You may know Doritos as the crispy crunchy snack we’ve all come to crave, but the Doritos brand is branching off into something other than the food scene…the music scene. In effort to promote local talent and give back to the community, Doritos launched a Kingdom wide search for artists that are as passionate about music as Doritos is about making a difference. And so, after thousands of auditions and hundreds of empty Dorito bags later, Design Magazine extends a warm welcome towards two promising homegrown music bands: Disturb The Balance (DTB) and Scoremix (or Scormix) & Zeg Zag better known as Ziggy (S&Z).
With an influence of different varieties of music genres like alternative rock/metal combined with hints of blues, Brit pop, oriental sounds and acoustic, DTB came together from different parts of the Middle East in November 2008. The name DTB came as an idea to portray the reality of who the band is. Based in Jeddah, ScoreMix and Ziggy have emerged as 2 fresh new artists on the Saudi rap scene. ScoreM!x decided to rap in Arabic as a profession 2 years ago, as he was infatuated by this music artfrom at a very young age. To date, he’s released more than 60 songs, including „Law Mut“ and „Sahm El Hob.” Ziggy, began rapping 4 years ago, which came naturally to him since he is known for being a lyrical genius… He has released over 20 tracks so far!
How would you describe the hip hop/rap scene in KSA and the region, and what obstacles if any do you face?
ScoreMix: I believe it is very popular and has a strong presence in the Kingdom and we are constantly trying to spread it, if you notice that most of the music you hear now is hip-hop and rap and it is commonly used in a lot of advertisements.
ZigGy: At the beginning there were many doubts and questions raised about the genre. We were thinking whether people would like it and whether they would understand the meaning and message behind it. But thank God people accepted and liked it and now it is extremely popular. We now have a lot of fans, listeners, and followers, and we have discovered the large number of rappers in the Arab world generally and in Saudi Arabia in particular. The main obstacle we faced is the fact that very few people within our society accepted and really understood our hip/hop and rap.
However, this is changing. The major issue we face regularly is that record labels don’t really sign a record deal with hip-hop and rap artists as they fear that it won’t generate income. Yet we still try to convey the message through our music to make people like this genre.
How do you describe the rock scene in KSA and the region, and what obstacles if any do you face?
(DTB) Now there is a large number of youth in the KSA that are open and accepting different genres and styles of music such as rock. This gave us an opportunity to grow and spread our music and most importantly we weren’t faced with a lot of difficulties.
Plus Disturb the Balance plays alternative rock/metal as a main genre bringing into light some of the oriental sounds & mixing them in an innovative way.
This unique mix appeals to the Mediterranean adult audience, grabbing their attention towards a new wave of sound. The only obstacle is that we don’t have much opportunity to play live in front of our fans and audience.
What was the latest album you worked on? And what was the message behind it?
ScoreMix: The latest album I worked on was Number One; I had several messages behind this album that talked about different problems people face within society.
(DTB): Our debut and EP album is Revelation, which was presented and sponsored by Doritos. It contains four unexpected tracks from the band, which comprises various content such as, stories and strong messages.
How, as underground artists, are you able to spread your music and build fan base using social media?
ZigGy: Yes, we were able to spread our music through blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and Twitter, In addition to some parties and concerts. (DTB) A great way of sharing our music and spreading it was simply through the main social networking sites such as: Disturb The Balance (FACEBOOK PAGE & Group) which was a strong source for us to share our piece of art and to simply expose what we want. We currently have 5418 fans and group members. Disturb The Balance (YouTube Channel) and Disturb The Balance (Reverbnation) are also strong tools to build and keep us in touch with our fan base. Also we hope that with these social networking sites we can gain global exposure and a wider connection with the fans. We are also working on our own official website which is supported by (Creative Pixels Design Studio). And also we are working on our myspace page, twitter, ITunes and building an FM radio presence.
How has your creative journey been with the support of Doritos? And what would you say to other young aspiring artists trying to make it in the music industry?
(S&Z) Doritos helped us build our career and more and we will not forget their support and help. They inspired us and pushed our career. What we advise young talent is to not give up, you have to try and try again. (DTB) Doritos was a break thorough for the band, encouraging the band towards a new experience, opening the doors for us to deal with expert people, how to deal with the advertising team, and in improving the band skills, knowledge and talents.
We advise the young talented youth to have faith in themselves and always believe that yes they can achieve their dreams plus to set goals in front of them. Finally, to play music or sing what they feel, what feels right from the soul, to be active, to always aim for a daily improvement, and to be optimistic.