Hey y'all! I hope you guys have had a great week. I know it's been super stressful since finals are coming up soon. Just remember that we are almost halfway through freshman year, stay motivated and work hard!
So I wanted to dig into Arabian instruments, cuisine, and of course... heavy metal!
I started to do some research on Arabian cuisine and found out some super interesting things! Having communal meals is common in Arabian culture. Family and friends eat from a shared dish and they move what pieces of food they want to their "section" of the plate. They also don't usually use utensils which means they eat with their hands (not very covid friendly). There are rules such as only eating/drinking with your right hand and using your thumb and index finger to pick up your mouth.
Families usually return home and eat a communal meal of couscous after attending mosque. They all sit around the table to enjoy couscous, meat, and vegetables. Guests are always offered the best pieces of food from the whole dish.
I wanted to look into the Qanun because I thought it looked pretty cool. It was introduced to Europe in the 12 century and it is a descendant of the Egyptian harp. It has over 81 strings that are attached to the right side along a long bridge which is on skin-covered windows. The strings can be plucked with one or two fingers. Also, the strings are organized into 3 groups (24 chords) which consists of three chords to one notes and there are 8 notes per octave. There are tuning pegs on the left of the bridge. On the left side of the instrument, there is a row of brass levers that change the pitch of the notes. The Qanun is typically played on a table or on the player's knees.
I'm very excited for this section of my blog because I found a super cool band called Kimaera. Kimaera is a death metal band from Lebanon that formed in 2000. Their discography includes aspects of doom metal, death metal, and progressive metal. The first song I heard took me off guard because it starts with the same vocal style of the Arabic music we listened to in class. After a second or two, the instruments come in and the vocalist hits you with some intense screams. I certainly could see myself listening to this while running or something. I highly encourage you guys to listen to it so you can understand what I mean! This band is very successful as they have produced three studio albums and two singles. Their last song was released just a few days ago and it includes beautiful female vocals which is a direct contrast from the dark instrumentals. The song is different from the first one that I came across and is much less intense.
Here is the first song that I came across:
Here is their newest song that was released at the end of last month:
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my blog and have a great weekend!
Sources:
https://arabiconline.eu/eating-practices-in-arab-countries/
https://zawaya.org/site/arabic-instruments/
https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-10-best-metal-bands-from-the-middle-east-chosen-by-kaoteon
Hello, I was very intrigued by your blog. One of the things that I found insteresting was the band called kimdera. At first it started with a smooth instruemtns and then came in the voclist like you mentioned in the last paragraph. Over, it was insteresting to see how death metal bands from Lebaron betray music.
ReplyDeleteHey! I loved how you talked about India Cuisine in your blog. I thought it was interesting how they have communal meals, definitely not covid friendly but they sound like so much fun. It is interesting to me however, that they do not use utensils. But also sounds kind of freeing on the other hand.
ReplyDeleteI loved your blog so much. I've never tried arabic food but i'm not opposed to trying it one day. Personally, I hold a special place in my heart for Indian food. Also, i've never heard of the last band before but it's so cool!!
ReplyDeleteAS always, I really enjoyed reading your blog, and learning new information. Although I have never tried a lot of Arabic food, I had had couscous, which is absolutely amazing. I also love that you find all these amazing heavy metal bands (especially since it is the music you love the most). It always intrigues me and fascinates me because it is unique and absolutely gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to imagine life before covid, but sharing food on the same plate sounds unimaginable right now. The food in the picture looks great! Their heavy metal is surprisingly pretty similar to what I imagine heavy metal is in the U.S.
ReplyDelete