Egypt’s Almena win Aloft Star 2018
The sixmember group will record a single at the iconic Abbey Road Studios
Egyptian group Almena have been crowned the winners of the Project: Aloft Star UAE competition, after months of going up against other regional artists — though all is not lost for their competitors.
Almena beat out three other finalists, which included the Emirati-Honduran singer Fafa, Lebanese singer Jay Abo and Saudi rap artist Molham, all of whom are currently finalists in another regional talent search titled Yasalam Emerging Talent Competition.
But Almena’s high-energy music set them apart this time. With their big personalities and sense of humour, the sixmember band have signed to Universal Music Group Mena. As the winners, they will record a single at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London and release it digitally worldwide.
WHO ARE ALMENA?
Almena, whose name is the Arabic word for ‘port’, formed in 2015 in Egypt. Their musical identity is based on experimenting with multiple genres and mixing jazz, hip-hop, reggae and blues with their traditional Alexandrian flare. Their mission statement involves advancing contemporary Egyptian music to new realms. “Pleased and honoured to be the winners of Project: Aloft Star UAE 2018. The journey begins now,” the group said after their win earlier this month.
They also thanked their fans, adding that they would be nowhere without their support.
Almena are active on social media, with upwards of 14,000 followers on Facebook, and have already released original music online. In September, they debuted the upbeat single Saheb in collaboration with Ahmad Bahaa, a member of the fellow Egyptian group Sharmoofers.
“The competition experience throughout was important to all of us and unlike any other projects we had. It was so exciting to compete with
[more than] 200 amazing musicians and bands from across the Mena region and reach the finals and end up winning the title, it’s like a dream to us. Working hard and being determined to present the best are key elements to any success,” said oud player Adham Al Habashy.
Almena is one of many fusion bands emerging in the Middle East. They create a distinct blend of sounds by layering Eastern and Western instruments, with vocalist Youssef Nour on the trumpet, Al Habashy on the oud, Mohammad Affara on lead guitar, Ahmad Abd Elrasoul on bass guitar, Omar Aly Abdou on keyboard and John Sadek beat boxing.
TALENT HUNT
UAE-based R’n’B singer Stephon LaMar, who originally hails from North Carolina, was last year’s Project: Aloft Star UAE winner. The American artist released the track Love on the Internet, along with an accompanying music video, after his win.
The competition kicked off on September 18 this year. It was open to all unsigned artists above the age of 21, who had to submit a short biography and a video of themselves performing an original song to be considered.
In the final stages, shortlisted artists were mentored by figures in the music industry, including Lebanese singer Anthony Touma, UAE-based DJ and producer Shaun Warner, Re-volt magazine founder Big Hass and Anghami’s Mark Shakedown.