When Noel Kharman performs at Relm Fest at Dubai’s The Pointe this weekend, she might not know where to look.
During the Palestinian singer’s performance of her new single Al Forga, The Palm Fountain — whose capacity to spray water up to 105 metres high earned it the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest of its kind — will sway and twirl along to the track’s propulsive Levantine folk beat.
Kharman is one of a number regional singers chosen by organisers Nakheel to perform and literally make a big splash at the event, which can be attended free of cost and runs from Friday to Sunday.
She joins Emirati soul singer Abri, Iraqi-Belgian vocalist Sandra Sahi, Syrian qanun player Nagham Debal and Lebanon’s Lea Makhoul in having their songs added to The Palm Fountain's growing repertoire of synchronised musical shows.
And similar to preparations for the concert, the technical team behind the fountain went through their own share of rehearsals to get ready for the festival.
“It was really interesting how they did it all and I was grateful to be involved in that process,” Kharman tells The National.
“I first got to look at all the different moves the fountain does and we built this great show to match the music.”
The tech crew, who are also in command of 3,000 LED lights at the site, would have a lot to work with as Al Forga is a dynamic Palestinian and Jordan folk track laced by undulating percussion and Kharman’s passionate and husky vocals.
“It’s a song that really has this Levantine vibe and the lyrics are sung with this harsh Palestinian and Jordanian accent,” Kharman says.
“It is definitely rhythmic and an enjoyable song to create. It is also a way to show people the different styles of music I can do.”
Indeed, the five original songs Kharman has released are a showcase of an assured artist with deep potential.
Since she made an impression with a viral 2016 mash-up of Adele's Hello and Fairouz's Kaifek Inta and 2017's blend of Luis Fonzi's Despacito and Ahmed Al Maslawi’s Akhiran Galaha, Kharman has put her own stamp on original tracks, such as the stately ballad Ann Alawan and the breezy pop of Lazmni Break.
She credits the eclectic nature of her work to her move to Jordan in 2020 to study sound engineering and build her music career.
Whereas many aspiring Arab artists flock to Cairo, Beirut and Dubai to collaborate with artists and make use of studios, Kharman says Amman also has a lot to offer.
“I definitely feel like there is a really cool wave happening right now in Jordan,” she says. “There is a growing number of events happening here and there is this community of great musicians and creative people. I definitely feel inspired here.”
Kharman hopes to continue tapping into that energy over the next 12 months.
Her Relm Fest show is only one of a few planned in order to give her time to complete two EPs in the works.
With over a dozen songs, she wants each track to have its own sound and style.
"I do sometimes feel that artists in the region tend to take the very easy way out and just only stick to what works," she says. "We definitely do need to experiment more and not be scared of showing people the music that we are really into. By doing that we can really bring our personalities into it and people will connect with that.
“From what I am seeing here in Jordan and this new generation of artists, this is now beginning to change. So I feel that the future is bright for the music industry in the Middle East."
Who else is performing at Relm Fest?
1. Mayyas
Fresh from winning America's Got Talent in September, the Lebanese dance troupe will perform their first regional performance outside of Beirut. They took home the $1 million prize, as well as the opportunity to headline a Las Vegas show.
Mayyas first made international headlines when they received a golden buzzer from judge Sofia Vergara for their performance during the auditions, securing their spot in the semi-finals. The video of the audition has nearly 20 million views on YouTube.
2. Adonis
The Lebanese band have a devoted following across the region with their shimmering brand of Coldplay-esque rock and poetic lyrics dealing with societal and heartfelt issues facing Arabic youth today.
They return to Dubai with a strong catalogue of songs, including those from their latest fifth album, 2021's A'da.
3. Massar Egbari
The Egyptian quartet are all about the vibes, with songs that are an intoxicating blend of various styles, from rock and jazz to blues, which are delivered through authentic Oriental melodies.
More information about Relm Fest is available at www.thepointe.ae
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Results
2pm: Al Sahel Contracting Company – Maiden (PA) Dh50,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: AF Mutakafel, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
2.30pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: El Baareq, Antonio Fresu, Rashed Bouresly
3pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
3.30pm: Keeneland – Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Alkaraama, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
4pm: Keeneland – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Lady Snazz, Saif Al Balushi, Bhupat Seemar
4.30pm: Hive – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
5pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – (TB) Handicap Dh64,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Remaining fixtures
Third-place-play-off: Portugal v Mexico, 4pm on Sunday
Final: Chile v Germany, 10pm on Sunday
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Pakhtoons 137-6 (10 ov)
Fletcher 68 not out; Cutting 2-14
Sindhis 129-8 (10 ov)
Perera 47; Sohail 2-18
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
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THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
