Legendary singer Fairouz is reissuing one of her most celebrated albums, Kifak Inta (How Are You?), as a vinyl for the first time since its release in 1991 on cassette and CD.
Kifak Inta is Fairouz’s 13th studio album, produced by her son Ziad Rahbani, who had already produced two of her other popular albums, Wahdon in 1979 and Maarifti Feek in 1987.
The album's success and its unique sound modernised Fairouz's reputation, as she initially rose to fame for her patriotic songs and folklore-influenced music.
The vinyl, which is set for release in November through Wewantsounds, has been remastered by ColorSound Studio Mastering in Paris and includes liner notes from Mario Choueiry of the Institut du Monde Arabe, who curated the album.
Known as the soul of Lebanon, Fairouz has released 21 studio albums throughout a career that has spanned six decades.
She began her musical career as a teenager, singing as a chorus member at Lebanon’s national radio station in the late 1940s. There, she was introduced to the Rahbani brothers, Assi and Mansour, whom she started working with. The Rahbani brothers started to compose songs for her and were instrumental in the growth and longevity of Fairouz's career.
Her first hit, Itab (Ask), produced by the Rahbani brothers, was released in 1952 and catapulted her to instant fame.
Since then, Fairouz has recorded more than 1,500 songs and released more than 80 albums, which have included live concert recordings and soundtracks for some of the 20 musicals she's been in.
She's also toured internationally and sold more than 150 million records worldwide, becoming the highest-selling Middle Eastern artist of all time and one of the best-selling artists in the world.
Kifak Inta will be released on vinyl on November 4 and is available for pre-order from the Wewantsounds website
Naga
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
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