Kalbi Balady
In 2021, Mophradat invited children’s writers Ahlam Bsharat, Hadil Ghoniem, and Yosra Sultan, along with musicians Aalam Wassef, Aya Metwalli, Huda Asfour, Maurice Louca, Rehab Hazgui, and Sam Shalabi, to collaborate on producing an album of progressive songs for young children. The music is made for children around the ages of four to six, the moment where their acquisition and understanding of language as form and meaning starts to take shape. The process, which took place online across countries, led to Affratta, an album of children’s music comprising six tracks. Lead track Kalbi Balady (My Balady Dog) sets Hadil Ghoneim’s endearing text about a playful one-eyed rescue dog, belonging to the ubiquitous Egyptian Baladi breed, to an off-kilter Arabic pop composition. Kalbi Balady features Aya Metwalli’s enchanting vocals against a backdrop of rhythmic swirl and spellbinding psychedelia-imbued arrangements, guaranteed to charm the hearts and minds of listeners, children and grown ups alike. Mophradat Songs for Kids is a project that is looking for ways for children to be offered joyful, nature-loving, non-patriarchal, imaginative, and evocative music that encourages them to be kind, curious, adventurous, and loving. Music and song are one way children learn, express emotions, hear and tell stories, and get to know their bodies. The Arab world, unfortunately, has limited offerings of musical production for children, and this project is one of Mophradat’s first attempts to engage some of the region’s most exciting musicians with this genre.