Dana Alfardan, distinguished Qatari composer and songwriter, and CEO of DNA Sounds, has produced a new song in solidarity with the State of Qatar in light of the current diplomatic crisis. In collaboration with a number of local and international musicians, partners as well as volunteers, One Nation official song will be released in the coming few days and will hold the name of “Al Yaqeen” in its Arabic edition.
In addition to Dana compositing the song and writing the vocals in English,
some of the biggest names in the Qatari music scene have also contributed to the vocals including Fahad Al Kubaisi and Essa Al Kubaisi while Fahad Al Mursel, has written the Arabic lyrics.
In collaboration with Qatar Concert Choir, and under the direction of Giovanni Pasini, many international musicians have also contributed to the song including Christoph Schmitz on Cello and as music supervisor, Ferdninand Shaffer on Percussion, Dimitri Torchinski on Violins, Juan Pestana on Keyboards and Base guitar. Mohamed Al Sulaiti further contributed on Oud, as well as Hassan Moataz on Rababa and Yassine Ayari on the Nay.
Commenting on this initiative, Dana Alfardan said:
I believe that there are a lot of fallacies being circulated in the media towards Qatar that don’t represent the reality of life here. I am a product of the education that my State has given me; I was actually able to engage in music thanks to Qatar Foundation’s efforts to bring the best international musicians in the world to Qatar. The state has invested a lot in culture, education and in the human capital to give nationals the opportunity and resources to expand their cultural understanding and stand out at a global level.’
As an artist, my job is to show this to the world. My aim was first to send a message of unity and strength to the people of this country with One Nation, and to showcase our love for each other and our community based values that we strongly hold in our hearts.’
The Qatar Concert Choir, a great representation of the entire Qatari community, with the many nationalities that gather under its umbrella, including expats as well as Qataris all showcasing their support in participating in the making of One Nation.
One Nation is in partnership with ILoveQatar, in collaboration with TQG Productions, who have largely endorsed this initiative through supporting with the video and in filming the recording sessions in addition to Mohammed Marzoogi from Katara Studios who have offered their facilities for recording, mixing and mastering under the direction of Matt Howe, a Grammy award winning sound engineer was in charge of the recording and Mazen Murad, a renowned mastering engineer has mastered the track. All of the contributors have volunteered to this project as they wanted to spread the message of unity and nationalism and showcase the reality of life in Qatar, which is based on brotherhood and solidarity.
Performed by Dana exclusively for this occasion, as she has retired from singing, One Nation has given a special attention to the Rababa instrument as Dana believes it can bring a lot of added value to western music and give it an authentic Middle Eastern touch as it combines many elements from different parts of the word which also represents the underlying foundations of the heritage and rich culture of the State of Qatar.
Dana describes the music scene in Qatar as blossoming and very genuine and authentic, and believes that the state is now witnessing a renaissance and a revival of people, culture and arts.
