Top: Aly Morad, Ahmed Safi El Din; bottom: Youssef Salah, Shahir Eskandar, Naeyr Osama and Noor Ayman '10

The Zabaleen Band, founded by AUC students, uses garbage to entertain its audience and call for social change

It is a long held adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Indeed, over the past year, a group of AUC students and fresh graduates, known as the Zabaleen Band, have latched onto this idea, playing and composing music with an approach that could only be described as non-traditional, using trash as instruments. Even before the January 25th revolution, the
group used their music to heighten people's awareness about important social issues.

The Zabaleen Band, which is named after garbage collectors in Egypt, was first formed during AUC Earth Week more than a year ago. The band is composed of four drummers, a guitarist, saxophonist and vocalist. Like the zabaleen [garbage collectors], who are known to reuse a lot of what they collect, the Zabaleen Band constructs its instruments out of found items. Since their first performance, the band has been set to change youth's seemingly apathetic attitude toward their country and garner interest in environmental activism through lyrics that focus on issues such as pollution, education and climate change. After the revolution,
the band's task has become easier.

"It has always been our goal to increase people's passion for their country through music, but before the revolution, it seemed as though a lot were apathetic," said Noor Ayman '10, a member of the band. "Clearly, the January 25th revolution changed all that, and seeing Egyptians come out to clean the streets was a moment we had all dreamed of."

Aly Morad, another band member, recalled the band's first performance. "We played a song titled Pick Up Your Garbage, and people in the audience really got into it," he said. "After the show was over, one of the audience members saw someone about to throw some trash on the ground. Instead of letting go, he turned to him and repeated our lyrics. … It was amazing to see a similar scenario
in Tahrir."

One of the best changes since the revolution, Ayman noted, is the new era of creativity. "No one asks for permits on the streets anymore," he said. "It's a great time to be an artist because people have become more expressive, both artistically and politically."Taking advantage of the relaxed permit regulations, the band has begun putting on spontaneous performances throughout Cairo's streets. "We'd just decide to meet somewhere and bring a few instruments," Ayman said. "It's something that would not have happened before."

On the other hand, the postrevolutionary atmosphere of creativity, nationalism and newly found freedom has led to the emergence of new politically minded musical groups. "It used to be just us and a few others, but we're glad people are engaged," said Ayman.

Performing in both English and Arabic, the Zabaleen Band members play on anything they think will make a good sound. "We use bottles for drums and play on a load of stuff like pipes and shakers made from cans with rice inside," said percussionist Youssef
Salah, founder of the band.

In addition to recent street shows, the band has performed at AUC several times, as well as Al Azhar Park and Project Yourself, an open mic night in Cairo. "One of our favorite songs," said Salah, "is themed on enjoying the moment. It talks about how some people are not happy with what they have. It's a way to cheer up our audience through music."

For band members, the group is also a way to stay connected. "All of us have become great friends; it is a camaraderie," said Ahmed Safi El Din, who is studying psychology and international marketing at AUC. "The band is a great way for us to connect as friends and turn our love of music into a great cause."

Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr

By Madeline Welsh