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Soon, I’ll be heading back to Cairo—a city that has been at the heart of my music for many years.

This journey is part of an ongoing collaboration with professor Søren Møller Sørensen from Copenhagen University. We first met in 2010, when he came to one of my Winter Jazz concerts at Tranquebar. After the show, he told me he used to play the lute and wanted oud lessons. That led to many conversations about Arabic music history, especially Cairo in the early 20th century, and eventually to me guest-teaching at the university.

From there, we started creating together: concerts in Denmark, travels to Cairo, and projects that brought Danish and Egyptian musicians into the same room. Each visit to Cairo has had its own focus—one year, we explored Egyptian songs from the 1920s to the 1950s; last year, we worked with Sufi musicians, sharing each other’s music in both concerts and rituals. There’s even a documentary from that time.

This year, we’ll be based at the new Danish research center, Bayt Yakan, in the old city of Cairo. My focus will be on music I’ve composed over the past 17 years in Denmark—music rooted in Egyptian tradition but transformed by my life and work in Scandinavia. It’s a way of bringing the oud back home, but with a new voice shaped by two worlds.

Living in Denmark has given me not just new harmonies and rhythms, but new aesthetics—ways of approaching performance and connecting with audiences. Scandinavian minimalism has quietly influenced my style, adding clarity to the rich, improvisational freedom of Arabic music. In Cairo, I’m curious to see what happens when these worlds meet again.

I’ve been carrying this piece with me for a long time.

From Havana to Jerusalem was born in 2017, after long conversations about Cuban music and hours of listening to recordings with Cuban musician Yohan Ramon. Somewhere in that exchange, I started hearing connections—Cuban rhythmic patterns weaving into the shapes of Middle Eastervn scales.

I recorded it in 2019, between Denmark and Cairo. And then… I left it. Not because I didn’t believe in it, but because I never found the right moment—or the focus—to finish it. In the meantime, it’s lived its own life on stage. I’ve played it with The Fifth String Ensemble, with Ensemble Storstrøm, and once even heard it carried across the airwaves on a live radio broadcast. Audiences have always responded warmly, but the recording itself remained in limbo.

Now, I’m finally back with it. I’m mixing it myself and plan to release it this winter. Before that, I want to share a few raw sketches from the process here—unfinished, but full of the journey that’s brought the piece this far.

Here’s the live version with ENSEMBLE STORSTRØM:

Hi friends,

I’m deep in the studio these days, recording and producing new music — and I’m excited to share that a new single is on the way soon!

Live performances are starting up again in August, and I’d love to see you out there!
First stop: Copenhagen Opera Festival with my students from Goldschmidt Music Academy.
Catch us at Festivalscenen on Den Røde Plads — Monday, August 18 at 18:00.

Then comes something truly special:
September 6 – Concert Talk in Thorsminde
At the Strandingsmuseum, I’ll be performing with my trio, featuring Thomas Agergaard on saxophone. Just before the concert, there will be a lecture by renowned conservator Abdi Hedayat, exploring the wonders of nature and human invention — from whales and T-rexes to particle accelerators and desert rhythms.
It’s a unique evening blending storytelling and music in a magical setting by the sea.

🎟 More info here

Then:

September 11 – Maqam Festival at Koncertkirken

Join us for a deep dive into the world of maqam with the Bilal Irshed Trio.

🎟 Tickets here

And in October, I’ll be heading to Cairo for a two-week residency — performing and recording new works. I can’t wait to reconnect with the music scene there and dive into new collaborations.

Thanks for being here — I’ll keep you posted.

Warmly,

Bilal