Balqeis Live

(EG)

Born in Cairo, Balqeis Aboomar - artistically known as BalQeis - is one of the most intriguing figures in the new wave of artists from the Arab world. A virtuoso oud player, composer and multi-instrumentalist, she has made a name for herself over the last decade with a unique career that crosses traditional Middle Eastern music with contemporary languages such as electronica, rock and alternative music. The oud, the instrument of choice in Arabic music, entered BalQeis' life at the age of 12, in a family environment that valued the regional musical heritage. The formal training he received - later consolidated with higher studies at Helwan University - never limited his creative freedom: on the contrary, it paved the way for a hybrid approach, where improvisation, live looping live looping and the exploration of new sound textures became central.

With performances in Egypt and across borders - including the United States, where she took part in the fourth season of the Center Stageprogramme, promoted by the US State Department - BalQeis has been making a name for herself in a variety of contexts, from collaborative experimentalism to the alternative circuit. Among her most notable appearances are the Ramajamproject during Ramadan 2018 and her collaboration with The Meteors Project as part of True Music, crossing future sounds with deep roots. Her work, deeply authorial, is based on an aesthetic that defies categories and boundaries. Live, she combines analogue instruments and real-time recordings, building layered compositions - a performance where tradition and technology intertwine, and where the electric oud emerges as the protagonist of a language in permanent reinvention, as you can clearly see listening to her latest work, ‘Planetary_4.2 (live)’.