Cairo, Oct 15 (AFP/APP):Egypt’s Mahmoud al-Tohamy is a master of Islamic chanting, a 1,400-year-old art form known as “inshad” — but that hasn’t stopped him from performing the “Game of Thrones” theme song. At age 41, Tohamy is inspired by the mystical Sufi branch of Islam and deeply committed to the spiritual essence of the ancient performance of devotional poetry and odes. But he has also earned global renown as an artistic pioneer who fuses inshad with other styles to create experimental and mesmerising works of music. While the strictest interpretations of the art of chanting bans the use of accompanying musical instruments, Tohamy has worked with Western-style rock bands and classical music orchestras. His latest projects, he told AFP in Cairo, are all about mixing “classic Arabic with popular music,” including genres from rock and pop to house. “I have mixed the art of traditional religious singing with touches of other Western and Eastern music,” said the master. “We will be able to spread the classic Arabic in the West as well as in local youth culture,” he said of the chants, or “anasheed”, which are traditionally performed solo or a capella. “Western and foreign audiences have an ear … Continue reading Egypt singer adds modern touch to Islamic chanting