Waves of My Life

Envisioned and composed by Ihab Darwish

Waves of My Life, distributed as an album by Universal Music, consists of nine pieces inspired by Darwish’s own memories, combining Arabic and Western motifs. Eastern instruments, such as the ney, the qanoon, the oud and elements of traditional Khaleeji percussion, as well the duduk, an Armenian wind instrument, work with the traditional Western complement of the Beethoven Academy Orchestra. The young orchestra, based in Krakow, is performing the works in Abu Dhabi and for the album recording.

True to his beginnings, Waves of My Life resounds with the soaring chords and expansive sound associated with cinematic music. It could be a soundtrack for Darwish’s own life: each of the album’s nine tracks has a personal tale to inspire it. “One of them is for Abu Dhabi,” he says. “Beyond Limits focuses on the fast pace and growth of Abu Dhabi. Not forgetting our roots and heritage, it has Arabic and western instrumentation.”

The stories behind the works reveal the important role music has played for Darwish. But he has not always been a composer. Darwish studied advertising and art design at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. He still works in human resources and branding.