Mohammed el Amin
Mohammed el Amin is a Sudanese folk-hero for his majestic
voice and superb oud playing, and the near-blind, reclusive old
revolutionary is also a brilliant composer and arranger. Never
a prolific writer, his work is concentrated and even his rearrangements
of old songs sound fresh. I forgot the irritating half-assed reggae
of lesser bands the night Mohammed el Amin conjured up a playful
dub fade-out of one epic song with just a violinist (Mohamediya),
bass player and tablas. Born in Wad Medani, central Sudan, in
1943, he began learning the oud at the age of 11, taught by the
well-known professor Mohammed Fadl. He wrote his first
compositions aged 20, and went on to become honorary president
of the Sudanese Artists' and Composers' Society. Frequently in
trouble for provoking one military dictatorship - he was jailed
by Nimeiri's regime in the 1970s - he moved to Cairo after 1989
to avoid similar run-ins with the National Islamic Front, but
returned to Khartoum in 1994 and kept a low profile.