Success stories of Palestinian achievers from all over the world

Suwwan

Personal Info

  • Country of residence: Palestine
  • Gender: Male
  • Age: 0
  • Curriculum vitae :

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When Suwwan started producing its first music project, the group’s mixture of old and young members triggered an atmosphere of effervescent exploration. This process lead to both laughter and frustration, but that never hindered their hard work. Vreij brought his joyful drumming, while Fredo contributed his precise guitar playing and Ibrahim added exotic touches on the bass. They were joined by Fadi, who is a passionate keyboardist, and Carine, the youngest in the group, who added her strong, expressive voice. All these elements came together to make Suwwan.

The Suwwan musical group includes three members who represent a link in the broken development of modern music in Palestine, having performed both before and after the first Intifada. Fredrick Hazou, nicknamed Fredo, Ibrahim Mourad, and Vreij Najarian lived through the dawn of modern music in central Palestine. Growing up in the sixties, they watched many prominent Palestinian bands perform and dreamt of performing on stage and having their own fans. In the early seventies, Fredo and Ibrahim started pursuing their dream when they established the famed Silver Stones at the De La Salle Frere School. They started the band in their early teens and kept it going for 16 consecutive years. Vreij was an exceptional drummer and was well-known for his unique style and powerful rhythms.

Unexpectedly, in 1988, most bands stopped performing to mourn the Palestinian martyrs killed by the Israeli military during the first Intifada. That was when music development in Palestine halted for a long time. It was unfortunate for many young musicians who did not have the privilege of watching the performances of elder musicians. They missed the rich presence of musicians whom they might have wished to emulate. 

In 2005 the three members mentioned above started performing again with yet another special musical band called Shibat, also based at the Frere School. Shibat performed Christmas concerts and most of their songs were sung in English in a “rock ‘n’ carol” style of their own innovation. In 2009, Carine Koussa joined Shibat as a guest singer, astonishing the audience and the band members alike with her strong, clear voice. 

Fredo, seeing a great future for Carine, suggested in 2011 that they start a new band in which she would be the lead singer and Fadi Stiban, one of his best students, would be the keyboardist. Vreij and Ibrahim willingly joined, and the latter wanted the new band to write its own songs in Arabic, which the rest of the group embraced with an open heart. Suwwan started practicing at the Frere School in late 2011 with a surprising number of original songs written and composed by Fredo, Ibrahim, and Fadi.

Suwwan’s first concert was recorded live on July 13 without any automatic tuners or sequencers with the help of Zaki F. Hazou. The band is left with the following questions: Can Suwwan’s new and original style of music penetrate the hearts of our people? Will Palestinian musical critics comment? Can Suwwan have a tangible role in the development of Palestinian music? To have the answers to all those questions, Suwwan hopes to have its live recordings broadcasted in the Palestinian media and would like to have feedback from listeners on their production.


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