Lysander
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Four musicians
Does anyone know anything about Mohamed Amjad, Naser Omar, Abdullah Asad, Abood Ayman? They are all oud players on a VA album, but I can't find any
information on them anyway. Not their nationality, nothing. It's very strange. Even the label, Culture Music, comes up with nothing.
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Lysander
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I'm adding to this again in the hope of getting this query some attention. I'm surprised, given the knowledgeable demographic of this forum, that
no-one has heard of these four gentlemen. I'm almost starting to think that their names are fictional.
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Brian Prunka
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I've never heard of any of them.
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Jody Stecher
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What is the name of the album? What sort of music do the Mystery Oudists play? Is it solo? Taqsim? Samai? Jazz? Oud Hip Hop? Does their playing
resemble anyone else"s?
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SamirCanada
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what's VA?
@samiroud Instagram
samiroudmaker@gmail.com
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Jody Stecher
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Good morning, Samir! It's usually the abbreviation of the state of Virginia. (As in Richmond, VA). It also is the initials of Virgin Airlines (fresh
in my mind because I was on a VA flight yesterday). It also stands for Veterans Administration. There is a VA hospital near my home. But I think in
this context it probably stands for "Various Artists". It must be a British thing as I've never heard of VA in Canada or the US.
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SamirCanada
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hehe Jody you crack me up,
we have Veterans Affairs in Canada which is a sometimes much maligned gvt Department to "support" veterans.
I don't know these various artists either 
@samiroud Instagram
samiroudmaker@gmail.com
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Alfaraby
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Not a word in Arabic on the net about these gentlemen !
I only found a clip of the circumcision of a newly born baby caled Abdallah Asad, which I assume is not what we are looking for.
There are hundreds of oud players around the world whom none of us has ever heard of any of them.
In my own hometown there are probably some I haven't heard or heard of.
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
alfarabymusic@gmail.com
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Lysander
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Thanks for the responses, that was great. Here is the album:
https://itunes.apple.com/tm/album/oud-anthology/id927093748
The whole thing is also available on Spotify if that's your bag.
All taqsim style. Some of the tracks don't even list the maqam, they're just listed as Oud Solo 1, 2, 3 etc.
Here's a clip I found on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_GQEmMAyKQ
The uploader of the above video is given as "Various Artists - Topic". Which must be just the placeholder name that they didn't bother changing.
Apparently I am the first person to visit that link in the fortnight since it was uploaded.
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Alfaraby
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The youtube link says: "This video is not available, sorry about that."
What if one does not have an account in itunes ? Is there a way to upload some samples of the work here, not via a link ?
Thanks again
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
alfarabymusic@gmail.com
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Lysander
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I did something naughty and recorded a track through Audacity. This is the first track by Naser Omar, just called Oud Taqasim.
I put it on Soundcloud because I know people have been able to access that from here before with no trouble. I'm not sure how to upload the file
directly to here.
If Soundcloud want to slap my wrists, fine. Someone has to promote this material, when neither the label seems to exist nor the artists are known.
https://soundcloud.com/lysander-1/naser-omar-oud-taqasim/s-eVChw
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Alfaraby
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No wonder no one have heard of 
Cheers
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
alfarabymusic@gmail.com
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Lysander
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Ah, what don't you like about it? Granted he's not Omar Bashir or Naseer Shamma but it's still quite decent, isn't it?
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Jody Stecher
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Quote: Originally posted by Lysander  | | Ah, what don't you like about it? Granted he's not Omar Bashir or Naseer Shamma but it's still quite decent, isn't it? |
There may be and will be differing opinions about the musical content and overall musicality. What is indisputable is the fact that this is an oud
that has not been tuned.
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oudistcamp
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Is the oud not tuned, or is the oud player not in tune....I wonder....?
Really painful...
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Lysander
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Now that you come to mention it, I do notice something amiss there...
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Jody Stecher
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As it is not for me to "second-guess" the intentions of a fellow musician on a public forum, I did not comment on the performance, which, in my
opinion, is rough. But each pair of strings is tuned a long way from unison. That is what I meant by the oud not being tuned. This means that every
note that is played is played at two different pitches. This includes open strings where there is no chance for mis-fingering.
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SamirCanada
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I didn't find it as unpleasant as others here, some interesting modulations but its not a very accomplished professional player rather someone still
learning their craft.
But really it appears a low budget recording made in one take with too much reverb. There are mistakes and it makes it sounds more like a practice
take than something that should be published.
Also there are several non-professional oud players on these forums that are more accomplished
@samiroud Instagram
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Giorgioud
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I like them. They have a rough and ready style I greatly favor. I can hear a personal, distinctive style, that I truly appreciate. And in any case, at
least they managed to get something out there on record.....which is great for them and for whoever likes this kind of oudism. There's also to
consider the important matter that, for most of the time, as Samir rightly pointed out, these recordings are done on a budget: more often than not, a
tiny one. Mistakes happen, and there's simply no time to correct them. You might say: so why put it out? Would you turn down an offer to have your
record out there just because the recording didn't go as smoothly as planned? I found the performances highly charming......
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Lysander
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Giorgioud, thank you so much for your comment on this. I still find the recording enjoyable, though when I read some of the comments here I thought I
"shouldn't" like it because it wasn't professional enough. There are mistakes made, and to some listeners here they are unlistenable [and unignorable
out of unison strings] but I still enjoy it. Maybe my ear is not as attuned as some of those here, but I still like this humble record.
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