Fahd Ballan

Early life Fahd Ballan was born in 1933 in the village of Al-Kafr in As-Suwayda, Syria to a Druze family. His father, “Hamoud bin Ahmed Ballan,” farmer turned gendarme, had an affinity for music and was skilled at playing the rebab instrument, which he taught to Ballan.

In the early sixties, Ballan began a collaboration with artist Shaker Barikhan after the two met while working at Aleppo Radio. Barikhan would go on to compose for Ballan numerous songs including Aah Ya Gleby ("Oh, my heart"), a duetto with singer Sahar.

He collaborated with Syrian composer Abdel Fattah Sukkar, a collaboration which produced his most successful work, notably Washrah laha ("And Explain to Her") and Larkab Haddak Yal Motor ("I'll Ride Next to The Engine").