Jean-Marie Riachi
Encyclopedia
Jean-Marie Riachi is a Lebanese
arranger
, composer
and record producer
.
Riachi grew up in a non-musical family, however his passion and talent in music was obvious when he started playing the keyboard
at the age of eight. In 1988, at 18 years of age, he participated in Studio el Fan
, a Lebanese talent show
, where he performed as a keyboard player. He was attending USEK University faculty of fine art at the time.
He began his music career performing in local bars and clubs. He then achieved success in the nightlife and restaurant
industries as partnering manager
of a number of establishments, including Mandaloun sur mer, a highly-prominent seafood
restaurant in Beirut
.
Riachi launched his musical production and composing career in 1999 when he produced his first "hit", Baddi Doub
. It was performed by Elissa
, a Lebanese singer.
In 2001 he established the Jean Marie Audio Productions studio
in Rabieh
. He then created his own label, OMP (Oriental Music Publishing), the following year.
OMP is the first established publishing company in the Middle East and inside a year it had secured a prominent status in the publishing world, attracting many international music companies, including BMG Music.
Jean-Marie's music recordings continued when he began producing songs for the soundtrack
of the documentary movie Les Cendres du Phoenix. He also produced the theme song "Nour El Shams" by Pascale Machaalani
, for the Hollywood movie Spy Game
. He has also produced tracks used in television advertisements for various companies, including Pepsi
.
In 2006, he arranged and mixed "Light the Way", that José Carreras
and Majida El Roumi
performed at the 2006 Asian Games
in Doha
, Qatar
.
In 2009, he teamed up with several singers such as Ramy Ayach
, Abeer Nehme
, Simon Obeid and Yara, for the album Belaaks (On the contrary). It includes arrangements of various international hits such as Quizás, quizás, quizás
, Fly me to the moon
, La Vie en Rose
and Hymne à l'amour
mixing oriental music and Jazz.
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
Riachi grew up in a non-musical family, however his passion and talent in music was obvious when he started playing the keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
at the age of eight. In 1988, at 18 years of age, he participated in Studio el Fan
Studio el fan
Studio El Fan was a Lebanese talent show broadcast on Télé Liban during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in Lebanon and throughout the Arab world. Like the Olympics, the show ran every four years for an entire calendar year. Contestants from all over Lebanon competed. The best contestants in the...
, a Lebanese talent show
Talent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...
, where he performed as a keyboard player. He was attending USEK University faculty of fine art at the time.
He began his music career performing in local bars and clubs. He then achieved success in the nightlife and restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
industries as partnering manager
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
of a number of establishments, including Mandaloun sur mer, a highly-prominent seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
restaurant in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
.
Riachi launched his musical production and composing career in 1999 when he produced his first "hit", Baddi Doub
Baddi Doub
Baddi Doub is Elissa's debut album, released in 1999.-Track listing:1. Baddy Doub 2. Da Lolak 3. Hilm Al Ahlam 4. Waynak Habibi 5. Elissa 6. Chou Ma Sar 7. Za'alan 8. Ghali 9. Da Lolak 10. Hilm Al Ahlam...
. It was performed by Elissa
Elissa (singer)
Elissar Zakaria Khoury simply known as Elissa is a Lebanese singer. She is known for her collaborations with well-known Arab and international artists, notably Ragheb Alama, Cheb Mami, Fadl Shaker, Chris DeBurgh and Gerard Ferrer.Born to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother , her debut was in...
, a Lebanese singer.
In 2001 he established the Jean Marie Audio Productions studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
in Rabieh
Rabieh
Rabieh is a suburban area on the northern edge of Greater Beirut, Lebanon, about 20 minutes driving distance from Beirut. It is located in the foothills of Mount Lebanon, on the road to Bikfaya. Rabieh saw its population increase sharply in the late 1980s, following the Lebanese civil war...
. He then created his own label, OMP (Oriental Music Publishing), the following year.
OMP is the first established publishing company in the Middle East and inside a year it had secured a prominent status in the publishing world, attracting many international music companies, including BMG Music.
Jean-Marie's music recordings continued when he began producing songs for the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the documentary movie Les Cendres du Phoenix. He also produced the theme song "Nour El Shams" by Pascale Machaalani
Pascale Machaalani
Pascale Bechara Bachaalani, better known as Pascale Machaalani, born March 27, 1967 is a Murex d'or Award nominated Lebanese singer. Her debut album Sahar Sahar rose her to stardom throughout the Middle East, making Mashalaani one of the most successful female artistes in 1990s Lebanon...
, for the Hollywood movie Spy Game
Spy Game
Spy Game is a 2001 American spy film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62,362,785 in the United States and $143,049,560 worldwide.-Plot:...
. He has also produced tracks used in television advertisements for various companies, including Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
.
In 2006, he arranged and mixed "Light the Way", that José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
and Majida El Roumi
Majida El Roumi
Magida El-Roumi was born in Kfarshima, Lebanon, on December 13, 1956. She is a Lebanese singer and a soprano, who started her musical career in the early 1970s when she participated in the talent show, Studio El Fan on Télé Liban and won the gold medal for best female singer...
performed at the 2006 Asian Games
2006 Asian Games
The 15th Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, is Asia's Olympic-style sporting event that was held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
.
In 2009, he teamed up with several singers such as Ramy Ayach
Ramy Ayach
Ramy Ayach is a Druze Lebanese singer, songwriter, composer, and instrumentalist.- Early life :...
, Abeer Nehme
Abeer Nehme
Abeer Nehme is an ethnic Syriac Lebanese singer and a musicologist. She performs traditional Tarab music, Lebanese traditional music, Rahbani music, and sacred music from the Syriac-Maronite, Syriac-Orthodox, and Byzantine traditions. In 2009 she joined Jean-Marie Riachi for the album Belaaks...
, Simon Obeid and Yara, for the album Belaaks (On the contrary). It includes arrangements of various international hits such as Quizás, quizás, quizás
Quizás, Quizás, Quizás
"Quizás, Quizás, Quizás" , is a popular song by Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farres. Farrés wrote the original Spanish lyrics, as well as composing the 1947 hit...
, Fly me to the moon
Fly Me to the Moon
"Fly Me to the Moon" is a popular standard song written by Bart Howard in 1954. It was originally titled "In Other Words", and was introduced by Felicia Sanders in cabarets...
, La Vie en Rose
La vie en rose
"La Vie en Rose" was the signature song of French singer Édith Piaf.-Signature song of Édith Piaf:Édith Piaf first popularized La Vie en Rose in 1946. The lyrics were written by Piaf and the melody of the song by "Louiguy" . Initially, Piaf's peers and her songwriting team did not think the song...
and Hymne à l'amour
Hymne à l'amour
"Hymne à l'amour" is a popular French song originally performed by Édith Piaf. The lyrics were written by Piaf and the music by Marguerite Monnot. She first sang this song at the cabaret Versailles in New York on September 14, 1949. It was written to her lover and the love of her life, the French...
mixing oriental music and Jazz.
Awards
- (2006) Murex D’or for best song: "Habbaytak anaHabbaytak anaHabbaytak Ana is an album by the Lebanese singer Ramy Ayach. The album was released in December 2006, with two songs composed by Ayach himself.d by Ramy...
", performed by Ramy AyachRamy AyachRamy Ayach is a Druze Lebanese singer, songwriter, composer, and instrumentalist.- Early life :...
- (2003) Murex D’or for best song: "AyshalakAyshalakAyshalak is Lebanese singer Elissa's third studio album.-Singles:The album's first single is "Ayshalak" whose music video was shot in Paris by French director Fabrice Begotti. Elissa's wardrobe in the video was supplied by Christian Dior. The music video takes place in two locations, a Nightclub...
", performed by ElissaElissa (singer)Elissar Zakaria Khoury simply known as Elissa is a Lebanese singer. She is known for her collaborations with well-known Arab and international artists, notably Ragheb Alama, Cheb Mami, Fadl Shaker, Chris DeBurgh and Gerard Ferrer.Born to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother , her debut was in...
- (2004) World Music AwardsWorld Music AwardsThe World Music Awards is an international awards show founded in 1989 that annually honors recording artists based on worldwide sales figures provided by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . John Martinotti is an executive producer and co-founder of the show...
: Ma Trouhsh Beid, performed by LatifaLatifaLatifa Bint Alayah Al Arfaoui , better known as Latifa , is an Arab pop music singer, Latifa standing for gentle in Arabic.-Early life:...
- (2005) World Music AwardsWorld Music AwardsThe World Music Awards is an international awards show founded in 1989 that annually honors recording artists based on worldwide sales figures provided by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . John Martinotti is an executive producer and co-founder of the show...
, best-selling album in LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and North Africa: Ahla DonyaAhla DonyaAhla Donya is the fourth studio album by Lebanese artist Elissa and was her first album to be produced by Rotana, following the termination of her contract with Mohsen Gaber's Alam al Phan...
, ElissaElissa (singer)Elissar Zakaria Khoury simply known as Elissa is a Lebanese singer. She is known for her collaborations with well-known Arab and international artists, notably Ragheb Alama, Cheb Mami, Fadl Shaker, Chris DeBurgh and Gerard Ferrer.Born to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother , her debut was in...
album
- (2006) Murex d'OrMurex d'orThe Murex d'Or is a Lebanese award created by Lebanese physicians, Zahi and Fadi Helou to recognize achievements in the domain of art in Lebanon, the Arab region and the world. The first Murex d'Or ceremony took place on June 4, 2000...
, best composition and arrangement for Habaytak ana, Rami Ayach album
- (2008) Murex d'OrMurex d'orThe Murex d'Or is a Lebanese award created by Lebanese physicians, Zahi and Fadi Helou to recognize achievements in the domain of art in Lebanon, the Arab region and the world. The first Murex d'Or ceremony took place on June 4, 2000...
, best movie soundtrack for Sea of Stars
- (2008) Murex d'OrMurex d'orThe Murex d'Or is a Lebanese award created by Lebanese physicians, Zahi and Fadi Helou to recognize achievements in the domain of art in Lebanon, the Arab region and the world. The first Murex d'Or ceremony took place on June 4, 2000...
, best music arranger