By YASIN ABU TAQIU
Eissa Al Kubaisi’s (pictured) voice can be heard in most Qatari households. The forty-year-old singer is among the top Qatari artists who combine local culture with modern music.
Al Kubaisi was interested in music from childhood and his parents took him to attend lessons at a small music academy in the 80s.
“The academy had several problems at the time and was not well facilitated. It closed down a few months after my enrolment,” he said.
However, he had learnt the basics of music, which he drew on many years later when, as an adult, he went to Egypt and studied in one of its popular music academies.
“Performing as a professional singer is a childhood dream come true,” he said.
Al Kubaisi has produced about ten albums and several more singles. His first album was released in 1996 and was called ‘Ghiratul Rijjal’ (Arabic for ‘The jealousy of men’). His most recent album, released in 2011, is ‘Hadaditu’ (‘I have decided’). Like most of his music, both carry messages of love.
He has also released popular music videos, including Minuh, Ihsasska, Teshtagili and Million Heqayat.
He has won several Arab music awards in different countries, including in 2005 in Egypt, where his video clip, Million Heqayat, or a million stories, won the best video clip award in Sharm El Sheikh.
Al Kubaisi, now a father of four, said he liked music as, apart from fame, it had brought him close to Arab people like no other profession could have. He likes to open YouTube and see how many times his videos have been viewed. He also likes the fact that he is among the few musicians holding aloft the Qatari flag. He said that though there were few singers in Qatar, it was important that those who performed did excellent work and got recognition.
The music industry in Doha is young and faces a number of challenges, including low turnouts for shows and concerts, which means that income from such events is less than what they cost. Singers, however, still perform at some wedding celebrations.
The cost of making video clips is also high, and for certain reasons good video clips have to be made in other countries.
He said that a four-minute clip of good quality could cost up to $80,000 (QR320,000), including the cost of production, artistic crew, transportation, wardrobe, props, air tickets and hotel accommodation.
Al Kubaisi, however, says that the challenges are similar to those in other fields and should not be a stumbling bloc for new artists.
“If you love something, go for it out of love, not money,” he said.
To smooth the way for new artists, Al Kubaisi has established a Music Arts Center in Maamoura, where budding artists are trained and prepared for a career in music. The Center also takes in expatriates for a fee, he said.
“For Qataris, the government has intervened through the Ministry of Youth and Sports and pays all the fees for the training artists,” he said. “This facilitation of having free training is a luxury we never had in our time, but also one that will encourage more Qataris take up a career in music.”
The Center has about ten music instructors and classes are held in the mornings and evenings.
Newly trained artists also have access to the Funoon Doha studios, where most music in the country is recorded.
“I was among the founders of this studio in Madinat Khalifa and have recorded almost 80 percent of my music there,” he said.
He said the studio was also a meeting place for artists in the country, who meet on a regular basis after the evening prayers to share news about their progress.
The Peninsula
