Dutch fusion guitarist Richard Hallebeek, with whom I collaborated on a fusion presets pack for Axe-Fx III, got me in touch with one of his friend, Amine M'raihi, which wanted some help tweaking Axe presets for his oud, a luth-type instruments used in Arabic classic music, among others. Here's the first presets I made for him - this is still a work in progress. Beautiful playing my friend !
Amine and Hamza M'raihi are two Tunisian musician brothers, playing respectively the oud and the qanun, the two major instruments of the classical Arabic music.
Since a very young age, the brothers were raised with classical Arab music which allowed them to develop an extensive mastery of their instruments. They have since evolved into diverse musical traditions including classical western music, jazz, flamenco, Indian, Persian music and many others. Amine and Hamza are leaders of a new voice into the Arabic music scenery; anchored in the classical Arabic tradition but opened on the diverse musical styles. They are the image of a new generation, proud of their multiple identities but open and tolerant toward other cultures.
Amine and Hamza have performed in many prestigious scenes all over the world, including the Arab World Institude in Paris, the BBC, the Medina Theatre in Beirut, and the Cairo Opera house. they have recorded and published seven albums featuring musicians from all over the world and from different musical traditions.
Their latest project, The Band Beyond Borders, dives even deeper in modern harmonies, hypnotic grooves and profound feeling, and features french clarinetist Blaise Ubaldini and swiss-indian violinist Baiju Bhatt, as well as polish bassist Lukacz and swedish percussionist Fredrik.
