Dina El Wedidi

Dina El Wedidi
Dina El Wedidi in Al-azhar Park 25.6.2015
Background information
Birth name	Dina El Wedidi
Born	(1987-10-01) 1 October 1987 Giza, Egypt
Origin	Giza, Egypt
Genres	Bossa Nova, Jazz, Reggae, Folk
Occupation(s)	Singer, Composer
Years active	2011–present
Website	dinaelwedidi.com

Dina El Wedidi (Arabic: دينا الوديدي‎‎, born 1 October 1987), is an Egyptian singer, composer, guitarist, Daf player, actress, and storyteller.^[1] Dina has been known as the lead performer of an ensemble of musicians who have performed extensively in the past 2 years, fusing local and global styles of music.

Early life

Wedidi was born and raised in Giza, Egypt. She studied Oriental Literature with specialization in Turkish and Persian literature at the Cairo University, where she graduated on 2008,^[2] then spent some time working as a translator and sometimes a tour guide in Egypt.^[2]

Wedidi discovered her passion for music after joining El Warsha Theater Troupe in 2008,^[2] where she learned to sing a wide variety of traditional genres with the help of her tutor Maged Soliman. She then decided to leave El Warsha and began to explore the full potential of her voice. She also participated in many workshops with independent musicians both in Egypt and beyond, including Grammy award-winning musician Fathy Salama and singer-songwriter Kamilya Jubran.^[1]

Musical career

Dina El Wedidi playing Guitar

Beginning 2011, Wedidi had quit El-Wersha and founded her own music group of six members besides her. Coincidentally, the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 broke out and El Wedidi took part in a modern Operetta, Khalina Nehlam ('Let's Dream'), with Egyptian band Masar Egbari, Tamer Shalaby, and Tunisian singers Mahdi Rabeh, Anis Dridi and Mohamed Bin Jemaa. The song was a great hit, capturing the Arab Spring of 2011.

Dina El Wedidi concert at Opera Damanhour 2014

Gilberto Gil mentorship

In 2012 Wedidi was selected by Gilberto Gil and the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative as a protégé,^[3] which allowed her to be mentored by the great Brazilian music icon. The two performed together at Back2Black,^[4] part of the London 2012 Festival. They later met for musical events and conversations in Switzerland, the United States, Brazil and Egypt. When Gil was asked about Dina, he answered:

Talent she has, commitment she has, dedication and the capacity to work hard, Dina has all that. And with her musicians, she’s open, cooperative and democratic. Her music is so varied, she has a kind of multifaceted personality, working with change. Every few months, like a different person, she brings new ideas. At her age, when you’re curious, that’s what happens, you’re finding a path to follow. It’s an amazing thing – a year ago, she was singing with local bands in Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the struggle, and then performing with me, in London, an appropriately bicultural song, ‘Egyptian Bossa Nova’. The mentoring was to give her opportunities to follow the way we work, how we prepare our songs, our records, our concerts, how we travel and choose audiences, and why we come to Europe and go to Africa. Dina has a great artistic personality; she’s been tailored by life to be an artist. She’s already a new-born star.

— Gilberto Gil^[5]

Nile Project

In 2013 Wedidi took a part in “the Nile Project” which is a musical and environmental initiative that brings together musicians and thinkers from all over the Nile Valley, Dina participated with her song "Ya Ganouby" (Arabic: ياجنوبي; translation: "Oh My South") in which Wedidi sings about her regret for being disconnected from her south (a metaphor for the Nile), and her longing for it to become a more integral part of her life. The song is a musical expression of the collective's mission, to come together and heal the broken relationships within their cultural and natural environments.^[6]

Discography

• Songs from a Stolen Spring (compilation) (2014)^[7]
• Turning Back (2014)^[8]

References