Amr Diab - "Amarain"

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Featured on the Putumayo collection "Arabic Groove."
Originally released on June 12th, 2001.

From the liner notes:

Amr Diab was born in Port Said, Egypt into an artistic family. He made his singing debut at the age of 6 when he appeared at the local radio station to sing the national anthem. With his father’s encouragement, he began his music studies at the Cairo Academy of Art and graduated in 1986. He began recording shortly afterward and has since produced 16 top selling albums with many hit songs. Diab is an innovator in the field of modern Arab song. His 1996 hit song “Nour El Ein (The Mind’s Eye)” blended Arabic music elements with flamenco guitar, which started a trend among many Arabic singers. He was also one of the first Arab stars whose popularity extended beyond the boundaries of the Middle East. “Nour El Ein” earned him a World Music Award in 1998, the first for an Arab artist, and he takes top billing at music festivals all over the world. Diab continues to bring new influences into Arabic music. He has collaborated with international music stars including Khaled and Greek singer Angela Dimitrou, blending his popular Egyptian al-jil music style with Algerian rai and Greek music respectively.

“Amarain (Two Moons)” is the title cut of Diab’s most recent top selling album. It is a beautiful Arabic song heavily driven by flamenco guitar and Afro-Cuban percussion that challenges listeners to remain in their seats. As with most popular songs in the Middle East (and everywhere else in the world for that matter) the theme is love. “I swear this was not what I planned / My heart asks about you / You are on my mind / Maybe I am in love / What has happened to me? / I now melt in your love /Your eyes speak to me of love and I surrender / Are these two moons or your eyes?”