Fawaz Al Olaiwat: Techno DJ in Bahrain
September 28th, 2007For those who haven’t noticed yet, I am a big trance fan. I think local trance and techno DJs are very underrated in the Arab world, which is why I make an effort to seek them out and make others aware of their creative efforts (see: Podcast interview with trance DJ in Saudi Arabia.)
Today I am profiling ‘FawazO,’ a DJ and digital designer who will soon be leading the Electro Orange team.
I first came across Fawaz’ work through his MySpace profile. I only gave it more attention when he contacted our network, encouraged our work and asked if we needed help with anything, which later led him to generously contributing graphic design for us.
Other than working as a DJ, Fawaz spent much of his time on professional design, which eventually landed him a job at an advertising agency in Bahrain.
He graduated from Art Institute International with a degree in visual communication, and he also holds a diploma in technical training. His career skills include graphic design, music production, and photography. In his younger years his main hobbies included reading comics, and he lists Spiderman and Batman as his heroes (not that it’s entirely relevant, I just think it’s cute.)
In his personal bio, Fawaz writes:
My first sign was at the age of 10, when I won my first award for an art piece called “Monsters Cafe” in a U.N International Art Exhibition, held in China. By age eleven, I was a certified Apple user and a year later became the first to teach Canvas 1. I still keep my first Mac LC.
My upbringing gave me the push and encouragement I needed to keep working my brain for more: more color, more texture and more emotions. As I matured with time and with all the events in the world around me, my art started gaining mass and forming shape. With so much to express, I am always looking for new tools, techniques and media with which to express my message. Now that I have the power of the nu-digital age in my hand, my art is projecting my thoughts, experiences, dreams, hopes and imagination. Living my life on an island I’ve grown to love inspires me: the beach, that orange sunset, old textures and the silent desert.
And here’s a description of him and his work at his DJ List profile:
FawazO is one of the rare DJ breeds in the Middle East, a talented Bahraini techno DJ and producer who has a solid passion for music in all its forms. Known for his diverse mixes, funky beats and the pumping sounds of techno, FawazOs production brings together a mix of electro, tech-house, progressive and techno beats, adding samples from speeches, 90s tracks, old Arabic vocals (expressing his roots) and sampled old bahraini drums from the 40’s.
His music is unique and very fascinating, and the best part is that it also has a local touch to it that brings regional listeners back to their roots. One of my favorite tunes by him is “Drama in Manama” -
You can download this song on his MySpace profile.
Fawaz is mainly interested in achieving “all forms of art that inspire a better future.” He released a record label called Teknobasso aimed to facilitate this process of finding and empowering artistic talents in the Middle East:
“With the growing number of musical talent coming out of Bahrain and the Middle East comes a fresh new record label and events’ company promoting techno and all forms of electronic music in Bahrain, the Middle East and the world.”
Fawaz is very talented, inspirational, active, and most importantly he takes a very creative approach to achieving a better future for all of us. He’s doing it through creative art and music, and he’s doing a brilliant job at it.
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How is he compared to Aly & Fila or Ozgur Can?
Much better if you ask me. While Aly & Fila are clearly professional and great, they do not make a good job of adding a local touch to their music. I do not know the difference between their music and the average European trance. They also remix existing trance tunes while Fawaz for the most part creates his own by remixing classic, historical songs.
I love my culture but at the same time I love modern electro music. Fawaz is excellent at making both of these things go hand in hand, which not many people are talented enough to do. I favor him over Aly & Fila any day!
[...] blogger Esra'a interviews Bahraini DJ FawazO. Share [...]
Wonderful post for a wonderful musician! This guy knows how to techno. Loving the music.
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt… tech-house, progressive and techno beats, adding samples from speeches, 90s tracks, old Arabic vocals (expressing his roots) and sampled old bahraini drums from the 40’s. His music is unique and very fascinating, and the best part … [...]
[...] Fawaz Al Olaiwat: Techno DJ in BahrainI first came across Fawaz’ works through his MySpace profile. I only gave it much more attention when he contacted our network and asked if we needed help with anything, which later led him to generously design some graphics for us. … [...]