Universal Arabic Music, which aims to broaden the horizons of Arabic music, shares the same artistic message with Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, which aims to foster communication between different cultures of filmmakers and develop the state of the film industry. The global music record label thus decided to join the fifth El Gouna Film Festival as an exclusive partner to launch the official song of the festival. The fruit of this partnership is the single “Gaw El Banat,” produced by Universal Arabic Music, which is the first collaboration between the Egyptian star Mohamed Ramadan, international music producer RedOne, and young Moroccan star Nouamane Belaiachi. “Gaw El Banat” was launched during the opening ceremony of El Gouna Film Festival in a dazzling show which showcased the 3 movie stars Mais Hamdan, Mahira Abdelaziz, and Khawla Rhiyat.
Mohamed Ashour, Head of Commercial and Business Development Sector in El Gouna, expressed his happiness about the fruitful collaboration between El Gouna Film Festival and Universal Arabic Music, the leading music label. “The result of this collaboration is ‘Gaw El Banat,’ the official song of El Gouna Film Festival in its fifth edition, which brought together the star Mohamed Ramadan, RedOne, the international star of a Moroccan origin, and Nouamane Belaiachi, the Moroccan singer and songwriter. This song, which is a fusion of folk and rap music, marks a new start as it is the first regional and global production by UAM, the international music label. This doesn’t come as a surprise since the city of El Gouna is known for being a cultural hub which brings together all kinds of art in one spot,” Ashour said.
Wassim SAL Slaiby, the international music producer, founder, and CEO of Universal Arabic Music, expressed his great happiness vis-a-vis the partnership between UAM and El Gouna Film Festival for this year. “The song is always the most important part of any project or artistic collaboration I work on, and it is the essence of their success. I am very proud of the song ‘Gaw El Banat,’ which brought together the stars Mohamed Ramadan, RedOne, and Nouamane Belaiachi, especially that each one of them has his own artistic identity. This song brings together different cultures from the Middle East, Morocco, and Africa. This has always been my vision and UAM’s main mission,” Sal said.
“I am very happy that El Gouna Film Festival chose ‘Gaw El Banat’ among the many songs that were nominated to be the festival’s official song for this year. This song is just the beginning of a long journey that will bring us together locally and globally,” he added.
The star Mohamed Ramadan added, “I am very happy to participate in El Gouna Film Festival every year. The previous years, I was invited as an actor. However, this year I’m attending as a singer, and it gives me great pride, especially that I will be opening the festival’s fifth edition with ‘Gaw El Banat.’ The song reflects life and the relationship between a man and a woman, which constitutes the most important aspect of life, society, and cinema. I am happy to have worked on this collaboration with UAM, the leading record label.”
RedOne, the international music producer, said, “It has been a privilege and a pleasure to perform at El Gouna Film Festival with Mohamed Ramadan and Nouamane Belaiachi. Our song ‘Gaw El Banat’ will be our first collaboration with Universal Arabic Music, and we are thrilled to be performing it live for the first time in this beautiful location.”
“After making history worldwide by working with some of the biggest artists globally and being the only Grammy Award-winning Arabic producer, it warms my heart to be doing something in the Arab world with people who also feel passionate about bringing this music to the rest of the world. A special thanks to Universal Arabic Music for bringing us together and combining our talents. It is an honor to be a part of this historic moment,” he added.
As for the young Moroccan singer Nouamane Belaïachi, he said, “I’m so honored to be performing ‘Gaw El Banat’ at El Gouna Film Festival with RedOne and Mohamed Ramadan! I’m grateful to have worked with such talented artists and am thrilled for my first release with Universal Arabic Music. We hope this will bring Arabic music to the world and help it become mainstream. I’m so happy to work with RedOne, who never forgot his origins and played the role of an ambassador for the Arab world. Thank you to Universal Arabic Music for the efforts they make to shine a global spotlight on our music.”
The fifth edition of El Gouna film Festival is held from October 14th to October 22nd, 2021, in El Gouna, located on the Red Sea, Egypt.
