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This is a print out of Omnia Hegazy's Sonicbids EPK™ (Electronic Press Kit). For a complete EPK including audio, photos, and up-to-date calendar visit: |
| Primary Genre: | Singer/Songwriter |
| Secondary Genre: | Adult Contemporary |
| Contact Name: | Omnia Hegazy |
| Email: | omniamusic@yahoo.com |
Singer/Songwriter, Global Citizen.
Biography
Omnia has been singing since the age of five and became a dedicated classical violinist at the age of ten. Looking for more artistic freedom, she decided to take up the acoustic guitar, and discovered writing music as a form of self-expression. A New Yorker and the child of an Egyptian father and Italian mother, her diverse perspective has prompted her to take on issues such as women's rights, political freedom, and the wide realm of human emotion. While her style is in the vein of commercial pop/rock, it has also adopted the rich sounds of her Mediterranean culture, setting her apart from the many competing singer/songwriters in the industry today. She is also a self-taught belly dancer and choreographer, seeking to create a fusion between East and West in her both music and her dancing.
Omnia is a graduate of the prestigious Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and proud DIY musician. She released her first EP "Jailbird" independently in 2011, and now returns in 2013 with her sophomore project entitled "Judgment Day", a bold statement on love and war.
Instrumentation
Omnia Hegazy - Vocals, Violin, Acoustic Guitar
Max Maples - Drums
Carl Limbacher - Bass
Yasmin Soudani - Middle eastern percussion
Coyote Anderson - Electric Guitar
Discography
Judgment Day - EP: May 2013
Singles: Aziza, Huriyah
The Jailbird EP: September 2011
Singles: Change This Place, Grace
Links
| http://www.omniamusic.com/ |
| Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/omniaFB |
| Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/omniatweets |
| MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/omniasmusic |
| Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/omniavids |
| Bandcamp: http://omniamusic.bandcamp.com/ |
| Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/omniamusic |
| Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/omniahegazy |
Musician Challenges Views on Muslims
Fox News
Musician Challenges Views on Muslims: Interview on Fox News Channel "What's Happening Now" with Jenna Lee.
Omnia Hegazy releases challenging new music, talks growing up Muslim on Staten Island
Staten Island Advance
On the eve of her EP Release Party, singer-songwriter Omnia Hegazy talks about her politically charged pop/rock, growing up Muslim on S.I, and refusing to whitewash her Arabic name.
Moral Courage Channel Launches On YouTube
The Daily Beast
Meet Omnia Hegazy—she's a singer, a songwriter, a beautiful young woman with a lilting voice and mesmerizing dance moves that draw from her Muslim heritage. And she's the first star of the new Moral Courage Channel, which has just debuted on YouTube in connection with the Moral Courage Project at New York University.
The channel is the brainchild of Executive Producer Irshad Manji, the NYU professor whom The New York Times once described as "Osama's bin Laden's worst nightmare" and the author of Allah, Liberty and Love and The Trouble With Islam Today. According to its YouTube site, the Channel is dedicated to "the willingness to stand up when others want you to sit down. It is living with integrity."
Hegazy's story, the first in Channel's series of original episodes, is a prime example of this kind of radical temerity. "A lot of Muslim men could learn how to deal with a woman," she tells the camera with a slight smile. "And a little bit of skin. To be frank."
Her lyrics—such as those on her song "Grace," from her digital album "The Jailbird"—have stirred up hate mail (one email told her to burn in hell for all eternity) as well as praise, especially from other Muslim women. "Why should you just be free while I stay here to suffocate?" She sings. "I'm not an object, but a woman, don't you see? It would do you some good to learn the way to talk to me."
Hegazy hopes her songs—by appealing to people's emotions rather than just preaching at them--will convince Muslims to respect a diversity of opinion—and to reconsider the message that Islam gives to women today. "You get the sense that I have to hide, my body is poisonous, it makes men do bad things. Instead of teaching men self-control, we teach women that we need to cover up and protect ourselves. There's the wrong emphasis here."
Egyptian-American fights discrimination against women through singing and dance.
Al Sharq Al Awsat
*In Arabic, incompatible with Sonicbids, see link below*
10 Questions with Omnia – Featured Artist on Lyrical Venus 3/27!
Lyrical Venus
While many young women her age are singing about parties and boyfriends over the same beats as everyone else, New York singer-songwriter Omnia tackles weightier world issues head-on with grace and passion. Combining modern pop styles with the rich flavors of her Mediterranean heritage, the East-meets-West result is fresh, engaging music with a message of empowerment.
OMNIA Hegazy "Grace" Video
The SI Band Guy
Check out Omnia's first official music video. I've done two shows with her in the past, extremely talented and nice!
From Nothing in Silence
Campusounds
Originally from Staten Island, New York, Omnia was not raised in a musically-rich household. There were no musicians in her family, but from the ripe age of 5, Omnia knew music would become her passion. She began singing and playing classical instruments like the violin and clarinet, but when she was introduced to Arabic music, she immediately gravitated towards it. The whimsical quality of Middle Eastern music caught the attention of Omnia and she began incorporating the quarter-step notes into her own music. "Arabic music is more dreamy and more mysterious than American music," says Omnia. At a young age she also picked up the rich Middle Eastern cultural practice of belly dancing, and aspires to incorporate these elements into her musical undertakings.
Omnia is now a Junior studying at the Clive Davis department in NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She is currently perfecting her first EP and is no rush to release it. The patience she has for her music will ultimately ensure that it will turn out exactly as she envisioned it–from its conception to the release. She explains she needs to feel a certain "vibe" on all of her tracks before they are finalized and to be able to step back and experience the song as if listening to it for the first time. "I know when a song is finished when I can listen to it objectively," she explains.
Although the quality of Omnia's sound is very much reflective of her personality, she ultimately wants her music to be selfless and used as a tool to raise political attention. In the song "Grace" she sheds light on the role of women in society and their often mistreatment. Omnia hopes to not only bring Arabic music into the American mainstream but to start conversations for social change. Her sights are set high, but at the end of the day, she has a very simple approach to it all. "I just want my music to be real."
Omnia Hegazy "Grace" Video
Hip Hop and Her Family
Right in line with our theme this month... singer/songwriter Omnia released her debut video for her track "Grace," advocating for women's empowerment and liberation, the first track from her EP The Jailbird. Looking forward to hearing more!! Via Open Sky Artworks.
Omnia Releases Long Awaited Project The Jailbird EP
Strive Till I Rise
OMNIA Releases Long Awaited Project "The Jailbird EP"
The Egyptian-American singer, OMNIA, released her project "The Jailbird EP" today. A senior in the Clive Davis Dept of Recorded Music at NYU, Omnia utilizes what she has learned at the prestigious school to produce an amazing piece of art that rivals that of mainstream music. She is an example of how young people all over the world are using their talent & knowledge to change society by offering unique perspectives and solutions to global problems. We salute Omnia and those like her… KEEP STRIVING! Click here for OMNIA'S TWITTER & WEBSITE
Open Sky Artworks released this statement: "We are proud of OMNIA for producing such a quality project that blends live instrumentation with a social commentary that needs to be heard. With the media spotlight on the Middle East and as countries are seeing revolution, Omnia is a breath of fresh air to those of us in entertainment who try to reconcile music and social movement. We are looking forward to seeing the response that critics, supporters and fans have to "The Jailbird EP."
Video
Lyrical Venus
Beautiful new video with an empowering message by New York singer-songwriter Omnia. Released on International Women's day, the song blends American and Middle Eastern pop/rock, and the video features clips of belly-dancers interspersed with head-on shots of women of every size, shape, color and age, celebrating the full range of beauty that can be seen in an honest, open, smiling face.
Description from the video:
"For all the women of the world…you are all graceful and you are all beautiful." http://omniamusic.bandcamp.com/
Music video by Omnia Hegazy performing Grace. © 2012 All Rights Reserved
Aziza
Judgment Day
Grace
Wonderful Disarray
Smiling Eyes
Pins and Needles
My Stupid Mouth (John Mayer cover)
Change this Place
Huriyah
Habibi ya Eini (Arabic Traditional)
| Date | Time | Venue | City |
| Full Cup | Staten Island, NY | ||
| Solo Acoustic Performance | |||
| Arab American Heritage Park Festival | Brooklyn, NY | ||
| Celebration of Arab women in Prospect Park | |||
| The Bitter End | New York, NY | ||
| Full band performance, also featuring twin sister and singer/songwriter Leila. | |||
| The Bitter End | New York, NY | ||
| EP Release Party! | |||
| Full Cup | Staten Island, NY | ||
| Acoustic performance of the songs on my new EP, as well as some other recently written tunes. | |||
| Alor Cafe | Staten Island, NY | ||
| The Commons | , NY | ||
| Benefit Concert for Notebooks for Peace raising money for youth in Gaza and the West Bank | |||
| Roulette | New York, NY | ||
| Performance for Arab Americans Got Talent Competition | |||
| Local 269 | New York, NY | ||
| New York Law School-MSA Spring Banquet | New York, NY | ||
| CUNY Baruch | New York, NY | ||
| Performance for Pakistani Students Association Fashion Show | |||
| Broad Street Ballroom | New York, NY | ||
| Performance for Islamic Relief's "Relief on the Runway'" to raise funds for women's programs around the world. | |||
| Arlene's Grocery | New York, NY | ||
| Full band show! | |||
| Alor Cafe | Staten Island, NY | ||
| Acoustic performance ft. Middle Eastern percussionist Yasmin Soudani | |||
| The Staaten | Staten Island, NY | ||
| Full Cup | Staten Island, NY | ||
| Fundrasier for Council on the Arts and Humanities on Staten Island | |||
| Drom | New York, NY | ||
| CD Release Show | |||
