Support The Band Overcoming Visa + Border Restrictions!

If all goes to plan and you are online, tomorrow at noontime, you will be hit by a cyber thunderclap to support the efforts of the 47Soul band. With tweets popping up and Facebook updates, as well as Tumblr alerts, you will be invited to help launch the new sound of Bilad al-Sham and support the #Shamstep.

If you haven’t already been exposed to the young energetic 47Soul musical formation, then be prepared for marvel and surprise once you listen to them on Youtube or Soundcloud. Better yet, make sure to attend a concert as they are currently taking the London underground music scene by storm. They have amassed thousands of fans throughout the Middle East and Europe in the past two years and are still going strong.

The four artists, who are all originally Palestinian, have already had to overcome visa and border restrictions to be able to work together. The first time they performed as one was at the Blue Fig in Amman, Jordan in 2013. There they succeeded with their experimental hypnotic sound that now Glastonbury and WOMAD 2015 want a bit of them, as they guarantee to get the crowds dancing in whichever style of dance they like, although preferably the dabke.

Each one of them had been a solo musician before they all got to know one another via Youtube and word of mouth on the alternative Arabic music scene that is itself breaking boundaries. Their real and stage names are: Walaa Sbait, 28 from Palestine; Z the People (real name Ramzy Suleiman) who is also 28, born in the United States and of Palestinian origin; El Far3i (real name Tareq Abu Kwaik) who is 31 from Amman with Palestinian origin; and, El Jehaz (real name Hamza Arnaout) who is 32 and also from Amman of Palestinian origin.

Onstage the 47Soul magic mix combines the spontaneous charisma of all four as they play the electric Arabic dabke sound that is always hyped up with analogue synthesizers, hypnotic guitar lines and strong political lyrics in English and Arabic. Their message is for the celebration of life, the struggle for freedom and the desire for peace inside Bilad Al-Sham and throughout the world. One of their most popular songs is ‘Every Land Medley’.

In London they have already performed at venues like Rich Mix, The Flyover in Portobello, Passing Clouds, and The Elgin at Notting Hill Gate. They hope to next perform at Koko’s in Camden, where the space can hold up to 2,000 people, so that there will be lots of space for dancing and dabke for those who know the steps!

47Soul have also taken part in the Wilderness Festival at Oxfordshire, the Secret Garden Party, as well as concerts in Bristol, South Devon and other UK cities. Outside the UK, they have been in Jordan, Egypt and Belgium. Their fan base however extends even to South America and the Caribbean.

At the present moment they need our crowd support to utilise their time together in London by producing a debut record that encapsulates all the songs they have been performing, as well as new material they are working on. If the campaign succeeds, they will do the recording at the Soup Studio, where they can record on analogue equipment for the best real sound. At present, they are on artist visas and have a booking agent, the ‘Diplomats of Sound’.

The online campaign is being done via the Zoomaal crowd-raising platform and the deadline is 20 April, 2015. The funds gathered are to cover the costs for the recording, sound engineering, mastering, design and manufacturing CDs, vinyl and the rewards for those who donate online.

If you need any more convincing, this is what they have said: “We are not just asking you to contribute to this campaign. We want you to own this music with us! We want the Shamstep to be something that gives you pride to blast full volume out of your speakers and car stereos. Your support means more dabke for the world and less culture-erasing! It means that music is bigger than borders and that music is made to be shared . Your support is as important as the opportunities awaiting us!”

To support them: http://www.zoomaal.com/projects/47soulshamstep/3835?ref=167690414

For more information on 47Soul and their gigs: http://47soul.com/

Note: This article was first published circa April 2015