Today we’d like to introduce you to Omar Azhari and Amr Taher.
Hi Omar and Amr, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Amr Taher and I experienced many music events around the world that greatly influenced who we are today. We also witnessed the scene here in Houston grow over the years, but as diverse as the city is, we noticed a gap in the electronic music scene that didn’t get as much attention, and we wanted to focus on that, making our top priority the quality of music and artists we want to bring regardless of how big or small an artist’s name maybe. We wanted to introduce those amazing talents to the city.
Close to two years ago, we met, discussed, and envisioned bringing this music to our city. We knew that our uniqueness and value in this business would come from our niche taste in electronic music and the energy that we can cultivate. We are both heavily influenced by the sounds we heard at Burning Man, Tulum, and many other places around the world, where it’s almost a fusion of western and eastern, modern and ancient instruments to create those mystical organic sounds layered on timeless grooves. This sound has a bigger following in the East/West coast nightlife scene, but we feel that there is a huge potential in Houston and Texas in general, this state is booming and so is its music scene.
The idea was on the back of our minds for a couple of years until we recently decided to start. We were trying to come up with a name for the brand and after a few ideas, we were set on the name “Sawa” which translates to “Together” in Arabic language. The name has so many symbolic notions to us from doing this together as friends and partners, to being able to enjoy the thing that we love with our friends, to including many of our local talents as well as global artists. The name is simple but carries a clear meaning.
We just had our official launch party this past Halloween with DJ & producers duo Wild Dark from NYC and another one in November With Nhii, a German producer based in LA. We also have two upcoming shows in December that we are very excited about, Borak who is a rising Turkish producer based in LA will be playing a hybrid set, with his guitar and Ali Farahani who is a world-known DJ/Producer based in L.A. which we are planning to do something very special as a tribute to his Iranian heritage during this difficult time that they are experiencing over there.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Generally speaking, it has been smooth with a few bumps in the road. For us, everything that we do in terms of operations is flowing like second nature, probably because me and Amr love what we are doing so much and we pretty much share the same vision. Another reason is that we are working with like-minded people. Everyone involved understands this scene. From the owner of the venue, to the manager, to the promoters (us) and so on, everyone just gets it. When that happens, magic tends to be created and the end result is a great experience for everyone involved. We have been getting great feedback from the attendees as well as the artists, especially for their debut in Houston.
However, as with any new business, there are certainly some struggles. We chose a niche sound/sub genre within the spectrum of electronic music, with a small but growing following in Houston. We also started doing our parties in a new venue that had just opened recently and is slowly but surely trying to build a name for itself as well. Fortunately, they have one of the best sound systems in town which is crucial for creating magic.
We also wanted to take into consideration making it possible for almost anyone to be able to enjoy highly talented artists and have a great experience overall at an affordable price.
There are struggles, but we try learn from them so we get better at what we do. We are currently a small operation dealing with smaller struggles, as we aim to continue to grow, we appreciate the challenges that might come along the way because that can be fun and rewarding at the same time.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sawa. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a promotion company that aims to deliver boutique electronic music events in the city of Houston. Our business revolves around a certain sound that we support and bringing globally acclaimed Djs within that sound to our city.
We are most proud to be following a dream and doing what we love. Our brand creates unity and love within our community, and we are proud of that. Our vision is to create a multi-sensory experience, to elevate the spirit using music, visuals, and create a safe space for people to get together, enjoy the arts and express themselves fully.
We are very proud to be able to start and expand this niche sound in our city within our community. We want our readers to know that we cant wait to show what we have planned for this upcoming year.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
As much as we both love being in social environments and constantly around music and people, we equally love our alone and downtime.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sawahtx/
