(MENAFN- Jordan Times) AMMAN — Music can play a role in making people hopeful amidst the instability plaguing the region as it makes a person desire life, look for the positive side and actually wanting to achieve something, Palestinian artist Omar Kamal said on Thursday.
In an interview with The Jordan Times, the singer and composer said that 'there has to be all forms of culture shining through to change the communities'.
Invited by the Friends of Jordan Festivals, Kamal will hold a musical show at Amman's Roman Theatre on Monday, for a 'first of its kind' public performance of Arab and Western musical pieces.
Kamal highlighted the significance of performing in Jordan: 'Because I have been waiting for a long time to perform and, thankfully, the opportunity presented itself now. It is very important to perform to all the fans and all the people that are waiting to see something in Jordan.'.
The Palestinian artist said his tour to the Middle East came after the release of his first album in the beginning of 2017.
'But the concert will not have songs only from this album. We have a selection of songs, and the rest will be songs that were catered to all different kinds of people, in languages ranging from Arabic to English, French and Italian. So we have a nice variety of performances, even though this can sometimes be a bit dangerous; but I think we have put it cleverly, in a coherent way,' he noted.
Although Kamal is known as 'The Palestinian Frank Sinatra', he stressed that he wanted to create his own musical identity.
'It is always important to start somewhere, because the whole idea of music development along the years is to have one artist passing on to the other; it is like any other form of art or science,' he said, adding 'so, me starting with Sinatra and many more from the Arab and the Western world only played a role in enriching my musical background'.
At the same time, Kamal said he was lucky to be linked with the American legend: 'Let me call it fortunate to be linked with Frank Sinatra, because he is a great legend. But as you move forward, you start slowly forming your own identity away from Sinatra or anyone else.'
Commenting on how he feels regarding the comparison to the legend, he said: 'I think it will be irritating at the twilight of someone's career, not at the beginning. If you have not come out of it by the end of your career, then you have not achieved what you are supposed to achieve; but, at the start of the career, it is a big pleasure and honour.'
He continued: 'You have many great artists that started that way. Michael Jackson maybe started as the new James Brown at the time, but the comparison happenedbecause it is such a unique thing to have Sinatra and Palestine combined.'
Kamal said it was a privilege for him to have the musical culture of Palestine mingled with the Western art, adding that it is a responsibility to do it in a clever and careful way.
'You know it is easy to combine them up because they have the same source, music. Music is the same either in English or in Arabic, but you have to do it in tasteful way,' Kamal added.
Based on the fact that not many Middle Eastern families perceive music as a profitable profession for their children, Kamal said people have to find their way to make themselves special and the support will always come.
'Music does not normally generate a lot of money, not only in the Middle East but also in Europe, there is a lot of great musicians who get paid very little. But, even if the support does not come from the start it will gradually build up as you prove that this is what you want to do. You have to find your way to express yourself because it is not always about mere talent, a lot of people have talent,' he added.
Kamal, who is also a qualified engineer, said that, as an artist, he just wanted to keep going and see how far he could go.
'When I am staying alone at home, I do not think about what I want to achieve or how far I want to go. Thinking too much about what you want to achieve kind of reduces your passion and you art,' he concluded.
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