With an Abu Dhabi-based job offer too good to refuse, Egyptian singer/songwriter Sarah El Gohary made the tough decision to pull the pin on her burgeoning music career at home and return to the country of her birth. What she didn't expect was the huge development in the UAE music community. El Gohary was able to form another cracking group and play her blend of Arab and world music in front of big crowds, such as at 2014's Abu Dhabi Formula One celebrations. Ahead of her Metronome concert at Khalidiya's Urban Bites cafe this weekend, she tells The National about her new-found success in the UAE.
You were successful in Egypt. What made you move back to Abu Dhabi?
As independent musicians we always need to find new ways of financing our music. So I always need to have a job to produce songs and make video clips and pay for the rehearsals. So when the chance of a good job came up in Abu Dhabi, I had to take it.
Was it daunting to start off your music career all over again?
It was to be honest. I was doing very well in Egypt – I had a great following and we performed in universities, the Cairo Jazz Club and the Cairo Opera House. So it did feel like I was starting all over again, but when I arrived in Abu Dhabi, we went back to the basics. I started as an acoustic trio with my brother and a good friend. Then we actually went to Dubizzle to see if there was anyone out there wanting to play with us.
Were you surprised by the UAE-based talent on offer?
I was very surprised and happy to meet people who were willing to play music for the sake of music. That was a change for all of us, as I was used to getting paid for gigs in Cairo, but we worked hard to earn a good name for ourselves there and getting more gigs.
What is it about your sound that people seem to have immediately responded to?
It’s world music so there are different elements of reggae, hip-hop, Arabic-Oriental and a bit of alternative rock. Personally, I would call it happy music. It’s music that is aimed to get you jumping on your feet. The lyrics are all based on true stories so people can relate to them. Even if I am talking about an ex-boyfriend, I am looking at the situation from a positive point of view. My fans in Egypt and the UAE call me Happy Voice.
Would you say that your successful return to the UAE is proof the local music scene here is developing well?
I was born and raised here – back when there was no arts scene and generally nobody was paying attention to it. That’s why it was only in Egypt, with its history of the arts, I had my talent nurtured. But when I moved back to the UAE, I encountered a movement like White Cube, which is putting on the Metronome series. They care about finding new talent and that’s a really wonderful thing.
• Sarah El Gohary performs on January 17 at 6pm, as part of the free-to-attend Metronome concert series at Urban Bites, Shining Towers building, Khalidiya