Ala Fekra Projekt

Description

Arabian and Alpine sound traditions meet in a finely woven musical dialogue full of improvisation, curiosity, and joy of playing. Ala Fekra - the Swiss-Egyptian ensemble founded in 2018 by Patricia Draeger - embarks on a Swiss CD release tour in December 2026 with its fusion of jazz and folk music. With their original compositions, which oscillate between Arabic atmospheres and Alpine tones, the band has already enchanted many audiences. This is music at the highest level, bursting with musical ideas, virtuosic, and played with a lot of heart and humor. Downtown Cairo – amidst the honking of car horns, the calls to prayer of the muezzins, vendors offering fruits, Arabic music blaring from rattling speakers, the air smelling of exhaust fumes and spices. In a room, six people sit in a circle with their instruments, the low-hanging sun casts a bright beam into the dusty air: 'Makan', a significant cultural center for traditional Egyptian folk music. Here, the ensemble Ala Fekra works over four intense days on the material for the new live album «Safar» (Arabic for 'Journey'). Over the years, the band has developed a very distinctive, unmistakable group sound. Besides concerts in Switzerland, they have toured Egypt several times, performed at the Cairo Opera House, and at various festivals across Europe. With Ala Fekra, musical traditions from Switzerland and Egypt meet on equal footing. The ensemble combines Arabic soundscapes with Alpine melodies, improvisational openness, and influences from jazz and global traditions into a unique shared sound. What originated from a meeting in Cairo has evolved over the years into a finely tuned musical language, characterized by curiosity, virtuosity, and joy of playing. Original compositions full of rhythmic diversity and poetic melodies create a space where cultural boundaries recede into the background, and making music together is at the center. Ala Fekra vividly demonstrates how something independent can emerge from different musical roots – lively, touching, and full of sonic surprises. More information: https://www.alafekra.ch Participants and additional information: Patricia Draeger (accordion, flute, CH), Amr Darwish (violin, Egypt), Mahmoud Desouki (oud, Egypt), Albin Brun (soprano sax, Schwyzerörgeli, CH), Patrick Sommer (bass, CH), and Samuel Baur; percussion CH)