I remember I managed to get hold of one single mix cassette for a while that contained few songs of the band but doesn’t include the one song the whole country was talking about in the summer of 1991-”Elbareha”. I had to beg my dad to take me to the music store to buy my own original cassette album for this song. And there it was, the first music album I have ever owned, a classic 1991′s production: “Elbareha” by Alekhwa.

Then a year later, my parents got me my first electric piano and the first song I have ever taught myself to play was also “Elbareha”, and that allowed this tune to be scared on my heart everlastingly.

Nowadays, with the tragedy of Ali’s death fresh in my mind, it’s impossible to listen to “Elbareha” and the other essential cuts of Alekhwa and not get swept up in their transporting purity and recall all ny childhood and teenage memories. Those memories remained because they were burned into my collective consciousness with a soundtrack from the band-as the unprecedented Bahrain outpouring of grief illustrates, there’s not a soul alive from my generation that hasn’t been touched by the voice of Ali Bahar. And it made me realize that we have no musician that speaks to all of us and that we haven’t for sometime now.

At his best and at his worst, with respect, gratitude and love, I owe this to Ali… He’ll always be with me.

Ala Ghawas, July 16, 2011

In these dark days where future is gloomy, I hang on to my certainties.

Mohammed and Maysam as a married couple, as lovebirds and mostly as my best friends brought the colors back to my life once when it was completely dark. They became a certainty for me…
This song was actually a demo that took me about 2 hours to write and record back in the winter of 2009, inspired by the European city that represents the centre of Mohammed and Maysam’s love story… “Edinburgh”. And I struggled for months to find a way to finish it and include it in an album that would fit it. But now I decided to abandon it and release it as it was 2 years ago, with all the vibes that it originally contained, with all the recording noise and the raw guitar, just to be reminded of the goodness in life through the vibes of Mohammed and Maysam.

This song is a tribute for their love story and a tribute for a certainty of my own.

Enjoy,
Ala

Download “All The Way Down To Edinburgh”

“Live in Muharraq” showcases Ala’s ability as a stage performer after obtaining his reputation as a successful studio singer and songwriter. Featuring the most compelling cuts from his trilogy Hums, Whispers & Screams, Ala once again bridges his obvious love affair with American folk/rock music with his Bahraini roots and influences in a very slick arrangement of instruments. The album also features his signature covers from his direct influences like Elliott Smith’s “Between The Bars” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” based on Jeff Buckley’s cover.

Album available on CDbaby, Amazon and iTunes.