HalaBahrain - May 2009

HalaBahrain Magazine | May 2009 1

HalaBahrainHalaBahrain MagazineMagazine

Your Local Bahraini Guide!

May 2009 - Volume 1 - Issue 11

Events & Events &

HappeningsHappenings We cover the Grand Prix, We cover the Grand Prix,

fashion events and fashion events and

parties, & more!parties, & more!

Race Your VoiceRace Your Voice

Taking local music talent to

the global stage!

Places to Go

Things to Do

Events

Tradition

And much more!


HalaBahrainHalaBahrain MagazineMagazine Lifestyle - Technology -

Entertainment - Events ©

What a Rush!What a Rush! Dear Readers,

Wow, the F1 weekend has come and gone and it has been a

total thrill! The adrenaline rush of the cars, a fully packed BIC,

and event after event after event! We hardly had enough time

to make sure we were everywhere at once, but we managed

to do it! Now with that over, we’re taking it easy and trying to

relax more as an early summer sets in and keeps us a little lazier

than usual.

If you haven’t gone to the F1 race this year, not to fret! We’ve

covered the whole event and have enough pictures to fill up a

few good hard drives. We’ve also covered some of the events

going on around, from the FTV parties, comedy shows, and a lot

more! We’ve also interviewed Flipp, the winner of the

BahrainTalent/BIC competition, who performed the official F1

Bahrain Race theme song! Definitely inspiring.

Again, we would love to hear from you about anything; send us

your emails with thoughts about the magazine, letters, ideas,

and let us know what you’re thinking!

Till next time,

Ammar Al-Aradi

Editor In-Chief

The Team

Editor-in-Chief

Ammar Al-Aradi

Creative Director

Fardan Raffi

Public Relations

Amal Fareed

Copyright Information © All Rights reserved. This

publication may not be

reproduced or transmitted in

any form in whole or in part

without the written permission

of the publisher. Liability: While

every care has been taken in

the preparation of this

magazine, the publishers

cannot be held responsible for

the accuracy of the

information herein, or any

consequence arising it.

HalaBahrain is a fully registered

online publication with the

Bahrain Ministry of Information,

under registration number

EQHBH210

HalaBahrain is published

monthly; to view the magazine,

for a free subscription, or to

download a copy, please visit

www.halabahrain.com. For

advertising and all enquiries,

please contact

[email protected]

www.HalaBahrain.com

[email protected]

Editorial


World Press Photo

Location: Seef Mall

Contact: +973 - 17715500

News, Events News, Events

& Happenings& Happenings It’s usually pretty hard to live up to the

rush of events and activities during F1, and

to be honest by the end of it people are just

totally worn out to actually want to do much!

Luckily for us, May is a bit of a quieter month,

with less crazy parties and more along the arts side of things, to give us a little room to relax.

Elham kicks off with a 4-day festival on the 13th, covering multiple events with everything from poetry

readings, to photography, to painting, and much more. The events will be held around the Bahrain

Fort Museum, Bahrain National Museum and the Cultural Hall. For the full program, you can visit their

website on www.elhambahrain.net. World Press Photo is on at Seef Mall on the 14th, with images that

will have the power to amaze or shock. As the weather gets hotter, everyone starts thinking of flying

away, so where better to check out amazing deals than at the Travel Expo?

If you still have a little bit of party left in you, then Coral Beach is the place to be this month, with

Defected in the House on the 15th, and the monthly HouseSexy on the 29th. For those looking for

Music in a more mellow form, check out La Movida playing on the 20th at Aqua Fuego, or for a more

classical Arabic vibe listen to Sapho, one of France’s most famed classical musicians, singing classics

from Um Kalthum. Finally, for a fun day out of family entertainment, make sure to head to Against the

Clock at the BIC this year, for competitions, music, live entertainment, and lots of fun overall!

14-16 May

Upcoming

14 May - 3 June

Return of La Movida

Location: Aqua Fuego

Timing: 9:00pm-2:00am

Contact: +973-36110200

[email protected]

20 May

Bahrain International Travel Expo

Location: Bahrain Exhibition Center

Contact: +973-17200001

13-16 May

Elham Arts Festival

Location: Bahrain Fort Museum /

National Museum / Cultural Hall

Timing: Full Day of events

Contact: [email protected]

Against the Clock

Location: Bahrain Int’l Circuit

Email: +973-36468988

29 May

21 May

Sapho Sings Um Kalthom

Location: Golden Tulip

Timing: 7:30pm-12:30am

Contact: +973-36318893

[email protected]

15 May

Defected in the House

Location: Coral Beach Club

Email: +973-17312700

HouseSexy feat. Rich Murray

Location: Coral Beach Club

Email: +973-17312700

[email protected]



Got something to say? Anything specific you’d like to see in Got something to say? Anything specific you’d like to see in

the magazine? Or maybe you just love our magazine? Hate it? the magazine? Or maybe you just love our magazine? Hate it?

Or just need someone to talk to? Whatever it is, let us know, Or just need someone to talk to? Whatever it is, let us know,

email us on: email us on: [email protected]@halabahrain.com

————

FROM: Amal

SUBJECT: Liked it!

Great concept! I don’t even

remember the last time I

picked up a regular mag,

but yours is something I can

check out from work! Really

good stuff, keep it up!

Lovely! Just make sure you

don’t get fired because of

our addictive magazine!

————

FROM: Hassan

SUBJECT: F1

Will you be covering the F1

races this year?

Yup! Check out the section

this year for tons of photos

from the race! We’ve also

spoken to Flipp and a few

others, who have worked on

the official Bahrain F1 track

for this year!

————

FROM: Preacher

SUBJECT: Spring of Culture?

How come you didn’t end

up publishing any details

about the Spring of Culture?

Well ‘preacher’, it seems that

every other magazine out

there was doing it, plus it

was in all the newspapers,

and schedules and events

were given out, so we fig-

ured it would be obsolete

pushing it again! We focused

on everything else :)

————

FROM: Chandra

SUBJECT: BIC

Nice section on the Bahrain

Fort! We are living here for a

long time but never had a

chance to see it before,

thanks for the tips!

Glad you enjoyed it! Make

sure to take a camera

along!

————

FROM: Anon

SUBJECT: Inspiring

Loved the article on Yasmin!

It really is fresh & refreshing

to see female talent in this

side of the world. It’s usually

hidden and not allowed to

grow! Yasmin, you have our

best wishes behind you and

hope the best for you in the

coming future!

Yep, she’s something special

and we’re pretty sure the girl

has a lot up here sleeve!

Keep an eye out for her!

————

FROM: Miller Gardener

SUBJECT: Gardens

Can you feature a section

about gardens and how to

maintain one?

Sure; Plant seeds, spray with

water, watch plant grow. Err,

seriously dude, we don’t

have much gardening

experience.

HalaBahrain MailHalaBahrain Mail Mail


Bahrain Grand PrixBahrain Grand Prix If you don’t know what this is, then you have

issues! What is undoubtedly the biggest event in

Bahrain on any given year, the F1 race brought a

lot of entertainment along with it, from an

amazing beat-boxer, dancing crews, a crazy

finish by Brawn, and much more!

True, the weather was HOT, but it was still more

fun than any event you can probably go to in

Bahrain. If you missed it this year, shame on you!

Make sure to get your tickets for next year’s now!

Events


Events



Events



Events

Heels & WheelsHeels & Wheels

What a better way to start off the F1 weekend

than with a crazy party full of music, VIP’s and

models? That’s exactly how it was at the Heels &

Wheels party at the Gulf Hotel. Glamour, top

models, great music and more made this a night

to remember!


Omid DjaliliOmid Djalili Omid Djalili, the famed Iranian comic, performed

for the first time in Bahrain. With opening acts by

local comics including Imran Alaradi, Waddah

Swar, Ali Esbai and Rehman Akhtar, the show was

a definite success and had everyone up in tears!

Events


Events FTV Race AfterPartyFTV Race AfterParty After a long busy 3 days of racing and adrenaline, the best

way to top it off is with what has become a yearly F1 tradition,

the FTV party at Coral Beach! Hed Kandi, dancing models,

cool breeze by the beach, and tons of people wanting to get

into this event makes this party the one to be at! An exciting

event that people didn’t want to leave till the early hours of

the morning!


Events



Zain Create

Zain have just

launched a new

entertainment

portal, boasting

the ability to

download music

wherever you are

directly to your

mobile phone.

The current selection

includes all the latest Rotana content, right there at your

fingertips! Sign up at create.zain.com today.

Satanist Youth

Although it was meant to be

the first of it’s kind in Bahrain,

the ‘Rage to the Extreme’

rock concert, which brought

bands from all over the region

to play in Bahrain over a full

day, was cancelled! And what

was the reason? The simple fact

that a CID officer found a t-shirt

worn by one of the band

members offensive, and decided to shut down the whole

concert, claiming that everyone there was a ‘Satanist’.

What is even sadder to note is the t-shirt itself was just a car-

toon image of the devil, with a quote saying “God is busy,

can I help you?’

News

Bahrain NewsBahrain News

Alcohol for rich folks only?

Our MP’s have decided that drinking alcohol is a pursuit

only meant for the rich, and have therefore banned any

bars or clubs from staying open in one and two star

hotels. The decision was made overnight, and enforcing

the rule was put into action the next day, giving one and

two star hotels no chance but to close. The next step is

trying to ban alcohol sales completely, the results of how

business is to be affected in the country is yet to be seen.

Internet UnBan

For a day, every internet addict in Bahrain praised the

lord as all blocked sites, political, pornographic or

otherwise got unblocked, and figured the Ministry of

Information must have returned to their senses and

removed the ridiculous anti-free-speech internet ban.

This joy was short-

lived, however, as it

turned out this was

just a glitch, and all

previously blocked

websites became

blocked again!


News

2000cc Challenge2000cc Challenge We’ve covered the 2000cc challenge over the past few months,

and it has come to a close for this year! A great event in the field of

local motorsports, and if you don’t already know what it is, it’s a

challenge where Bahraini based drivers take modified cars around

the track during the season. Modifications follow specific rules, and

the car engines cannot be larger than 2000cc.

Top driver Mustafa Al Khan defeated all competition and hailed victorious today during the final round of the

2008/2009 Batelco 2000CC Challenge season at Bahrain International Circuit, as Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa

finished an overall second and Mohammed Saleh in third. Missed the race? Not to worry, make sure you catch

the excitement next season!


Visit the world of hidden

Bahraini Talents...

www.BahrainTalent.com


The Lagoon hasn’t officially opened

for business, although posters have

started springing up about it from Seef

Area to Sakheer and everywhere in

between. A few spots have decided

to take this opportunity and open up

branches; although not fully equipped

just yet (set up as temporary shacks to

serve basic food and drinks), they are

great if you want to get away from the

regular busy areas.

Tucked far away in Amwaj, Veranda

opens up between 4:30pm and midnight,

and with the weather being cool and calm

during the evenings makes this a great

spot to hang out. At the moment you

won’t be able to get more than a Shisha,

drink and perhaps some cake or ice-

cream, until they officially open up with full

facilities. For now, as a quiet place to go

and chill or even take a date, Veranda

makes for a perfect spot!

Tradition

Veranda Veranda --

The LagoonThe Lagoon


With this years Bahrain Grand Prix theme being

‘Where the Heart is’, the Bahrain International

Circuit wanted to bring the race even closer to

the people. So along with BahrainTalent.com,

they decided to create a competition to come

up with a theme song for this years race, but the

difference was that this was to be composed and

written by local artists!

The competition was set up, and the artists started

working on their material. BahrainTalent received

lots of submissions, some great, some not so great.

BIC & BahrainTalent chose the best five, and

pushed them out for the people to vote (on radio,

through the web, etc), and a winner was chosen!

Local Talent

Race Your Voice!Race Your Voice!


Local Talent

The 5 shortlisted contestants were Na Der, Discal, Amigos Band,

Viviana Perdomo and Flipp. Each track was from a different genre

and each had something special going for it; we asked each of the

artists to give us a quote on their inspirations for writing the music for

this years F1 theme:

- Na Der:

A Bahraini artist who started with performances at the University of

Bahrain in the 90’s. He now produces music for plays, commercials,

films and more, and currently working on his first album!

“I loved to contribute and be part of this huge event! Bahrain F1 is

probably the biggest event throughout the year, and being part of it

helps us represent Bahrain to the world. It’s also a chance to produce

a rock song, and was a lot of fun!”

- Discal:

A production and DJ’ing duo of brothers from Bahrain, Adel & Anwar

Jamal, who have been consistently making beats and spinning music

since 97! Asked why they wanted to participate in the competition:

“The opportunity of contributing to our country’s yearly F1 campaign,

which involves the whole world looking at Bahrain for those 3 days.

The sheer speed and noise that comes along with the sport is also

inspiration in itself.”


Local Talent

- Amigos Band::

A Bahraini band made up of Abdulrahman Ahmed, Ahmed Abdulla,

Mohammed Younis, Mohoammed Sami, Yousif Almal and Yousif Nabeel.

The band started in 2006, playing private parties, then onto bigger concerts.

They cover a large number of styles, mainly Latin, Rock & Reggae.

“We wanted to have the opportunity to play during the F1 race, and give

everyone an idea of our band’s music and style”

- Viviana Perdomo:

Viviana Perdomo, along with Viviana Ramirez, are two Colombian artists

residing in Bahrain, with rapper Ruzzo Castillo, of Cuban origin. They

have been based in Bahrain for a number of years and already play as

part of a band in Bahrain called Los Illegales.

“We were interested in the challenge, and with F1 being part of Bahrain,

which we feel is part of us now, we decided to take on the project.”


-Flipp:

The winner of the competition, Hussam Aseem aka Flipp, is a young rising Bahraini star. Starting a few years back with writing lyrics

about his history and experiences, he discovered HipHop as a form of expression, and has only grown with it since. His track, ’Where

the Heart Is’ took over the radio as listeners dialed in and sent messages voting for it as the winning track!

- So Flipp, tell us a little bit about your inspiration for the track, or what made you join in the competition?

“Well, one of the inspirations to join the competition was that I wanted to do something for Bahrain, and to show the world that we

have talent in our little island too. Most people don’t appreciate that and so we end up importing talent from outside for our shows,

events, although we have so much in the country that is hidden!”

- So tell us a little bit about your track?

“Well it’s an F1 themed track, and as part of the competition I wanted to create a zone for the listener, to feel everything they

would feel when at the circuit, from the adrenaline rush of the cars zooming by, to the noise of the engines, and everthing else.

I also wanted it to reflect on Bahrain and show how we as Bahrainis are proud of this achievement that put us on the global map.”


Local Talent

Overall, the response to the competition has been very strong, and through it all it has been proved that there is a very large appetite

for local talent, and that we do have quite a lot of it hidden in Bahrain! As the winner, Flipp got the chance to perform on stage during

F1 race day, a day when thousands of people from around the world descend to Bahrain to watch the F1 racers battle it out on circuit!

His track was also fully mixed and mastered with a professional sound engineer at 2Seas Records, one of the highest quality studios in

the country!

If you haven’t already gotten a chance to listen to the tracks, visit www.BahrainTalent.com for the chance to hear all of them or to

watch a video of the making of the final track, and visit www.UrFilez.com to download the final version of Flipp’s track!

Documents

HalaBahrain - May 2009