Karp, Magdy | Karp is taking the world by storm with his song “Piya Piya Calling”

(Oslo newspaper) There are two things that could theoretically solve all the world's small and big problems: sharing a meal and sharing music.

Both have the power to start conversations between people who otherwise don’t agree, or (think) they have nothing in common. Food and music are universal languages ​​that we mix, share, and refine before they become our own new traditions.

Also the times we are in actual Not everyone understands each other's language, customs and culture, but music has the power to unite people.

This has become a Karbi signature in recent years. With Omar Sharif (2022) and ten-time Oslo Spectrum winner Chirag Rashmikant Patel and Majdi Ytridi Abdelmajid taking a step into the “popular artists” category.

They are the voice of a generation in Norway. It's not enough. Now they want to go around the world.

“Dear Norway. Ask them where I belong.”

With their latest release, “Piya Piya Calling,” they step through the biggest gateway in music: South Asia and Coke Studio PakistanThis scene is known for its unique collaborations that combine folk tunes with hip-hop, ghazals and qawwali – often all at once in one song.

So I had to check with my relatives in Pakistan. Were they listening? on They did, but they were mostly interested in the Quick Style dancing in the video.

“Yessss fast style. They are more popular in South Asia than anywhere else” was the answer, because of that much. He. She Wedding dance video.

On the surface, “Biya” is a love song. “Biya” means dear and beloved, but the song has layers upon layers of meaning. Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Balochi, the four languages ​​they sing in with Kaifi Khalil and Amanda Dilara, are so rich in lyrics and metaphors that they can be translated in many ways.

When Chirag sings in Gujarati:

“Bia Bia Norway, aa galleon ni kahi di, gar sodhi rasto to lay ja” It could mean “Bia, Bia, Norway. Ask the streets to show me the way home.

But it can also be understood as: “Dear Norway. Ask them where I belong.”

Later in the song, Magdy sings about being an outsider – a foreigner. This gives the song a completely different double entendre: “Piya, Piya, Calling” could mean “home is calling.”

Read also: Don't let yourself be forced to be silent, Magdy

Music is bigger than soda and war.

“Our place” is a question that expatriates in Europe and the West debate and feel all the time. The grief of first and second generation immigrants is best expressed in words by journalist and author Johan Shanmugaratnam in his book Comment in Classiccamp.

Maybe it is – an indescribable longing – that strikes me on the subway, the song in my ear, on my way to meet my father. He arrived in Fornebu nearly 50 years ago, and when he was no longer here one day, I lost an important link to my origins. Then the tears come.

Carby bridges that gap. They build community across languages ​​and cultures. And we need them in our lives, because so often we feel like we're screwing it up and going backwards. “Bia” is the voice of the past, our time, and the future. They make it sound so easy, but it's not.

I think there have been discussions about releasing a Coca-Cola-themed song, at a time when many of Carby's listeners are boycotting brands like McDonald's, Burger King, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks in support of Gaza and Palestine. But the reception shows that music is bigger than soda and war.

“There is no contradiction between loving the country you were born in and loving your origin,” wrote a Frenchman in the comments section, in one of many comments. Interactive videos on YouTube Who praises the song.

Music Video Viewed 6.6 million times, it is at the top of the list and is being played 1 million times a day. In Norway: iTunes (1), Apple Music (3), Spotify (5). In Spotify Pakistan, it has been steadily climbing and reached the 24th position. In Google Trends, all participants are doing the same thing. A strong leap in research In Europe, Middle East, South Asia and USA.

Oslo's great sons Karpi have been around all their lives and have yet to do so. the topThey are both in their 40s, and every time they release music they find a new audience. We have only seen a glimpse of what this will mean for Norwegian music.