The month of March was a very productive and enlightening one for Aly Eissa, Oud player from Egypt, who was selected to spend 4 weeks in Bern, Switzerland as part of the B&B x Prozess residencies.
A dentist by education and profession, Aly Eissa has been pursuing his passion for composing and playing music his whole life. He started learning to play the Oud in 2007. In 2012, Eissa performed his original compositions live for the first time. Since then, he has collaborated with tens of musicians in the independent music scene in Cairo, regularly performing Aly Eissa Trio and Aly Eissa Quartet projects to audiences of up to 300 people. As an Oud virtuoso, he is a member of Egyptian music legend Abdo Dagher’s ensemble, as well as Dagher’s assistant instructor in his class at the Arabic Music Institute. He regularly collaborates with fellow musicians of his generation, inviting them to bring in their own musical influences and personal taste along with their instruments.
His love for collaborations was well-nurtured during his residency as he kept a busy schedule meeting local musicians and connecting with them, planning next steps and talking about potential collaborations. In that same spirit, Aly was craving to perform live, as much as possible, and he managed to do two live improv shows; one with visiting Lebanese musician Akram Hajj, and another with Bern-based renowned Egyptian keyboardist Adham Zidan (from Baskot Lel Baltageyya).
All in all, his time in Switzerland was well-spent between composing new material for songs and instrumental compositions, disconnecting from the distractions of daily life and focusing on music, networking, and experiencing performing live in front of a new audience.
B&B x Prozess Residencies Aly Eissa -1
B&B x Prozess Residencies Aly Eissa -2
