• Egypt

Ally Salem — Early-profiled Egyptian solo guitarist (featured in interviews and local festival coverage). Known as one of Egypt’s better-known female guitarists in the country’s underground scene. Also, she joined the stage wit many local bands such as Andromida, Invaders, and many others.

Cherine Amr — Singer-songwriter and guitarist who founded the alternative/metal project Massive Scar Era. One of the more visible Egyptian women in heavy/alternative scenes, blending Egyptian scales and metal/post-rock.

• South Africa

Alice Phoebe Lou — Indie/folk singer-songwriter who plays guitar as core to her songwriting and international career.

Msaki (Asanda Mvana) — Award-winning composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar; a key voice in contemporary South African songwriting and performance.

Zahara (Bulelwa Mkutukana) — Afro-soul star whose breakthrough album Loliwe was guitar-led; known for writing and performing with acoustic guitar.

• Tanzania

Grace Matata — Afro-soul singer-songwriter who performs and composes with guitar; active on the East African scene.

Carola Kinasha — Veteran Tanzanian musician, activist and guitarist — a pioneer in Afro-fusion and music education activism.

• Kenya/West Africa

Ivy Alexander — Prominent Nairobi-based guitarist, member of all-female ensembles and the Flower Project; active in guitar education and a visible presence on IG and regional features.

Suzanna Owiyo — Kenyan singer-songwriter who also plays guitar and draws on traditional influences — recognized in pan-African coverage for her guitar-centric songs.

• Ghana

Wiyaala (Noella Wiyaala) — Singer-songwriter who plays guitar and channels rock/reggae/afro-pop energy; noted for powerful stage presence and guitar-led performances.

Yaa Yaa (Bertha Kankam) — Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who frequently performs with guitar in neo-soul / highlife-influenced material.

• Nigeria

Serifatu Oladunni Oduguwa (Queen Oladunni Decency) — Historic figure: a pioneering female guitarist in Nigeria (Jùjú tradition) — often cited as one of the first prominent female guitarists in the country’s modern music history.

Asikey — Contemporary Nigerian singer-songwriter who plays guitar and blends alternative rock/soul; one of the notable modern Nigerian women who write and perform with guitar.

Helen Ibe — Emerging Nigerian guitarist profiled in player/interview videos; part of a new wave of Nigerian guitarists.

• Niger

Fatou Seidi Ghali (Les Filles de Illighadad) — Founder and lead guitarist of the Tuareg group Les Filles de Illighadad from Niger. Widely reported as the first professional female Tuareg guitarist; celebrated for bringing electric Tuareg guitar and female leadership from the Sahara to international stages.

• Mali

From Mali, Fatoumata Diawara — Singer-songwriter and guitarist who blends Wassoulou tradition with modern sounds; has been described as a pioneering female electric-guitar player from Mali and a major international ambassador for Malian music.

• Zimbabwe

Berita (Gugulethu Khumalo) — Zimbabwean-born, South Africa-based singer-songwriter and guitarist; multi-award winner and founder of Women of Music Business (WOMB).

• First, could you share more about your background? When did your musical journey begin?

My musical journey started in the late 70s and continued till now. It begun as usual by listening to music. At the early 80s I’ve begin playing violin. Around 87 I’ve focused on drums which helped me a lot in my musical compositions and understanding rhythms and time signature. But the main event happened in 1991 when I bought my first electric guitar. Since then I’ve been devoted to rock music I played guitar and taught also. At the same time, sound engineering and special effects grabbed my attention.

• At that time, the Egyptian market lacked diversity; can you tell young guitarists about the 90s era?

Actually the 90s was a brighter because in the 80s metal heads was very lonely persons. They rarely found people who can share their interest with. it was very difficult indeed to find metal LPS specially the new ones. In the beginning of the 90s it was completely different because there was a big change in the market. Some bands like Metallica and Guns N Roses released corner stone LPS like the Black Album and Use your illusion 1 and 2 which went viral leading to increase of metal fans in Egypt. So people begun to listen to Metal for the first time. Songs like nothing Else Matters and unforgiven was in the radio station. And of course November rain was very popular back then and there was quite a few rock concerts. 

There was a change in the environment. You see teenagers wearing shirts with metal bands pictures. You can hear Nirvana from that small car passing by you. Or a Slayer riff blazing out of that window on the third floor. It was a nice change till a bad incident  happened. Suddenly we heard in the news about satanics in Egypt. There was a party where some teenagers were accused of making some satanic ritual. it wasn’t quite right. They were carried away by what they see in MTV. It gave a very bad idea about rock and metal. It was a disappointment for metal fans. Young people was suddenly afraid to listen to rock in public and wear leather. It was a hard time.

• What bands have you been a part of or helped to establish?

Most of my life I’ve been a solo artist but I played with some friends in a very small gigs.

• As a guitar expert, which guitar brands do you prefer?

It is hard to name a favorite brand. Maybe I’ll say special models like the Gibson SG along with the Fender Strat. I like The Jacksons a lot. Ibanez is not my piece of cake but it’s not a bad brand.

• Currently, do you have any other business ventures or a regular job alongside your music?

Music and playing guitar is a hobby for me. Despite being raised in an artistic family I studied architecture. I worked in cinema for a long time. I was a video editor in Orbit. At the same time I was growing my own studio. Music was always a hobby for me even if I contributed in some documentary and some ads with my music. But it I kept it completely as a hobby. So for sure I have a different business

• Given the absence of a technical guitar setup curriculum here, have you ever considered creating one?

Technical guitar setup guys are called Luthiers. I consider myself one of them. I’ve been setting up guitars, fixing them, doing some paint jobs. But create a guitar from scratch – of course it passed through my mind- but I’ve never done it. I will consider in the future maybe. But it’s a little bit hard here in Egypt because of the lack of accessories and raw material.

• Since your channel covers a niche topic, do you have concerns about not attracting a large following?

When I first made this channel, it was made for my own pleasure. Then I wanted to transfer my knowledge to new guitar players. So I’m not much concerned about how much followers do I have. Mainly I am concerned about the quality of the followers and I have very decent ones. The feedback from them are really overwhelming.

• I appreciate that your channel is in Arabic; however, have you thought about adding English subtitles to reach a broader audience?

Adding English subtitles is a nice idea. Maybe I’ll considered in the future. But one of the reasons of making this channel in Arabic is there is no specialized Arabic channel dealing with guitar, gears, sound editing and music theory etc…  So I thought about making something unique and I think it is unique till now

• Lastly, thank you for this interview! Could you share more about your upcoming plans for your channels?

I have some new plans for the channel. I was hoping to keep it secret. But anyway I’ll tell it for the sake of this nice magazine. I am planning to make interviews with the famous music composers and guitarist rockers in Egypt. Also I will  cover some art related issues especially in Motion Picture. Sound engineering and mixing fundamentals will be also included.  I think it will be something really new to talk with celebrities about famous about their music background. Some of them  were rockers in their early stage.

Be sure to visit his page here to gain additional insights from the talented rock/metal guitarist virtuoso.

Ousso, everyone knows you by this name, can you please introduce yourself more to your fans out there? What’s your real name and origins?
Ousso: My name on the ID is Mohamed Lotfy but nobody calls me Mohamed at all, even my own family, and actually I was called “Ousso” before Mohamed and before I was born because my mom wanted to call me Osman but it didn’t happen…but I remained Ousso…I’m purely Egyptian, went to a French school (Jesuit) then commerce, the English section at Ain Shams University.

There’s something everyone is wondering about, Ousso, how and when did your musical career started?
Ousso: I started my musical career at the tender age of 18, I used to play in rock bands like Implosion (Cover Rock Band) and another anonymous band, a trio where I used to sing and play guitar (Beatles/Doors/oldies), then after the so-called satanic issue, I had no choice and no one to play with, so Mr Nasser Begato (Double Vision studio owner) hooked me up with Samira Saiid’s band, and from there I started to get into the Egyptian professional mainstream scene and started recording movies soundtracks/commercials/pop songs and playing live with pop singers, and parallel to that with other Rock/Jazz/Blues/Fusion bands.

Why did you choose to play guitar and how did you learn to play it?
Ousso: I’ve always been obsessed with music, specifically classical music when I was a child and I mean since I was 1 probably as my mom noticed and told me that I would stay quiet and listen to classical music for hours, and then I played keyboards at the age of 9, when I turned 12 I saw “Slash” from Guns N’ Roses and my obsession with guitar started, my mom got me an acoustic guitar and I used to spend like 12 hours a day, if not more, playing anything I could get my hands on, starting from Pink Panther to Slash solos, TV commercials, classical phrases played by any instrument, pop songs, blues licks, then I got some books and started teaching myself basic notation, theory and harmony, started composing and improvising until the age of 20 I started taking lessons with pianist “Rashad Fahim” for like 4 years, and he taught me jazz harmony/musical theory along with other books and instructional videos/tapes, and I would apply everything to guitar.

What bands did you join? And what bands did you form on your own?
Ousso: I’ve played with Implosion (heavy metal rock band in the 90’s), my anonymous trio band (drums, guitar, keys) and I used to sing Beatles/Doors/oldies songs, then Hassan Khalil jazz band in 98, Ahmed Rabie band, Yehia Ghannam band, Hossam Shaker band, then I formed “Nagham Masry” with Sherbini in 1999, and the “19th Band” in 2008, joined “Eftekasat” from 2002 to 2008, “Junk Male” from 2003 to 2008 , “Sweet N’ Sour” from 2003 to 2004, “Music Matbakh” from 2007 to 2008, along with lots of anonymous jazz/fusion bands in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

Concerning Eftekasat, why did you leave the band despite its success?
Ousso: I quit Eftekasat because of personal and technical problems that got accumulated over 6 years, as well as personally feeling that I’m no longer enjoying the music nor the chemistry of the band, which killed me, and started to affect my mood on stage and my musical input with the band, although we’re still friends and on good terms but it happens.

Can you tell us more about Nagham Masry?
Ousso: Nagham Masry is MY obsession and love! I’ve worked hard to present a different sound of precious Egyptian lyrics that have a deep meaning, that’s so Egyptian yet different and decent. I’ve done lots of experiments with this band, like playing an electric overdriven solo in Beit el Harrawy back in 2000 to a crowd that came to listen to Egyptian poetry right after the satanic lie of the media and the government, I wanted the normal listener to get used to Rock riffs/Jazz harmony/Funk grooves along with very Egyptian poetry and I wanted them as well to get used to accepting a long-haired rock guitarist who was still VERY EGYPTIAN! Nagham Masry is that precious project that won’t compromise and that’s why we don’t play that much anymore. That’s also why it’s taking so long to launch an album although we have more than 25 original songs ready.

Have you ever considered performing as “A solo artist”?
Ousso: Of course I thought about it and actually I’ve done it several times on different occasions.

The great S.O.S Music Festival that you started, why did you start it, and why did it end?
Ousso: I initially started S.O.S to push originality, to encourage the Egyptian bands to compose their music and have confidence in their abilities, to explore themselves regardless of their respective style or language. I wanted to give all the bands the chance to play before thousands that came to support them and only them! On a huge stage with a PA system built especially for them, not for some pop star when they’re just an opening band. I wanted them to experience that feeling that usually takes years to achieve, I wanted young bands to be encouraged and give them a push to work and develop knowing that there’s a place where they can actually present their music and gain thousands of fans in less than an hour, and get media exposure throughTV and radio, I wanted music fans with different tastes and background to stand next to each other and respect different opinions and tastes in a civilized atmosphere where a family could enjoy an outdoor garden and sit on the grass safely, I wanted to correct that social look that music concerts and musicians are a bunch of losers, and more.

Will the S.O.S Music Festival return?
Ousso: S.O.S is not over, the last one was 3 weeks ago, and right now the main sponsor is out because he has a different target. He’s under the impression that S.O.S is targeting ONLY ONE CLASS! Which really just goes to prove that he doesn’t know what S.O.S is talking about in the first place! But anyway, I’m in the process of presenting it to other sponsors and Insha ‘Allah things will be back to normal.

What music genre have you always wanted to play?
Ousso: I’ve never had a specific music genre that I wanted to play, it depends on the mood and I like all kinds of music and like to play them my way, even House music, I did work on several house tracks introducing funk guitar lines and solos, so to me it’s all music.

This is something I am very curios to know; since you are a guitar idol to everyone, who is yours?
Ousso: I love Slash! but I like lots of others as well, though not as much as Slash because I grew up listening to him and I love his way of soloing that’s very emotional and free of patterns/complicated techniques and all those things. He just plays, but of course I’m a big fan of Pat Metheny, Greg Howe and George Benson.

Who is the guitarist that you want to perform with, both abroad and locally?
Ousso: From Abroad, again I would love to perform with Slash, my idol. From Egypt, I actually do play with most of the guitarists and we’re friends, always jamming and performing together, and I mean those who are into music and want to have fun, not those who want to bet ‘who is faster? Who is more complicated?’ And I’ve seen a lot who fight through music. I really hate that kind of people, they turn me off, and I always avoid them.

How do you see the music scene in Egypt in general and the rock scene in particular?
Ousso: The music scene in Egypt is actually growing and developing, albeit very slowly, and I’m afraid that a lot of musicians are being very lazy not taking music seriously and not practicing enough to develop their skills. I’m sorry to say it but there’s a lot of drug abuse involved and many musicians are taking it as a fad and I don’t understand this attitude of ‘I’m the best! I know it all!’ I personally think that I’m very overrated in Egypt! I still have a loooot to learn! And this “the best guitarist in Egypt” that I always hear is actually “WRONG!”, there’s no such thing as the best, in music everyone has a style and a personality, and I’m afraid that a lot of musicians are falling in that trap of ‘You’re the best’, we all have to practice and learn.

About the rock scene, well honestly I’m not following it that much because I always feel weird when I attend rock concerts in Egypt, although I’m a rocker! I feel that it’s full of exaggerated attitude that turns me off personally not to mention lots of aggression and out of tune guitars (not all but a lot), but there are lots of great bands like Wyvern, SimpleXity, Idle Mind and more.

What’s your dream about music in Egypt?
Ousso: My dream is to see lots of festivals, venues, concerts, live music clubs, music schools, great musicians and interesting musical projects.

After all of your great achievements and success, do you think you have reached all you wished for or are you still not satisfied?
Ousso: I honestly can’t say I have great achievements and success, I wish for a lot! And I’m definitely not satisfied at all, I have to focus on my music a lot more, but unfortunately I’m doing lots of things that are distracting my musical development like S.O.S and lots of other projects but I hope that very soon I’ll have to hand it over to someone trustworthy and under my supervision and try to get back to be a full time musician.

Any future plans on your mind?
Ousso: A lot, but I prefer action to talking, so we’ll see.

What do you think of Rock Era magazine?
Ousso: It’s a great magazine and I wish it good luck and more success.

What would you like to say to your fans out there?
Ousso: I would like to thank you for all the support and I want to say that I’m so sorry that my musical input is much less than before, but I promise I’ll be back with new projects that you would hopefully like and enjoy.

We really would like to thank you for this fruitful interview.
Ousso: Thank you.

Interviewed by: Yasser Mohamed