Phil Thornton & Hossam Ramzy

A keen sorcerer of sonic visions, Phil Thornton has written and produced over 20 solo albums - with sales of 1,200,000+ world wide - since beginning his musical odyssey in the early '80s with the group 'Expandis' (a unique artists collective best known for their innovative use of electronic sound). Phil's first two ambient albums 'Cloud Sculpting' and 'Edge Of Dreams' both topped the 'New Musical Express' New Age chart and are now widely acclaimed as classics of their genre.

Phil's first two ambient albums 'Cloud Sculpting' and 'Edge Of Dreams' both topped the 'New Musical Express' New Age chart and are now widely acclaimed as classics of their genre.

Previously commissioned to collaborate on the concept album 'First Quest' for the highly successful game 'Dungeons & Dragons' and to compose music for an esoteric art event at St. James's in Piccadilly, London, widely regarded as an early turning point in the development of 'new age' ideas.

His arrangements often feature a mix of ethnic and modern instruments, which has led him into collaborations with leading 'world' musicians to create a diverse and hypnotic blend of atmospheric compositions. Phil's 1999 collaboration with Hossam Ramzy, 'Immortal Egypt', won 1st place in the annual 'New Age Voice' magazine awards in the USA.

As a live performer Phil has appeared on regional and national television in England, Europe and South America, The Findhorn Foundations Universal Hall in Scotland, the Purcell Rooms on the South Bank and St. James's Church in Piccadilly, London. Seminars in Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, Guadalajara and Sao Paulo and concert tours of Brazil and Mexico as well as many 'Greenpeace' and 'Friends of The Earth' festivals in Great Britain.

He has also given many interviews/performances for radio shows world wide including 'echoes', 'K.T.W.V.' and 'Hearts of Space' in the U.S.A.

Hossam Ramzy is an Egyptian professional percussionist, composer and music arranger. Hossam Ramzy was born in Cairo, Egypt to a very prominent Egyptian family which emphasized education and art. Ramzy's musical career began at the age of three when he was given his first drum, an Egyptian traditional tabla. Hossam was encouraged by his artistic family to master his craft and studied under leading Cairo music teachers. When he moved to Saudi Arabia he joined several Bedouin tribes which gave him a rich insight into the cultural origins of Middle Eastern music and became the inspiration for many of his later rhythmic directions.

In the mid-1970s Hossam moved to London, England and enjoyed a lot of success as a jazz drummer, working with many respected jazz musicians including Andy Sheppard and Geoff Williams. As he began looking for new dimensions of percussive sounds, he turned back to Egyptian Drums, and traditional dance rhythms of the Middle East.

Hossam also creates many new sounds from the old traditional grooves and Arabian & North African samples and loops using his state-of-the-art digital studio in London.

Hossam's No. 1 hit Edony that topped the dance charts worldwide in 2001. His percussion, North African string arrangements and exciting rhythms caught the attention of Peter Gabriel who invited Hossam to perform on Passion and later Us. Hossam collaborated on eleven albums with Peter Gabriel since 2001.

Hossam worked with many musicians including Joan Armatrading and Mary Wilson. Hossam creates string arrangements and percussion, and produces many songs for world artists such as: Yesim Salkim, Celick Erici, Khaled, Tarkan, Rachid Taha, Faudel, The Gipsy Kings and Youssou N'dour.

Hossam Ramzy's friends call him The Egyptian Rhythm Ambassador. He recorded his first solo album, ?An Introduction To Egyptian Dance Rhythms? in 1987. This album was a break from his career as one of the most sought-after session percussionists of his generation. His CV at the time read like a who's who of 80s music - Boy George, Marc Almond, Peter Gabriel and Killing Joke were just a few of his clients. After achieving this success, Hossam decided to look deeply at his own musical roots. This decision became an artistic conversation that produced some of the most inspired Egyptian and Arabian beats ever recorded. Hossam said that his intention was to record, document, enhance and contribute to the rhythms and compositions of a musical and dance culture that was slowly being eroded by the desire for progress, modernisation and superficial Westernisation. Hossam was convinced that a vital musical and cultural tradition and heritage would be lost if many of the compositions that he knew and loved so deeply were not recorded for future generations. Hossam contributed his own compositions too and his record collection reached 22 CDs from 1987 to 2007.

Hossam has his own studio in Sussex and is building a large studio complex in the Egyptian desert 30 km outside of Cairo. For the last two decades he has recorded his music arrangements using the best Arabian string players in Egypt and North Africa. The historic ?1-2-3 Soleils? concert and subsequent album show Hossam taking on the role of Orchestra Director, Arranger and Lead Percussionist on a project uniting the talents of Khaled, Taha and Faudel from Algeria, with well known guitarist and producer Steve Hillage.