Egyptian Indie-Rock Band Hawas Returns With ‘Sindbad’

Since coming together in 2014, Egyptian band Hawas has made a lot of noise with their funky approach to alternative and indie music, combining sounds from jazz and blues with local artistic heritage by using instruments such as the oud.

After going off grid for nearly a year, the eight rock rousers are now returning with a new single, titled ‘Sinbad’. The track’s politically-charged lyricism is based on the words of Elfagumi, aka the late legendary Egyptian vernacular poet and activist Ahmed Fouad Negm. 

With their penchant for always reinventing their musical style, the band takes a decidedly different approach in ‘Sindbad’, one that is firmly rooted in the intersection of alternative rock and blues. The song kicks off with a mellow, hypnotic hush accompanied by a soulful piano melody, before swiftly turning into a cacophony of pulsing percussion and growling guitar while the lead singer’s voice sits just atop, mirroring the illustrative driving force of Fouad Negm’s words.