Aly Eissa

Bio

Aly Eissa (b. 1993) is a self-taught oud player, composer, and improviser based in Cairo, Egypt. He was mentored by legendary composer Abdo Dagher and oud virtuoso Hazem Shahin. Eissa’s style is deeply rooted in the Egyptian classical and folk traditions and influenced by various styles. Since 2012, Eissa has been regularly performing his compositions solo and with ensembles for live audiences, creating versatile and twisted meditative atmospheres throughout the musical experience.

P.S. Survivors of his first two performances highly recommend Eissa’s music.

Interview with Aly Eissa

Projects

Solo

Aly Eissa plays a set of his original compositions. They are long, playful pieces of music with many layers of genre and feeling. Aly’s improvisations make each set unique and fully outstretched to connect with the audience.

Social session

Raksat Almonkaser-Loustic Sessions


Gouda Bar

By Akuphone (2023)

Gouda Bar is an original instrumental music project led by composer and oud player Aly Eissa. Featuring his diverse musical influences, Eissa’s compositions create versatile and twisted meditative atmospheres throughout the musical experience.
Released in Spring 2023

The Handover

By Sublime Frequencies (2024)

In The Handover, Aly Eissa, Ayman Asfour and Jonas Cambien explore the common and uncommon senses of Egypt's ritual music. It is clear that Aly Eissa's original composition is deeply rooted in Egyptian and Arabic traditions. At the same time, this band is one of the most progressive coming out of Egypt today. This is in big part thanks to Eissa, who has proven time and again to be not only an extremely skillful composer but also a real visionary, combining tradition with modern experimentation.
Released in Spring 2024

Eissa to Asfour

By Feral Note (2024)

Eissa to Asfour is a documentation and celebration of the musical companionship between Aly Eissa (oud) and Ayman Asfour (violin). Aly and Ayman first began playing together in 2017 and since then, they have had the opportunity to play many live concerts together in Egypt and throughout Europe, as well as record together on several albums. Aly and Ayman, despite coming from two different generations, share a mutual passion for classical Arabic and Egyptian folk music. At the same time, they both enjoy experimenting with contemporary approaches to improvisation and creating sounds. This album celebrates this close and dynamic friendship and documents the chemistry between these two musicians and their way of creating a unique contemporary Egyptian folk sound.

Inside The Blue Balloon

(2021)

Maurice Louca, Ayman Asfour and Aly Eissa Trio

(2022)

Links

Upcoming Tours

The Fruit Fly