like crazy, and broke the silence.

I would suggest that organizers and promoters, who try to cash in on such big names, should at least do enough marketing prior to the event, so that legends such as Boney M get to perform in front of a great crowd.

Caiyad Phahad

Caiyad Phahad Films                                       caiyadphahad@windowslive.com