Artist

Kadim Al Sahir

21796 Views
Facebook
Twitter

Kadim Jabbar Al Samarai better known by his artistic name as Kadim Al-Saher (Arabic: كاظم الساهر‎; born September 12, 1957 in Mosul, Iraq), is an Iraqi singer, composer and songwriter. He has been dubbed the "Caesar of Arabic Song", and "Iraq's Ambassador to the world".

 

Kadim Al-Saher has established himself as one of the most successful singers in the history of the Arab World, since the start of his career. Ranging from big romantic ballads to more political work, from pop to Arab classical music. In 2003, according to an international poll conducted by BBC, more than half-a million people from 165 countries voted his composition Ana Wa Laila (Me and Laila), his most famous song about his love for Laila, as the sixth in the world's top 10 most popular songs of all time.

 

He performs with an orchestra of twenty to thirty musicians on Arabic percussion, oud, qanun, nay, and a full complement of strings (violin, cello, and bass). While some of his work makes use of electronic musical sounds, he avoids the use of synthesizers to imitate acoustic instruments. His work frequently features Iraqi folk instruments, rhythms and melodies.

 

Before he entered the Baghdad Academy of Music, Al Saher's self-education through the radio had given him a firm grounding in the rich repertoire of mid-twentieth-century Arab vocal music. He became deeply familiar with both classical Arab music, whose main representatives were Egyptian and Lebanese, and the Iraqi maqam repertoire, a local art form featuring vocal virtuosity and a vast repertoire. This solid grounding in traditional musical styles informs his work as both a singer and a composer.

 

One of his first videos was made in collaboration with one of his friends that happened to be a television director. The song in question was "Ladghat El Hayya" (The Snake Bite), which was broadcast on Iraqi television in 1987, one year before the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The song was the source of a major controversy due to particular sensitivities that were common during that era. Iraqi television officials asked him to either change the lyrics or have it banned. His refusal to change the lyrics and its consequent ban only helped to increase the popularity of the song. He began giving concerts all over the Persian Gulf and recording his music with Kuwaiti labels.

 

A year later, he had a hit with "Obart Al Shat" (I crossed the river). Some of his professors at the Academy denounced it as sha'bi (pop) music, anathema to those who taught classical music. Al-Saher had managed to circumvent the system and had become a star on his own terms—he even undertook his first US tour in 1989. Having conquered pop, Al Saher turned around and established himself in the Arabic classical world with "La Ya Sadiki" (No, My Friend), a magnum opus that lasted almost an hour and found him using maqams (scales) that hadn't been used in Iraqi music in several decades, revitalizing a tradition.

 

In 1991 and due to the Persian Gulf War, Al-Saher transferred his base of operations to Jordan where he lived with his family for a few years. He considers living in Jordan as an important period of his life and career success later on. Al-Saher performed some of his most successful concerts which were held in Jerash and produced two successful albums at Sameer Baghdadi's Studios in Amman, Jordan.

Artist related events
KADIM AL SAHIR concert in Riyadh
20 Apr 2019 | 09:30 PM
Know More
KADIM AL SAHIR concert in Khobar
19 Apr 2019 | 09:30 PM
Know More
KADIM AL SAHIR concert in Jeddah
18 Apr 2019 | 08:00 PM
Know More
Event Gallery
Arrow
Arrow
Points of sale
Head There!
Jeddah Arrow Arrow
Virgin Megastore _ Roshana Mall
Tel 8002448855 | Pin Get directions
Virgin Megastore _ Red Sea Mall
Tel 8002448855 | Pin Get directions
Virgin Megastore_Stars Avenue Mall
Tel 8002448855 | Pin Get directions
Virgin Megastore – Mall of Arabia
Tel 8002448855 | Pin Get directions
Riyadh Arrow Arrow
Virgin Megastore _ Al Nakheel Mall
Tel 8002448855 | Pin Get directions
Virgin Megastore - Panorama Mall
Tel 8002448855 | Pin Get directions
Virgin Megastore – Riyadh Park Mall
Tel 8002448855 | Pin Get directions
Dhahran Arrow Arrow
2023
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Previous May Next
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Thursday
May 04,2023
تقويم الرياض - روائع الموجي
09:30 PM | Riyadh Boulevard
KNOW MORE
Friday
May 05,2023
Jeddah Season - TAMER ASHOUR
09:30 PM | King Abdulaziz Road , Jeddah
KNOW MORE
Saturday
May 06,2023
Jeddah Season - TAMER ASHOUR
09:30 PM | King Abdulaziz Road , Jeddah
KNOW MORE
Thursday
May 11,2023
NIGHT LIGHT
07:00 PM | Al Ammaria
KNOW MORE
Friday
May 12,2023
NIGHT LIGHT
07:00 PM | Al Ammaria
KNOW MORE
Thursday
May 18,2023
Jeddah Concert - ELISSA & ADAM
09:30 PM | King Abdulaziz Road , Jeddah
KNOW MORE
Saturday
May 20,2023
Al Shallal Entertainment Park
05:00 PM | From 5PM till 2AM | Al Shallal Theme Park
KNOW MORE
Al Shallal Entertainment Park-Fakieh Planetarium
05:00 PM | From 5PM till 2AM | Al Shallal Theme Park
KNOW MORE
Thursday
May 25,2023
Jeddah Concert - AHMED SAAD & MOHAMED FOUAD
09:30 PM | King Abdulaziz Road , Jeddah
KNOW MORE
Saturday
May 27,2023
No Events!