Biography
Born in Benghazi, Libya, Hamid El Shari first trained in aviation while in England and later took up music studies in Cairo. He made Egypt his permanent home in 1974 once he had seen Colonel Gadaffi stage a public burning of Western musical instruments. Fleeing the regime’s rejection of contemporary culture, he gradually established himself as the principal advocate for Al-jil—Egypt’s Western-inflected synthesizer pop, also called generation music. Rather than a straightforward transplant of outside styles, Al-jil merges sampled and synthesized textures into dance-oriented tracks that remain anchored by characteristically Middle Eastern melodies. The 1988 hit single “Lolaiki,” which he recorded with Ali Hamaida, is reported to have sold more than a million cassettes between 1988 and 1899. Although cultural authorities continue to dismiss Al-jil, the genre sustains a broad and lasting audience.
Albums
Singles
