In a world where music has become less of an art and more of a business, it has become increasingly difficult to find artists who still appreciate the value of honest lyrics and a beautiful melody that leap from their guitars into the minds and hearts of their fellow human beings.
It is that simple value that Egyptian jazz fusion band Madina sees as the defining quality of its music.
Madina was formed when a group of young Egyptian musicians who had always loved playing music came together and decided that they wanted to make music that was original, simple and real.
"We have a lot to offer and a lot of stories to tell, and none of us are articulate but we love music," lead vocalist Joe Ghaffar told StepFeed.
That simplicity, authenticity and a genuine love for music are what dominate Madina's identity, from their lyrics to their sound, even the band's name was chosen quite simply.
"Madina is a pretty looking name, it looks pretty when you try to draw it , and we were looking for a simple name, very simple," lead guitarist Ahmad Mostafa said.
Although Madina only started its current musical journey in early 2014, the band has already built a loyal fan base through successful debuts like "Vatareen", a bluesy heartbreak ballad and "Ana Mefales", a hopeful tune about what it's like to be young, broke and loving the uncertainty of life.
The band's unique sound, which combines classic Western jazz-rock and "old-school Arabic music" as Ghaffar put it, with a modern twist sprinkled on top, is inspired by the greats of both worlds including Stevie Wonder and Jimmy Hendrix from the former and Umm Kulthum and Abd-El Wahab from the latter.
"These people were major influences and I think the new generation knows less about them because of the slow tempo the music was played in," Ghaffar said.
"We take the song and jazz it all up and hope that the new generation finds out more about all that legacy these people have left for us."
The themes of simplicity and realness are most apparent when it comes to Madina's lyrics, which fittingly, are inspired by life.
"We want our lyrics to truly reflect stories that happened to us, or that happen to all of us everyday, and we think real things are simple, so we choose our lyrics based mainly on those two factors," said Mostafa.
These themes are what Mostafa thinks make the band's young fans "deeply connect" with songs like "Ana Mefales" and "Ma7toot Fel Friendzone", an upbeat melody about being stuck in the friend-zone.
"A lot of us are always broke, a lot of us are always in the friend-zone, I think these two songs define the band’s genre in a huge way. I guess that's why people listen to them."
The authenticity and originality that Madina, and many other young artists and bands in Egypt stand for, are certainly a fresh of breath air in a profit-hungry industry that had become suffocated by outdated content and a lack of innovation.
"We (Egyptian artists) have been saying the same old thing since the 1960s: She loved me, I loved her, I miss her, she misses me, she forgot me, I will forget her, ana ha3alem 3aleeha (I'll leave a mark on her), heya 3alemet 3alaya (she left a mark on me)," Mostafa said.
"I mean, the lyrics might be nice, but until when are we gonna sing about love in mainstream pop music? Kids who were born in the 2000s don’t wanna listen to Amr Diab anymore, they need a new idol, a new type of music that defines their nature."
However, as Mostafa pointed out, because of new technologies and young artists eager to make use of them, the industry has changed.
"The new generation doesn’t need a record label to produce new sounds and lyrics, all they need is a couple of good computers and some software."
Despite the fact that Madina takes pride in that it is independent, keyboardist Faisal Fouad said the group has nothing against joining a record label as long as it doesn't "interfere with the musical content."
Although, it doesn't seem that the presence or absence of a label is something the five musicians are worrying about. As Mostafa pointed out, their goals, like their music, are clear and simple.
"We believe in what we do and we love it, we just wanna continue playing music, developing, enjoying the times we spend together in the studio and entertaining more and more people."