Overview
Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation, PRAED Orchestra!’s debut album ‘Live in Sharjah’ is available at Sharjah Art Shops located across Al Mureijah Square, Arts Square and The Flying Saucer as well as online via Morphine Records. The vinyl record preserves the band’s major 2018 performance of the same title that took place in Calligraphy Square in Sharjah’s heritage area. The live performance drew large crowds to the outdoor venue and was the culmination of PRAED Orchestra!’s residency at the Foundation during which the band members rehearsed intensely over multiple days.
Helmed by Paed Conca and Raed Yassin, PRAED Orchestra! is the duo’s most ambitious endeavour to date and features a musically diverse 13-piece jazz outfit whose full roster includes Alan Bishop, Nadah El Shazly, Christine Kazarian, Hans Kock, Martin Küchen, Maurice Louca, Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, Sam Shalabi, Ute Wassermann, Khaled Yassine and Michael Zerang.
An exploration of the cultural significance of shaabi musical genre, PRAED Orchestra’s ‘Live in Sharjah’ project engaged with contemporary discourse on the Middle East through critical, innovative and genre-defying sonic and compositional experimentation. The work expands on their research into the traditional music form by introducing elements of psychedelic rock, avant-jazz and free jazz, electronica and opera, and collaborations with regional talents.
Through the production of this record, Sharjah Art Foundation continues its support of PRAED Orchestra! and offers audiences in the region and beyond an opportunity to experience the project through the album’s triple LP and its rich accompanying materials. ‘Live in Sharjah’, released via Morphine Records, Berlin, is the second musical album commissioned by the Foundation. Neo Muyanga’s Sharjah Biennial 14 live performance ‘house of MAKEdba’, which activated the artist’s installation in the Foundation’s Al Hamriyah Studios in March 2019, was released as a vinyl album with the same title in early 2020.