Egyptian artistes see resurgence in independent music scene
cairo — At a club in downtown Cairo, Ahmed Saleh pumps electronic beats from his laptop as Abdullah Miniawy chants to a cheering crowd, the duo part of a wave of new talent on Egypt’s underground music scene.
Emerging artistes are creating an eclectic selection of hip-hop, dubstep, electronic and rock music, with some influenced by traditional Egyptian sounds.
The movement began in the mid-2000s as musicians bypassed record labels to reach their listeners directly via the web. It was boosted by Egypt’s 2011 uprising which toppled Hosni Mubarak.
“This movement began finding an audience because it has become accessible on the internet, instead of the market being dominated by those who release CDs,” says Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, a musician who co-founded Ma3azef, an online Arab music magazine.
From the second half of the 2000s, musicians have used websites such as SoundCloud, YouTube, and Facebook to publish and promote their music.
That has challenged record labels’ traditional gatekeeper role between artists and audiences.
“This is the first time in Egypt, at least since the 1920s, where music really represents the people in a direct way, without any intermediary,” says Mahmoud Refat, founder of record label 100Copies Music.
The birth of Mahraganat music around the same period also reflected this shift in the industry. Emerging from working-class neighbourhoods, it became Egypt’s most listened-to genre — with little involvement from record companies.
Using cheap or free software, young men began mixing traditional music with electronic sounds, creating loud, eclectic beats.
Meanwhile, artists began networking online, says musician Rami Abadir, who released his first official album with Canadian record label D.M.T. Records in May.
“This didn’t exist until 2009 or 2010, or it existed but on a very small scale,” he says.
The genre found a small but growing audience in a country where according to the UN, 40 per cent of the population is between 10 and 20 years old.