Each person in the world has their own special form of expression. Put a group of them together, and they can form a band who express themselves with music. In Gaza, a group of young men formed themselves into a band called Typo Band- خطأ مطبعي (Khata2 Matba3i). The three members, Mohammed H. Zohud, Islam M. Shanghan, and Ala’a B. Hamalawi, got together with the idea that music is a basic movement for what they believe is a much-needed social uprising.
The band was founded in February of 2012, making it now 4 years old! Their rock-and-roll music style is an outlet for them to express their perspective on the Palestinian and Arab social reality. They urge the youth to think and change.
For them, music is a measure of the progress of the people. They believe that music is an expression of human conflict and concern. They aim their urban lyrics to a variety of cultural and social classes in Palestine in particular, but the world in general.
BarakaBits asked Typo Band a few questions, check out how they responded:
- What makes your band different from other youth bands?
“Typo is different from the existing youth bands in Gaza because our songs are a product of what we absorb from the streets and society, and other than that, we are the first Gazan rock band ever!”
- What is the inspiration behind your band name?
“We chose this name because we felt it represents something strange in society. We felt this way because we noticed how people look at us strangely. So we considered society the text, and we are the typo within it.”
- What is the inspiration behind your first album name?
“We wanted our first album name to be associated with the band itself, not the songs within it. So given that we are the Typo Band, this album is our first typo, or error.”
These Gazans have found an outlet in the aftermath of the destruction. With their music, they nod their heads to the beat of their personal beliefs. Their first album, named “The First Mistake” (Awal Khata2) hit markets all over Palestine.
Typo is a band that is gaining recognition for their great hits, one of them being “Dream of Dawn – احلم بالنور”. Check out more information on their FB page and Twitter account.
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