Who is Ousso?

Mohamed Lofty “Ousso” is an Egyptian musician. Being an independent artist/musician, Ousso has contributed a lot towards the enrichment of the Egyptian music scene through taking leading and various roles as a guitarist, composer, producer, sound engineer, teacher and festival organizer. In addition to his valuable artistic contribution as the co-founder of the renowned music band “Nagham Masry” and a member and co-composer of Egypt’s top oriental Jazz band “Eftekasat”, he initiated the first underground music festival in Egypt the “SOS music festival”, through which he supported the emergence of several underground bands through providing a perfect ambiance for young bands including an equipped platform/space of performance as well as a wide range of audience with the purpose of enhancing their presence and encouraging their development.

As an individual artist and the founder of plenty of initiatives, Ousso has exerted tremendous and undeniable efforts over the past 16 years in establishing the main pillars of the music scene Egypt is witnessing at the moment. Ousso was not confined to one category of music; he contributed towards the development of both the underground as well as the mainstream scenes; bridging a big gap between both that resulted in the creation of a strong, successful and sustainable market. Ousso has served the scene not only as a performer, he has contributed a lot on the academic level as a coach, tutor and teacher, where he was invited by the AUC he taught Music Technology and Guitar from 2010 to 2012.

The Spanish endeavour in Berklee 2012/2013

In July 2013 he graduated from the masters program and got hired the same day to teach the summer program In Berklee Valencia, Giving workshops and teaching Guitar and Leading a Rock ensemble.

Bridging the gap between the mainstream and the underground music scenes

In parallel to the SOS music festival, which only supported original music by underground artists, through his events management company "The 19th Corporation" Ousso decided in 2010 to give covering bands and DJ’s a unique opportunity as well when he was approached by Nokia to come up with a new concept for the Nokia Express Music Festival. This was the first festival in Egypt that had four stages that were set up at the same venue, carrying different performance by different underground artists and DJ’s alternatively and at the same time.
On the fringe of both festivals, Ousso held smaller festivals called Live Night in cooperation with May El Naggar. The concept of these nights was to embrace acoustic and electric performances, stand up comedies, as well as featuring short films all at one night.
The 19th Corporation now proceeds to provide quality entertainment with the highest standards by offering a diverse array of options through various entertainment events such as Ewsal bel3araby’s open jams, Marassi Sun Festival Vol 1 & 2 and Uptown Cairo’s Classic Cars and other Educational events through Tafatifi’s onground activation program “El-Sellem”

Tafatifi

However, even after “SOS Music Festival” 2006-2010 which consisted of 19 editions in total, Ousso realized there was something missing still. He noticed the evident difficulty to learn music in Egypt and the consequent stereotyping society prints on people who want to make music their lifestyle. In addition, he was haunted by the sad reality for those who live in the remote areas of Egypt, where music is unreachable, even as a hobby, let alone as a profession. And this is how “Tafatifi” came to life.

A music development project in Egypt.

Tafatifi is the result of an idea inspired l to improve the music scene in Egypt. Ousso dreamt about properly introducing the true definition of Music, and teaching society about our musicians, the value they bring and how to properly appreciate them.

Tafatifi is a project that aims to develop the Arab music scene by creating an online communication network between some of the most famous and important musicians in the Middle East with music lovers everywhere.
Tafatifi offers integrated music lessons in 12 different instruments.Lessons are available online in Arabic, with the possibility of communicating with the teacher to assess the level of progress.

It is the only social network in Egypt that allows musicians to learn from one another, exchange expertise and gives them the chance to communicate easier and faster in order to further facilitate future diverse collaborations. But that’s not all of it. Tafatifi offers the opportunity for all young talents in far off cities and provinces to learn music in person with the best and most famous musicians in Egypt through “El Sellem” (The Staircase) program. “El Sellem” is the main contribution of “Tafatifi” for the real development of the Music Education in Egypt. We will offer the musically talented youth a real shot at their dreams and facilitate their access to the Egyptian Music Scene in the shortest and fastest ways and most importantly with the best musicians there is.

Tafatifi is an extension of the success that the “SOS Music Festival” has brought. It will bring back the Live Events that brought us all together once more to the on-ground music circle in Egypt. Artists and talented youth will now have a complete on platform that support the fulfillment of their dreams with no restrictions; starting from where they learn and nurture their talent, to a place where they showcase their performances and inspire many more to follow in their paths.

Tafatifi will bring music back to Life.