Tareq Al-Nasser

In May 2022, Vincent Moon went to Jordan to meet producer Mirna Khalfawi. For two weeks, they hit the road on a journey exploring music and traditions from the north to the south of Jordan. Their quest for authentic sounds gathered like-spirited people and musicians around them throughout their travel, leading to the recording of a series of films that echo the Jordanian Kingdom’s melting pot of cultures.

On their way to the Red Sea to the south, a few hours after leaving the magic of Petra, Vincent and Mirna stopped in the red desert of Wadi Rum, well known by Hollywood to represent life on Mars.

There, Al Nasser’s piano stood amid the spectacular landscape, where it has dwelled for the past few years. The renowned musician lives between Amman and Aqaba, but once in a while, he returns to the desert, to the Bedouin camp of his friend Ali Ahmad Zalabia, to contemplate and compose among the majestic mountains of Wadi Rum.

The morning after, Tareq came. They had coffee together to talk about him and the relationship he has with this piano. It was protected from extreme desert temperatures by many layers. After a while, Tareq unwrapped the piano, one layer at a time. And finally, Tareq reached the keys. As it was way too hot to film in these conditions, they decided to wait until sunset to film this meeting between the artist and the instrument.

This video is one of several that Vincent and Mirna did along their journey that will be released in the next few weeks.

Filmed in Wadi Rum, Jordan on May 22