Issa Ghandour

I created this profile using the Skize.com MySpace Profile Editor which is really easy to use. You can also check out their other selection of MySpace Layouts!



Order my new CD today



On 8 April 2008, my new CD was released under the title “Beautiful Angel” in the US and Canada by Miles Copeland’s CIA Records. Miles Copeland is widely known as former manager of the Police and Sting and brother of Police drummer Stewart Copeland. One of his various projects is CIA (Copeland International Arts), a label that focuses mainly on Middle Eastern music (Arabic, Persian and Turkish). You can order the album today from anywhere in the world by clicking on one of the links below. For those of you in Lebanon and the Middle East the album’s release date in the area has not yet been decided on . We are still in discussion with various companies and have not yet reached a final decision on which company will undertake the album’s release. But if you have a credit card and are interested in buying the album, there is nothing easier than using one of the links below to buy it (allow 10-15 days for delivery to the Middle East). The album includes the four songs that you have already heard on myspace as well as 6 others tracks. Thank you for your interest and if you do buy the CD, I hope you like it!



Issa Ghandour's interest in music was inspired by his father, the late Hassan Ghandour, a well-known and prominent Arabic-music composer and singer, whose friends included Mohammad Abdulwahab and Faiza Ahmad among others. By the middle teens, Issa's interest shifted to western music, although he continued to study violin and oud at the National Conservatory in Beirut. Issa studied Arabic music history and theory with Dr. Salim Sahhab, a distinguished music professor and key figure in the Egyptian opera. He learned to appreciate Andalusian and classical Arabic music. This produced in Issa a desire to mix Eastern influences with Western ones from his teens.



During the time that Issa attended college at the BUC (now the Lebanese American University), he dabbled with theatre and music as well. With the confidence of someone in his early twenties, Issa recorded his first basic album, Shagar el Yasmine. After marriage to his wife Rima, Issa teamed up with guitarist/songwriter Walid Itayim. Together they recorded Issa's next album Mish Ma37oul. From that second album came Oyoun El-Soud, the song which was rearranged by Hani Siblini 2 years later and became Issa's first big hit. He became part of Beirut's restaurant entertainment scene throughout the 90's, performing at places like Le Top at the Sporting Club and Crystal Palace among others. His travels took him to Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Duba, Sweden and the US. Issa recorded his next CD in Egypt called Is'alouh, which was a success in Lebanon and the Gulf. He then turned to TV, acting in television series with Hussein Fehmi, Ma'ali Zayed and Sawsan Bader among others. His best-known series was Omm El Aroussa. In January 2005, Issa released the song Minsafer. The video clip for that song initially got excellent reviews from both the critics and the general public but the assasination of Rafic al Hariri a couple of weeks after it was released prevented the song from getting the exposure it needed to reach it's full potential. Issa is happily married with two children, Serene and Tarek. He lives with his family in Beirut. He has just completed work on his new CD and is now in the process of negotiating it's release with producers. "425" height="350">



This is the video clip of Mensafer. It was directed by Leila Kenaan.