Yosra el Hawary – “El sour,” Egyptian Accordion Commentary

Egypt’s Yosra el Hawary made an accordion home video (“El-Sour,” The Wall) at the site of recent political events – then a hundred thousand people watched.

Excerpts from a story at AhramOnline:

“My photographer friend Sara… and I went to the “Great Wall” of Mohamed Mahmoud at 6 am, and started playing music, singing and climbing on and off the wall,” she says. “Young children joined us and there we made a music video,” she states.

With her minimal video editing, El-Hawary finished “El-Sour” and posted it on YouTube at night. “I woke up the next morning with tons of emails, messages, and comments,” she tells Ahram Online.

The song was a great success, El-Hawary was even more known; yet there were some harsh comments on her choice of wordings. “I know, some did not expect me to be that explicit with my wordings but I don’t see any harm,” she states clearly.

In El Sour, the young singer recalls the incident of the army soldier who peed on protestors standing atop the wall at Mohamed Mahmoud Street. The incident was broadcast on national television.

 “…books are not a particularly effective medium…”

[AccUprising: But then you add an accordion….]

“I guess it is because of our society… Egyptians are in shock when these words coming from a young female in a song,” she believes. Originally, “El-Sour” was written by one of El-Hawary’s friends and a well-known poet Waleed Taher, who had published this piece among many others in his book. “There was no criticism there and in addition to him being a man, books are not a particularly effective medium,” El-Hawary speculates.

El Sour is one among 11 other songs El-Hawary had previously recorded and broadcast over the internet. With a growing number of fans, people started searching for more and they found some others of her other songs that today are increasingly popular.

[AccUprising: It’s impressive what you can do with a few notes and laughter, even if I don’t get the jokes.]

For most, El-Hawary is considered a monologist who sings witty as well as soothing songs. Whether you like her or do not, El-Hawary is making a mark on the music scene today as her songs tell stories and somewhat mock Egyptians socially and politically.

“I am happy to be presenting something different to the public. My songs are entirely based on daily situations, in which I criticise us Egyptians and I believe this is what makes them likable,” she says.

The multi-talented Yosra El-Hawary, who still remains a freelance marketing and advertising specialist “to make money” as she puts it, definitely presents a new vibe and style within the music industry with a lot to offer. “But I don’t intend on becoming commercial… People knew me on the Internet without any limitations or censorship and I am determined to continue this way no matter what,” El-Hawary affirms.