The more things change, the more they stay the same! Bereft of his Nubian home by the waters of Aswan dam, master drummer Mahmoud Fadl began digging further into his musical roots. Hypnotic percussion in enchanting full band arrangements – relocated to London and then Berlin. Today he ranks among the most renowned ambassadors of Nubian music both old and new.





In the Aswan Bioscop cinema, a young boy gazes at the flickering monochrome images projecting the magic of the golden age of Egyptian film musicals onto the screen. Born in 1955, Mahmoud is a descendant from a Nubian family rooted in the griot culture of the Battikol people. He grew up in the Egyptian cities of Aswan and Cairo, where he began his musical career as a musician and limbo dancer at Nubian and Arab wedding celebrations. His outstanding talent for percussion soon made him a sought-after musician for top Arab orchestras and singers such as Ahmed Adawia and Nubian soul legend Ali Hassan Kuban.

As a young boy, he picked up the plaintive sounds of a mizmar accompanied by drummers on a street corner, which led him to deepen his musical roots. By absorbing the blockbuster Egyptian movie musicals of the period, he became an admirer of the legendary dancer Samia Gamal and was enchanted by the voices of Farid El Atrache and Umm Kalthum, mixing his Nubian roots music as well as the sound of classical Arabic orchestras.

He later pursued rhythm research in his own Kush Studio, where he recorded and performed with Nubian and Arab musicians alike. During these formative years, he continued to develop his musical skills and launched his own musical projects with the Nubian all-star ensemble Salamat, Arab classical orchestras and the Drummers of the Nile. He developed club mixes for his experimental drum'n'DJ project United Nubians, which led to international recordings, and contributed to the world of Raks Sharki by accompanying and arranging many renowned dancers, as well as leading workshops and seminars.

After several international tours, including guest appearances in Syria, Morocco and Greece, Mahmoud Fadl settled in Europe to develop his own international solo career. The master drummer, who has released four albums with his group Salamat, three with his Drummers of the Nile project and four under his own name still works and travels between Cairo and Berlin.

In addition to his own releases, Mahmoud Fadl has also contributed to albums by The Klezmatics and Maurice el Medioni.

Quite a long way from the boy in the old Aswan cinema who was so enthralled by the golden age of Egyptian musicals - and he's still marching!

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