Fajr is the Arabic word for dawn, and the Cairo progressive rock band that took the name is introducing itself with a debut single, “فوق” (Fou2) – The Awakening, out November 11th. “Fou2” means “wake up” in Egyptian Arabic, and the song is meant as a wake-up call to anyone who has sunk so deep into a dark place that they stopped trying to climb out. It captures the moment of realisation, when you see where you are and decide to rise. The band says it was born from a simple need: the music its members were looking for didn’t exist in their language.
The atmosphere and production here is very modern; I enjoyed the sound design of the ambient layers. The upfront layers, like the bass and drums and tight guitars holding down the fort to support the vocals, are very tight and very reminiscent of progressive metalcore songs. The fusion of Egyptian lyrics doesn’t feel alien; actually I found the vocal delivery mostly like something like Anathema in the softer parts, but as the vocals get more aggressive into the chorus and the awakening motif, the Arabic qualities of the vocals become more prominent. There is actually a progressive element to the song; it’s not simply a label. The part I can attribute to the most is the complex harmony that supports the solo; it has some interesting chord changes.
It is the first chapter of the story Fajr plans to tell, a journey from a dark place to realisation, then awakening, and finally the dawn. The band says every song follows that arc, with lyrics in Egyptian Arabic that put into words what people carry inside but rarely find the words for. Its aim is to reach longtime rock and metal fans and first-time listeners alike.
