As I headed to the location where this interview was held, I had a sense of wonder and amusement about me. Sitting on the floor in a random, dingy, old basement was not exactly the usual scene where a reporter would sit down and get to know their subjects. However, as soon as I turned on my trusty recorder, everything made sense. The location and the scene captured GUISE’s message perfectly. It may not be the most polished or the most flashy, but everything about them screams raw, real, and emotional.



GUISE is a music collective that started in Hyman residence of uOttawa. It has grown into one of the biggest music groups in the underground Ottawa scene. However, the group didn’t start with huge musical ambitions. They were simply a bunch of kids with a passion for music and a desire to chase the impossible.



“For the first year that we knew each other, we didn’t play a single song, all we did was share different songs, discuss music, educate ourselves about different genres, and learn more about ourselves. Most of us had little music experience before university, but we didn’t get back into making music until my brother’s friend gave us some equipment because he was moving away.”



One man that can be credited in bringing GUISE to the Ottawa scene is their manager and executive producer Nour Kamel. The fourth-year Telfer student took the initiative to take the group out of the dorm room and onto the stage.



Nour Kamel pushed the group to share their talent with the world. (Guise)

“Two years ago, I realized that we have an opportunity to do something and create an actual entity of our friend group that we can share with people. I wrote all our names down, did a little business plan, and took it out to the world and started connecting with people and getting to know industry professionals.”

“He’s the glue that holds us together,” added Kareem Awad, “ He offers us different perspectives, he balances out the artistic aspects with the technical and business part and he is the one that has taken us to the places that we want to be in”



GUISE aim to provide a different musical experience than what people are used to. As many may believe, the name “GUISE” is not a play on the word “guys”. Guise is defined as the appearance that conceals the inner truth, and as Shaz Mirza tells us, it gave the group the protection they needed in order to kickstart their careers.



Shaz Mirza performing in September 2018. (Guise)

“We went for that name because we had an opportunity to join an artist named Ezra Jordan on tour and he needed a name to introduce us with. That word stood out to us because it defined what we were going through, and having that name was the shield that we gave ourselves in order to figure out who we really are and allow us to figure out what we wanted to become.”



Guise’s music can’t be defined in a single genre or type. The group takes inspiration from all walks of music and being open to different genres of music.



The group is comprised of Eight members that all share a passion for music. (Guise)

“Music is really what binds this group together, we have Canadians, Tanzanian, Palestinians, Egyptians, all these third culture kids hustling in Ottawa, and when we keep our ears open and expose ourselves to as much as music has to offer, we can develop as musicians. The music we play represents who we are, and what we believe in, and we believe that there’s much more to music than just the top 40”



The group had some criticism about the way people deal with music, especially on nights out in bars and nightclubs.

GUISE members Shaz(right) and Nour(Middle) alongside local artist Amir Zargara(Left) (Guise)

“When you look at the typical night out, people only form connections on the surface level. The whole night becomes about losing yourself and acting like someone who you’re not. It’s the facade of wanting to show off and be flashy but in reality, that’s not the way we want to do things. We want to take you on a journey through music and connect you with people through music. Be it by dancing, singing, enjoying the vibe. There shouldn’t be any expectations or pressures on you. We are trying to change the mentality that you have to conform to things on a night out like getting very drunk or showing off expensive clothes or not expressing yourself due to the fear of judgment. We want our shows to be places where people come not to judge each other but to come and enjoy the music and have fun by doing the things they enjoy no matter what they are.



However, it isn’t easy to change the way people enjoy music overnight. People have certain expectations when going on a night out when it comes to attitudes and music. Additionally, GUISE needs to navigate the demands of club owners and promoters, who need music that drives bar sales for a successful night.



Omar el Najmi performing at HQ. (GUISE)

“We bring together different styles and fuse them in our music. We understand that people need music that they know and they are comfortable with, so we have some popular songs in our sets that people would recognize but we still put our twist to them, we take those popular songs from the charts and we apply our taste and style to bring out a song that people know but still has our musical footprints.”



“ We set a vibe” Added Omar Najmi. “We curate a list of songs to take the audience on a journey and set a specific vibe that they can enjoy, but a lot of times we have had to compromise. We recognize that someone else has given us the opportunity to come into their space and play to their audience and we understand than in return they want upbeat music to drive bar sales, we need songs that are loud and grabs the attention of people walking by in order to attract them to the door, at the end of the day the music industry is a business and they pay us to make them money, that’s why it’s important to us that we put our twist on songs so we don’t lose our musical values, but it’s a gamble of seeing how far you can go with your idea while still making everyone around you happy”

The gamble doesn’t always pay off, as the group recalls a time in their earlier days when they were cut off mid-show and told to go home because their music wasn’t driving enough people to order drinks.



Kareem Awad is the group’s main writer. (Guise)

“A couple of times when we first started we got told to stop and got cut off in the middle of our set. That situation taught us that we can’t push our music on an audience before they are ready for it. we felt discouraged, destroyed, small, and you feel you’re not good enough. Everything you ever worked on goes out the window, and when the audience doesn’t react to your music the way you expected them to, it feels like a proper gut punch where the wind gets knocked out of you. However, we took the opportunity to learn and improve, we would ask the audience what went wrong and what went right and we made a note of everything and strived to improve it. We are now at a point where we don’t pitch our music to clubs and venues, but they get in touch with us fully knowing the kind of music that we perform and it’s exactly what they want to listen to”



Despite all the members getting ready to graduate from university and entering the workforce, GUISE still dreams of making it big one day. However, unlike most other musicians at this stage of their careers, they aren’t dreaming of huge mansions and flashy sports cars. They dream of a fundamental change in music and the way people spend their time.



Omar el Najmi, Shaz Mirza, and Kareem Awad all met as freshmen at the University of ottawa. (GUISE)

“ Ultimately, the end goal for us is to have our own space and our events where we can play our music without anyone telling us what we should and shouldn’t play. It would be a space of no judgement and expectations of people to do certain things. It’s only natural that we fantasize about being superstars and dominating the music industry, but at the end of the day, it has never been about the money or fame. Our passion for music will continue no matter what path our lives lead us to, and GUISE as a collective will never die. The connection between us has become deeper than music, it has become a family where we strive and fight for the success of each other in whatever domain that can be.”



As the interview was wrapping up I was in awe of the humility showed by the group’s members as they kept acknowledging how much more they had to learn and how far off the top they really were, but when I asked them what I can expect from them when I go to their show at Common on October 12th, they did not hold back and showed the flair and confidence that has made them successful in their musical journey.



Guise’s next show is October 12th at COMMON. (GUISE)

“It is something that you have never fucking seen in this city” Nour quickly replied. “Expect the unexpected, We’re going to take you on a journey through music, through different styles, different flavours, different elements, but it’s all going to tie in together, and at the end of the night you’ll see why”