Biography
The Bahraini Al Ekhwa (Arabic: الإخوة) (translated: The Brothers Band) is one of the most famous Arabic rock/jazz bands. In the early seventies, it took a special approach to presenting songs to the tunes of the colloquial Bahraini dialect. The Brothers Band consists of Ali Baher (Arabic: علي بحر), the band’s main singer and keyboard player, and Khaled Al-Thawadi, one of the best guitarists in the Middle East, and the band’s songwriter and main composer. Sultan Al-Mas, the tango player, called the Tango Octopus, Issa Baher, the bass guitarist, and Wajih Hassan, who is Ali Baher’s cousin and one of the best drummers in the Arab world.
When Ali Baher was sixteen years old, he met his companion Khaled Al-Thawadi through Ibrahim Al-Thawadi (drummer), the older brother of the artist Khaled (one of the founding members of the Bahraini Brothers Band), who is considered one of the best electric guitarists in Bahrain and the Middle East (the second on the continent of Asia), and they agreed to form a musical band called The Rock. In the seventies, the band was unable to release an album due to their financial difficulties. Therefore, they sang various Arabic, foreign, and Iranian songs, and for a number of well-known artists such as Fairouz, Bob Marley, and Santana.
In late 1986, the band's name was changed from The Rock to The Brothers, and this idea came about because the band included two brothers from the Al-Thawadi family (Ibrahim and Khaled), and two brothers from the Baher family (Issa and Ali). This was a qualitative shift for the band, and although the band members were not well-known that year, after a short period they made themselves the most famous in Bahrain. The band's style was influenced by Western music mixed with fun songs and love songs.
In 1987, after the band's name was changed to the Brothers Band, they released their first album Me, the Night and the Moon. This album achieved great success, but after the album the band received rejection and harsh criticism from media outlets because of their Western style and because of their use of Western instruments. The Bahraini Brothers Band initially consisted of Ali Baher, Khaled Al-Thawadi, Issa Baher, Ibrahim Al-Thawadi, and Sultan Al-Mas.
As for Ali Baher and Khaled Al-Thawadi, they created the largest successful duo in the history of musical bands in the Middle East. In fact, Khaled Al-Thawadi received an honorary shield as the best guitarist. He also wrote the lyrics for the band's songs, and his poems are characterized by the authentic Bahraini dialect. Ibrahim Al-Thawadi seemed to be influenced by foreign songs from his childhood, so he still sings foreign songs by Bob Marley, Santana, (he was influenced by the songs of the British musician Ritchie Blackmore) and others. Many amateur musicians take Al-Thawadi as a role model for playing because he is a musician in the special style of the Arab region, as he plays jazz, rock, and classics, but he specializes in playing solo. The bass guitarist in the band is Issa Baher, who is Ali Baher's younger brother. Also, let us not forget the Congolese player Sultan Al-Mas, who is one of the oldest members of the band.
Wajih Hassan joined the band in 1996 and is considered one of the strongest drummers in the region. It is worth noting that Wajih is Ali Baher’s cousin. There is also Abdullah Al-Shorouki, who left the band in 2002, while Nader left the band in 1990 and returned in 2005, along with Muhammad Rashid, who is only twenty years old. He considers Khaled Al-Thawadi his role model in playing, so he is good at playing his pieces.
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