Artist Hatem Fahmy Cairo – Hazem Almasry Artist Hatem Fahmy spoke in an exclusive interview with Arabstoday about his first album “Don’t worry about me”, which he believes helped him become famous and said that the reason why he wasn’t present in the entertainment scene for a while was because he wanted to carefully choose his new work, especially after ending his contract with Goodnews Productions, only to come out with his new album “Still in my hands”, which was produced by Rosnama Music Productions, which he considers a message from the heart and soul of revolutionists.

AT: Why did you end your contract with Goodnews Productions?
HF: we didn’t agree on things because we had different mentalities and ways of thinking which caused financial problems, leading to immediately ending the contract.

AT: Why did you take so long to release your album?
HF: The album took a long time to make because after I left Goodnews, I had to find a new production company. Finally, Producer Hisham Jamal offered me a contract with Rosnama, which I thought was a great opportunity.

AT: What does your new contract entail?
HF: I have a three-year contract with Rosnama. Rosnama will produce two or three albums, depending on how long it takse to film two video clips. I will film three video clips for my current album, beginning with the song “I am alone”, which was written by Tamer Hussein, composed by me and produced by Maddy.
 
AT: Weren’t you worried about signing a contract with a Production company that had so little production experience?
HF: Yes I was a little nervous, but we succeeded and God was on our side.

AT: Many artists look for well-known production companies that have their own satellite television channels in order to gain wider media exposure. Why haven’t you done the same?
HF: audiences are now much smarter; therefore we must respect them and respect the work we present. Audiences won’t look at your work if they feel that it has been overly advertised. Therefore, contracting with those larger companies only works if you work smartly.
 
AT: You were preparing this album before the Egyptian revolution. What did the revolution add to your album?
HF: I changed some of the songs and spent a lot of time trying to find a song suitable for the revolution. I found the song “Still in my hands”, which had great lyrics that were optimistic about change. I decided to make \"Stil in my hands\" the main song in the album.

AT: Did you consider the period in which you  released your album to be ‘risky’ given the political events?
HF: I didn’t decide when the album would be released - the release time was stipulated by my contract. I worked extremely hard on this album and took advice from the producer and my team on many aspects of the album. In the end I was really happy with my album sales, which exceeded my expectations. This has also been reflected in  radtio station and satellite television figures.

AT: You are now preparing a new album and have already started choosing songs for it. Is that true?
HF: This is the surprise that I am currently preparing for my fans with producer Hisham Jamal. The album’s idea is going to be completely different to any other album on the market. We have already started choosing songs and composing music. The album will only contain five songs, all of which are duets with other artists, but I won’t say any more as I don’t want to ruin the surprise.

AT: What about films?
HF: I have always loved acting but I haven’t found the right acting opportunity yet. I am also waiting to prove myself through my singing. After I released my video clip for the song “Mother”, many of my friends commented on my acting abilities and said that I am a good actor.