The independent Lebanese four-piece band are gracing K-town with their presence and awaited performance! Adonis have thus far released four studio albums, starting with their pop-folk hymn debut single, “Stouh Adonis”. Gio, Joey, Nicola, and Anthony will be performing live at Not Necessarily Famous’s (NNF) second anniversary in Dar Al Athar, Yarmouk on November 30th. We spoke to singer and pianist Anthony to learn more about Adonis, their beginning, and how they became the band they are today!
How did your musical journey begin?
It all started in 2011 when Joey and I met at the American University of Beirut and realized that we were the only two people in our class that listen to Arabic music. While the other kids of our generation were obsessing over Coldplay or Muse, we became friends and would spend hours learning and playing old Melhem Barakat or Ziad Rahbani songs we dug up.
At the time, it was common for local bands to sing in English, the idea of creating a band that would write and sing in Arabic was almost unheard of. Once Nicola and two other members joined, we started writing and releasing songs online, and got immediately noticed. We were initially a six-member group, but along the way some of our bandmates had to quit, as they were traveling to study or work abroad. Gio joined us in 2015, and that’s how we reached our current four-piece formation.
What and who inspires your music the most?
We have extremely different musical tastes within the band. At first this was a source of conflict, but eventually we learned to harness this divergence as a strength, by making it a point, whenever we’re working on a song, to bring all our influences to the table, and see how they can fit together. Like all artists, we’re also inspired by everything we are exposed to in our daily life, people’s stories, movies we see, the news, personal struggles, etc.
What are some of the hardest challenges that you have faced so far in your musical journey?
Being an artist in the Middle East comes with a pre-set package of social and political challenges. In our early days, the format of a band, as opposed to that of a solo artist, within the sphere of pop music, was not easy to digest by our local music industry, and by the Arab audience in general. But that has changed over the last couple of years, probably due to the success that independent pop/rock bands are starting to achieve in the region.
How has the Middle Eastern world reacted to your sound?
Often with kindness and generosity, sometimes with skepticism, sometimes with curiosity.
What would you like to see more of in the music world?
Freedom of expression.
What are some of your favorite tracks that you’ve worked on, and why?
We enjoyed the process of working on “Shayef”, as we had a lot of time to develop this track, and therefore, the possibility to explore different directions and arrangements before settling on the final one. The song had three different choruses that we had the time to hear over and over again, until we chose the chorus that works the most. We wish we had as much time to work on our songs, but, most of the time, we’re constrained by limited studio hours and tough deadlines.
How has NNF helped in spreading your music within the GCC area?
While we are familiar with the Lebanese, Egyptian and Jordanian audiences and music scenes, the GCC countries (besides Dubai, where we regularly perform), are still a new playground for us. NNF is giving us the chance to play music to the Kuwaiti audience for the first time within amazing production standards.
What are you looking forward to the most about your upcoming visit to Kuwait?
Like with every new country we visit, we are excited about meeting new people and learning about their culture. On a personal level, I’m very passionate about buildings and construction, and we often hear that Kuwait has some of the most state-of-the-art and experimental architecture in the region, so I’m looking forward to seeing that.
What would you like to accomplish in the future?
We would like to see our music making a real change in our country, and make the lives of its people better.
What advice would give to fellow aspiring musicians?
It might come off as a strange advice, coming from a musician, but it’s awfully true: it’s never just about the music. The moment you want to share your songs with the world, the process of creating music becomes that of crafting an entire human experience. If what you represent, how you look, how you speak, your colors and visuals, even your friends, are consistent with your sound, you will naturally feel people drawn to your music.
We can’t wait to see the band perform live for the first time in Kuwait, especially their beautiful track “La Bel Haki” from their 2017 album Nour. Show your support and purchase your tickets from eventat or Jobedu’s store at 8 Mall.
For more information, follow @adonisband on Instagram, YouTube, Anghami, Spotify and Facebook. Featured image courtesy of Adonis.
