It doesn’t matter how many flyers or Facebook notifications are posted, 47Soul fans know the gig is only confirmed by the band members themselves. It normally comes within a day or two of the performance after the band post the anticipated picture confirming they passed immigration.
In addition to causing promoters ulcers, such situations are sadly the norm for the Palestinian quartet.
Due to population displacement, none of the band have a permit to reside in their homelands and have instead fled to grow up in various countries ranging from Jordan to the US.
With the band now based in London, 47Soul's energetic and futuristic brand of electro-dabke is garnering an increasing number of fans and has resulted in some spectacular festival gigs including a heroic performance as part of the Glastonbury and Womad festival in the UK in 2015 and 2016.
"Movement is an issue for us," admits vocalist and percussionist Tareq Abu Kwaik, who is also known as El Far3i. "It's not simple generally, let alone for a band. For example, right now I can tell you for sure that we can't accept any offers to tour late next year. Because that's when we have to renew our visas and of course that takes time. So if an amazing offer comes, we would have to turn it down and that's frustrating. But we are here now and that's the main thing."
I am talking to three out of the four members (Hamza Arnaout was unfortunately unavailable) in the comfortable green room in the New York University Abu Dhabi's Arts Centre, only a few metres away from the Red Theatre, where the band delivered a blistering show last Wednesday as part of the second Al Barzakh Festival.
Despite the big gigs performed across Europe, South America and an emotional 2016 tour of Palestine, Abu Kwaik says the Abu Dhabi date is a milestone for the band.
“It’s the first time we play in the Gulf and for us we feel it’s about time,” he says.
"There are so many places we want to perform here, places like Bahrain or go even further to somewhere like Sudan. I can't wait for us to engage more with the crowd here."
And they definitely have the tunes to back it up.
Last month, 47Soul released Balfron Promise, their assured second album, which is full of their dabke hoedowns and socially conscious lyrics highlighting the plight of refugees.
The album comes on the back of their 2015 crowdfunded debut Shamstep, which introduced them to an unsuspecting public and launched them into a seemingly neverending world tour.
With the band renowned for their electric live performances, 47Soul had the challenge of transferring that stage energy to the recording studio.
That was pretty arduous task for frontman Walaa Sbeit, who as the Abu Dhabi crowd witnessed is a marauding figure on stage as he engages in various traditional dances that can be seen in Palestinian street weddings.
“While that is difficult, I think the bigger challenge with an album is people may not understand what the music is about,” he says. “I don’t know whether we intended that on purpose, but people associate our music with wedding culture in Palestine, and with that comes celebration and big street parties.
“That’s what people see when they hear us live. I jump around a lot on stage, I dance and move so without people seeing that they may not get the full picture.”
Then again, listening to the band without context can also glean some revelations. The western press has praised the sheer urgency of the group and described their riot of electro beats, thumping percussions and passionate vocals in various terms ranging from punk to fusion.
While content to allow the public and press to make what they will of their sounds, the soft-spoken keyboardist Ramzy Suleiman, who grew up in Washington, DC, is weary of the tendency to overanalyse.
“Sometimes, they go a bit too far,” he says, “They would go on and say that our music is some tripped-out acid house music, which is probably the worst description.
“We can’t stop people expressing their views, of course, but we are seeing more people now having at least a basic understanding of what we are about.”
Most of the time, that is achieved through the group’s strident lyrics. With an equal mix of Arabic and English, the group’s effervescent arrangements rub up against words that are fierce and uncompromising.
Formed in 2015 in Jordan, all the band's members are songwriters in their own right and hailed from relatively successful groups; Abu Kwaik was a member of the Jordanian rockers El Morabba3, while Arnaout was with friendly rivals Autostrad, Suleiman had an electronic music alter-ego Z the People, while Sbeit also sings lead vocals for Palestine's Ministry of Dub Key.
“We were a collective first, and then 47Soul grew bigger than what we expected,” Abu Kwaik says.
Considering all the talent on offer, Sbeit says there is a system in place to ensure all creative voices are heard: “Normally a person comes with a specific idea and we work on it together. We channel all our thoughts and ideas through that one person.”
___________________
Read more:
Barzakh Festival: Batida brings Angola's vintage sounds to the masses
Barzakh Festival: punk band The Ex revel in Ethiopian music rhythms
Wasla music festival: Autostrad explain the Jordanian music ethos
___________________
Abu Kwaik agrees: “In a way, that person becomes the chief song-officer. They are in charge of seeing it through from the arrangements to the lyrics, which to us are very important.”
Over bubbly synths and reggae-inflected riffs of Move Around, Sbeit almost barks lyrics of the displaced: "My people moved around/ More people moved around/ My people move around/ Before we all get moved around."
While the dramatic Mo Light has a thrilling mid-section breakdown of tumbling darbuka drumming and buzzsaw synths, Suleiman delivers some fierce raps proclaiming: This is really from the Nazareth/ I know you must have heard about it/ As a matter of fact they're really classist/ making money off the passion.
The track is the best distillation of the album's central theme, which is of the dangers of gentrification. Upon moving to London, the group lived together in Balfron Tower, which was eventually sold off to developers and left its tenants to seek accommodation elsewhere.
For the band, the parallels between the Israeli occupation and modern-day gentrification were too close not to notice.
"It is another form of modern occupation," Abu Kwaik says, adding that the album's title is a sly wink to the Balfour Promise, the 1917 declaration establishing the state of Israel and in turn uprooting Palestinians from their land.
“The problem lies in this idea that developers think that we people – these refugees – who live in that tower are irrelevant and they mean nothing. It happens a lot.
“It’s like you want to build a mall, and then you leave this area where people live untouched, knowing that if needed you will just tell these people who live there and made plans there to basically get lost. To me, that’s the story of Palestine.”
Balfron Promise is out and can be heard on online streaming services
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
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'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
T10 Cricket League
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
December 14- 17
6pm, Opening ceremony, followed by:
Bengal Tigers v Kerala Kings
Maratha Arabians v Pakhtoons
Tickets available online at q-tickets.com/t10
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
MATCH INFO
Champions League last 16, first leg
Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Read more about the coronavirus
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
Five personal finance podcasts from The National
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Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
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What is a portfolio stress test?
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What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
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How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
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Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
The five pillars of Islam
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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