About

Sabrine Darbuka (Sabrine El Hossamy) is the leading female percussionist in Egypt and the Middle East. Her rhythms are influenced by different music genres including jazz, experimental, ethnic and world music. 

 

She was mentored by one of the best Darbuka players in the world, Misrli Ahmet from Turkey, after which she began a journey of playing and teaching world wide.

Being of a multicultural background, with Spanish, Turkish and French influence, Sabrine brings a fresh interpretation to the Darbuka.

 

She is one of the handful of women who play the Darbuka professionally, if not the first woman to pave the road for other women to follow. El Hossamy sees women's empowerment as paramount to her vision in spreading her art form, not only through playing but through different art disciplines including Theater and now Cinema. 

 

Sabrine has attended and performed in many jazz and percussion festivals including Cairo Jazz Festival, Bahrain Music Festival and Chicago World Music Festival. She also toured Turkey with Anadole Atache and Moustafa Erdwan, played with DJs in Paris as well as being invited to play at the Cairo opera house and percussion festivals.

 

In touring the world with her music, her aim is to spread her rhythms not only through playing but also through teaching the Darbuka internationally. As such, in 2016, she founded Dom Tak Cairo to pursue teaching the Darbuka and to create a space where musicians and lovers of music can gather to learn and connect.

 

She has released one full-length album in 2010 with EMI, titled Darbuka Heat featuring artists from Europe and the Middle East. 

 

In 2017, Sabrine entered the performing arts world with "Ya Sem", a contemporary dance and solo Darbuka portraying the struggle of women to gain their freedoms and their basic rights. The piece won the best performance for Egypt National Festival as well as best performance in the Free festival in Jordan.

 

In 2019, she directed a contemporary dance and music performance "Albi" which premiered in Cairo at the AUC Falaki Theater to full house nights.