RE-ISSUE DATE: APR 2025
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Leila Mourad was an Egyptian singer and actress, and one of the most famous stars in the Arab world during the 1940s and 1950s. She was known for her soft voice, emotional songs, and her roles in musical films. She came from a musical Jewish family in Cairo. Her father, Zaki Mourad, was a well-known singer. She began singing at age nine and appeared in her first movie when she was fifteen. In the 1930s and 1940s, she became a major celebrity in Egypt. Her most famous film was Ghazal El-Banat (1949), where she starred with popular actors like Naguib El Rihani. She married director Anwar Wagdi, who worked with her on several movies. In the early 1960s, she suddenly retired and stayed out of the public eye.
Leila Mourad’s song “Hayran Fi Donia El Khayal” (Arabic: حيران في دنيا الخيال) was released in 1946 as part of a 10‑inch Shellac 78 RPM record, where it appeared alongside "Oghneyet El Leil" on the same disc. The lyrics were penned by renowned Egyptian poet Ahmed Rami and the melody composed by the celebrated Mahmud Abdul-Wahab . The song opens with a poetic reflection on memory and longing:
“Hayran fi donia el-khayal, mahroum men al-thikrayat…”
(Lost in a world of fantasy, deprived of memories…)
Lost in a world of fantasy, deprived of memories
Though she was embraced as a symbol of Egyptian identity, her Jewish background occasionally drew scrutiny, particularly during the political upheavals of the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1953, she faced false allegations of supporting Zionist causes, which she firmly denied, and a government investigation cleared her name. Despite this, the incident marked a turning point in her public life. As the Egyptian film and music industry shifted under Nasser’s rule, Mourad gradually withdrew from the spotlight, choosing a life of privacy and spiritual reflection. Her legacy, however, continues through her recordings, which remain beloved classics throughout the Arab world.
Leila alongside her husband Anwar Wagdi in “Darling of the Soul”
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TRACK LIST
The cover design echoes Leila Mourad’s layered identity and the emotional undercurrents of her song “Hayran Fi Donia El Khayal.” It explores the duality of her public and private selves — a celebrated icon and a woman navigating shifting cultural and political landscapes. The visual duplication and blurring evoke a sense of disorientation, mirroring the song’s central theme: being adrift in a world of fantasy. This aesthetic choice also reflects the tension between visibility and erasure, resonance and loss — a haunting presence shaped as much by memory as by absence.
RELEASE
NO.01
LEILA
MOURAD
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