Lyricist, composer and oud player Natik Awayez was born on the banks of the Mesopotamian Marshes in Southern Iraq. Growing up between Omara City and Baghdad, Awayez learned to play oud in the company of local musicians. Due to political persecution in Iraq, in 1979 Awayez departed to Bulgaria. This was followed by the time he spent in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen where he settled in the Beihan desert on the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. In the city of Abyan he founded and led Asheed Band for several years, and collaborated with The Zinjibar City Band as a composer and art supervisor.

When civil war erupted in Yemen, Awayez left for Sweden. In Lund, he co-founded the band Natik City with members of Agurk Players. And in Malmo, he co-founded Shahrazad with the Swedish string quartet Amandakvartetten.

In 2013, he founded The Art Consulate, an independent organisation dedicated to creating an intellectual dialogue between Europe and the Middle East. This work eventually took him to Cairo in 2015, where he managed an art project under the name of Missing Rooms. When the latter was completed, Natik decided to remain in Cairo and return to music making. For the past two years he devoted himself to composing his debut album Manbarani.

natikawayez.bandcamp.com/album/manbarani