MIGUEL MERINO
Musician, Linguist, Educator
Music
Miguel produced and arranged all the music for Dunya al-Ushaq (2020), an album of the songs of Egyptian folkloric singer Ali al-Abady. Miguel takes the lyre, the only melody instrument on the record, into uncharted territory, conjuring lush soundscapes and textures with a dazzling variety of tones and timbres. Mixed and mastered by Grammy-winning Egyptian engineer Alaa El Kashef, a long-time friend and collaborator of Otaak Band, all the lyres played on this album are completely acoustic, showcasing the amazing sonic range of these instruments.
After studying jazz drums at the University of Miami, Miguel moved to Egypt in early 2009, where for the next 10 years he learned from and collaborated with many local artists from the region. During this period, he expanded his sonic palette by learning a variety of new hand drums and local percussion instruments, and was introduced by Sudanese musicians to the ancient east-African lyre they called tambur, and he was hooked.
He began forming a group to explore these strange new sounds of the lyre. Soon after beginning to play the instrument, he met the Sudanese Beja singer and lyre player Ahmed Said Abuamna, whose spectacular voice was the centerpiece of Otaak Band’s debut album Bejawiya (2012). This album was also the debut of the Sudanese-style lyre as a modern, adaptable instrument, capable of playing in a variety of musical styles. Otaak Band toured with the album in the United States twice in 2014, bringing the little-known sound of the lyre to new audiences.
In addition to his own musical pursuits, Miguel lends his sharp ear and musical sense to other projects as an arranger and producer. Artists of various musical backgrounds will enjoy incorporating Miguel’s unique drum and lyre tones in their music.
Language
In addition to his music, Miguel has a great love for the Arabic language, and it developed rather unexpectedly. While it was never his intention to learn Arabic, he necessarily began speaking it after moving to Egypt, with fellow musicians in Cairo, in cafes and on taxi rides, and on travels around the country and the region. He was welcomed by the families of close
friends for Ramadan meals, and participated in the hypnotic rites of Egyptian zār.
After returning to United States he began formal studies in Arabic at the Middlebury Language School and Georgetown University. Miguel holds a master’s degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Georgetown University, where he studied modern Arabic poetry, researching extensively the recent works of celebrated Bahraini poet Qassim Haddad. This research, “Al-Kawnu Mawqif: Poetry and Prophecy in the Works of Qassim Haddad, 2000-2013,” has been published by the online jounal MANA.
Miguel has over five years of experience as a freelance translator and interpreter between Arabic, English and Spanish. He is particularly interested in literary translation, and also composes music for poetry recitation, such as this recent poem by the outstanding Saudi poet Hatem Alzahrani.
TEACHING
Miguel enjoys sharing his own musical and linguistic growth and progression with others. He has many years of experience in both music and Arabic instruction for students age 6 through adult. He is available for drum and lyre instruction online as well as musical production consultation.