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Ala Ghawas

Ala Ghawas is an independent musician and singer-songwriter from Bahrain. His music is inspired by several and different musical schools - from traditional Arabic music icons, "Fairouz" and "Khaled Al Sheikh", to poetic folk rock songwriters, "Jackson Brown" and "Bob Dylan", to classic rock music of "Pink Floyd" and "Eagles". Ghawas has written and produced five studio albums in English throughout fifteen years before returning in 2021 to release the sixth album in his career and the first ever in Arabic, "Brouvat Mout".

Biography
  • Born in Bahrain on July 22nd, 1981.

  • Recorded and released his debut EP, "Hums", in 2007 during his time in Boston as a Fulbright Scholar. The release was received positively by the Bahraini media upon his return and then followed by another two critically acclaimed EPs, "Whispers" in 2008 and "Screams" in 2009. After a series of performances in music festivals following his first three EPs, on 19 November 2009, Ghawas performed his first solo concert at the prestigious hall of Shaikh Ebrahim Center in Muharraq. The recordings from the concert were released digitally later in 2011 on iTunes as a live album entitled "Ala Ghawas: Live from Muharraq" and it contains live renditions from Hums.

  • Starting 2011, he spent almost three years writing new songs for his debut LP, "Armor", and partnered with the Bahraini band, ‘Likwid’, for the recording of these songs. He also collaborated with Bahraini composer Mohammed Haddad for arranging live strings sections in 4 songs. The album was released in November 2013. After the release of Armor, the partnership between Ala Ghawas and Likwid took more adventurous grounds with a series of live performances to promote the album in Bahrain, Dubai and Cairo. Later in 2015, Ghawas invited Likwid to record and film a live concert and a documentary at his house and called it "Ala Ghawas & Likwid: Live from Allston". Ghawas named his house "Allston" honoring the small town in the city of Boston where he used to live in 2006 and 2007. The film was produced and directed by Bahraini filmmaker 'Saleh Nass'.

  • Ghawas' 5th studio album is entitled "Tryst" and was released in November 2017. The album was written and produced by Ghawas himself and engineered by Abdulla Jamal for recording/mixing the album. Ghawas had also collaborated with Bahraini artist Abbas Almosawi to paint the cover artwork of the album. In 2019, Ghawas filmed and recorded his third live album entitled "Ala Ghawas: Live from Grace" and it featured performances from his friends and frequent collaborators Ahmed Alqasim, Fawaz Alshaikh, Ali Alqaseer, Abdulla Haji, Isa Najem, Eman Haddad and Hassan Haddad. The album contained 12 original renditions of songs written by Ala Ghawas from his previous studio releases.

  • During Covid 19, Ghawas surprised his fanbase with a series of social media posts showcasing his interest in rediscovering one of his childhood heroes, Bahraini renowned musician and singer Khaled El Sheikh. The interest became prominent when Ghawas officially covered and released one of Khaled's most loved songs "Makan Amen Lelhob". On 24 November 2021, Ghawas released his 6th studio album and the first ever in Arabic, entitled "Brouvat Mout". The album is highly regarded as the most significant accomplishment of his music career. "Brouvat Mout" was written by Ala Ghawas and co-produced by Bahraini musician, Isa Najem. On 21 February 2022, he was invited by the Bahraini Authority for Culture & Antiquities to perform a concert at the prestigious Spring of Culture festival. The concert was received well and later released as a live album "Ala Ghawas: Live from Spring of Culture".

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Discography

  1. 2007 Hums (EP)

  2. 2008 Whispers (EP)

  3. 2009 Whispers (EP)

  4. 2011 Live from Muharraq (LIVE)

  5. 2013 Armor (LP)

  6. 2015 Live from Allston (LIVE)

  7. 2017 Tryst (LP)

  8. 2019 Live from Grace (LIVE)

  9. 2020 Makan Amen Lilhob (SINGLE)

  10. 2021 Brouvat Mout (LP)

  11. 2023 Live from Spring of Culture (LIVE)

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