Yassir Shawgi Biography

Yassir Shawgi, A Funky Man From The Sudan.

Name of the Band: Yassir and Friends.

Yassir Shawgi. Born in Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan, from Sudanese father

and Egyptian mother.
Born in a musical family, despite the fact that being a musician was not
appreciated in his culture. Several times Yassir has been punished at
the school because he escaped from the school to the military music band,
to practice music. During that time Yassir and his friends were very
phanatic in playing the music and studying the music theory from each
other. They learned to play the guitar under the tree, while everybody
was waiting for his turn because there was only one acoustic guitar. And
there was no Music Institute by
that time, in the late 70s.

"During that time we were influenced by The Commodores, K.C. and the
Sunshine Band, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown and Stevie Wonder, Santana
and Mr. George Benson. We used to jam a lot, funk and we acted we were
singing in English, but it was no English".
Since his 14th age, he was living a "band's life", first as a drummer and
later turned to guitar and vocal and became as well a songwiter in
English. He played with several well-known bands in Khartoum. During
that time, because of the cultural gap, Yassir was a hippy in Khartoum,
10 years later after the hippy-movement. For example Woodstock was
a great event in his life, after seeing the movie, ten years later after
the happening of the concert. Woodstock inspired Yassir to create one
of the numbers of his cd: "freedom".

After his graduation from the Civil Aviation Institute in Khartoum,

Sudan,(section Airport Management, Aerodrome Officer) Yassir immigrated to
the Netherlands.

Between 1985 and 1988 he was a co-founder of the percussion-group

"African Section" in the Netherlands, being the pioneers, (after the band
"Osabisa"), in playing African rooted percussion.
Performing throughout the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
He studied more music and had singing lessons.

In 1988 he organised a benefit-concert for the victims of the flood in

Sudan, in the Municipal Theater in Heerlen. It was the first time Yassir played
his guitar for the Dutch audience and sang as well. It appears that this
concert was the first benefit-concert in the Netherlands.
This was the beginning of "Yassir and Friends" funky band.
After this concert many performances, open festivals, television recordings in
Europe and in Africa have occurred.

Throughout all the years of jamming and writing a lot of songs, there
have played in his band a great number of good musicians of different
nationalities.Yassir can take his guitar and go anywhere, after finding a good
bassist and drummer and after a short rehearsal he can perform a whole
concert.
Some musicians have taught him a lot, and he has taught and create a
lot of good musicians.
"Because the way I put the cords together they become a melodious
groove, and from this harmony of the cords the lyrics come; this result
creates for every musician at that moment playing, a good jamming
atmosphere and for the audience a familiar sound coming from the past. We
call this a good vibe".

Yassir is a left-handed person, but he plays the guitar in the normal right
position, which gives him the capacity, playing difficult rhythmic grooves and
sing at the same time. The style is full cords, which gives the listener the idea
of many musicians are playing.

"So the issue is funk and the lyrics are "positive vibration" which we need
nowadays".

What makes the people of the two worlds interested is that Yassir is an arabic
speaker and he sings in English or other languages and funk is the issue.
Yassir has a great life-experience as a musician, and he would like to be
always on stage.
His release "A funky man from the Sudan" is the first registration of his
music
on a cd. It was by coincidence.

To you with love and respect,

Yassir Shawgi
The Netherlands