Carl and the Reda Mafia

Carl & The Reda Mafia is a Dubai-based band formed in October 2014. The group consists of Carl Frenais from India (singer & songwriter), Tarek Reda from Egypt (guitarist and composer), Christos Asimakopoulos from Greece (bassist) and Abimbola Durojaye "Bims" from Nigeria (drummer). The band comprises a mixture of backgrounds that resulted in a hybrid sound known as "Funk Jam" combining elements of funk, rock and roll and blues with a pop music twist.[1][2][3][4][5]

A few weeks after forming the band, Carl & The Reda Mafia were crowned winners of the prestigious BandJam battle of the bands organized by Al Ghurair Group. The band took home the first place after joining 60 other bands playing for a crowd of over 5,000 music lovers. Carl & The Reda Mafia got the chance to meet with one of the biggest selling bands in the Philippines, Rivermaya, in a mentorship session as part of their prize.[6][7]

Building on their success at BandJam, the band then went on to perform at various gigs around the UAE including Dubai International Jazz Festival and Abu Dhabi Festival. Around May 2015, Carl & The Reda Mafia signed a record label and management deal with Abu Dhabi's local production studio White Cube Studios. Soon after they started recording their debut album What The?!.[8][9]

In September 2015, the band was selected to open for the legendary rock band Bon Jovi at one of the biggest music venues in the Middle East, the Du Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 1, 2015. This marked their first appearance opening for a major world-renowned act.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Following their Bon Jovi gig they had the opportunity to open for world renowned hip hop artist J. Cole for an even bigger crowd at the Beats on The Beach concert in Abu Dhabi on November 27, 2015.[18]

In January 2016 Carl Frenais (the frontman of the band) went viral on the internet after making a video mixing Indian harmonies and human beatboxing to the iPhone app Siri. The video was supposedly intended to be private and only shared amongst friends, but it was leaked and had more than 15 million views.[19][20][21][22]

On February 19, 2016, Carl & The Reda Mafia released their debut album What The?! on the iTunes Store and all other major music streaming platforms including Apple Music, Spotify and SoundCloud. When asked what the band writes about, Carl Frenais said "I don’t write about love. At all. I think that’s an emotion that’s been used too much". The album What The?! specifically asks questions about what's happening around the world, and questions about why people think the way they think.[5][23]

In April 2016, the band was awarded "Best Local Band" at the biggest nightlife and entertainment awards ceremony in UAE, HYPE Awards.[24]

Awards

Winner of BandJam Battle of The Bands (2014) - Al Ghureir Group.

Band Of The Year (2016) - Infusion Magazine.

Best Local Band (2016) - HYPE Awards.[24]

"Funk-fried rock and roll from Carl & The Reda Mafia who took to their Bon Jovi warm up like true rock stars" - Infusion Magazine.[25]

Discography

Albums

What The?! (2016)

  1. "Drown with Me"
  2. "A Better Place"
  3. "Moo Point of View" (Ft. Inphinix)
  4. "Live Today"
  5. "Crazy Town"
  6. "Let the Music Take Control"
  7. "Don't Freakin Waste My Time"
  8. "My World"
  9. "Starting New"
  10. "We'll Go in Peace"

Singles

  • "Fight for your queen" (2015)

References

  1. ^ Infusion Magazine interview (January 2015). In Infusion magazine. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  2. ^ Ahead of Opening for Bon Jovi in Abu Dhabi (September 2015). In Redbull. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  3. ^ INTERVIEW: Carl and The Reda Mafia (November 2015). In ShortList Dubai. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  4. ^ Twist and Tune that Funk Jam Carl and the Reda Mafia (June 2015). In Feel Your Tempo. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  5. ^ a b One on One: Carl Frenais Archived 2016-03-07 at the Wayback Machine (February 2016). In TripleW. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  6. ^ Bands battle it out in Dubai (November 2014). In Gulf News. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  7. ^ Rivermaya mentors talent in Battle of the Bands (November 2014). In Khaleej Times. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  8. ^ Carl & The Reda Mafia (June 2015). In one8one. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  9. ^ White Cube Studios tells Jack Dignum more about its musical movement (February 2016). In Timeout Abu Dhabi. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  10. ^ Nothing short of crazy for us: Carl Frenais. (September 2015). In Khaleej Times. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  11. ^ Dubai band take Bon Jovi support slot in their stride (September 2015). In The National. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  12. ^ Kochi boy’s band to open for Bon Jovi (September 2015). In The Hindu. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  13. ^ Carl and The Reda Mafia to open for global rock superstars Bon Jovi (September 2015). In Timeout Abu Dhabi. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  14. ^ ‘Psyched about opening for Bon Jovi’ (September 2015). In Rolling Stones India. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  15. ^ Rising UAE Rockers Set to Open for Bon Jovi (September 2015). In Redbull. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  16. ^ Big Bon Jovi news for local band (September 2015). In What's On. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  17. ^ Local act tune up for gig of their lives with Bon Jovi Archived 2016-01-23 at the Wayback Machine (September 2015). In 7 DAYS. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  18. ^ F1 Yasalam concert line-up (November 2015). In Gulf News. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  19. ^ BBC Trending:Singalong to Siri (January 2016). In BBC. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  20. ^ Viral video starring UAE musician Carl Frenais beatboxing to iPhone app Siri clocked 15 million views (January 2016). In The National. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  21. ^ Video of trio beatboxing an Indian classical song with Siri is the coolest thing on the internet today (January 2016). In The News Minute. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  22. ^ These Guys Beatboxed With Siri To Create The Most Amazing Indian Classical Jam Ever (January 2016). In BuzzFeed. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  23. ^ Carl and the Reda Mafia release debut album[permanent dead link‍] (February 2016). In 7 DAYS. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Dubai Nightlife Celebrated in 2016 Hype Awards". Dubai Night. April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  25. ^ Winners of 2015 Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine (January 2016). In Infusion Magazine. Retrieved March 3, 2016.