Egyptian music is the beating soundtrack to Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’
Four episodes in and the Egyptian musical presence on Moon Knight only seems to be waxing.
The limited series, which has six episodes, started streaming on Disney+ on March 30 and is arguably Marvel’s most uncanny release yet, albeit it is also one of the company’s slower burners.
Based on the Marvel Comics title featuring the eponymous character, Moon Knight tells the story of a mercenary with dissociative identity disorder who, along with his alternate personalities, becomes embroiled in a deadly mystery involving ancient Egyptian gods.
The series stars Oscar Isaac, May Calamawy, Karim El Hakim, Khalid Abdalla, F Murray Abraham and Ethan Hawke. The directorial team is led by Clash filmmaker Mohamed Diab.
Moon Knight has been praised by critics as “seductively dark” and deft in the way the psychological thriller balances its dry humour. Some have been critical of the show’s pacing and haphazard CGI, but for the most part, reviews have been positive, with many commending the show’s tone, cast and mind-warping plot.
The weekly episode release, as opposed to Netflix’s wholesale approach, has
The soundtrack includes works by Bob Dylan and Bauhaus, but songs by Egyptian musicians take a lion’s share of the docket
also given fans the chance to savour the show. The music of Moon Knight has also been making waves, particularly its Egyptian features. While the soundtrack includes pieces by Bob Dylan, Bauhaus and even Wham!, songs by Egyptian musicians take a lion’s share of the docket.
Among these is Dubai’s DJ Kaboo. The Egyptian-born producer, who also goes by the name Arab Trap Boss, has a number of his tracks featured on the show, including Arab Trap: Made In Egypt
– which contains a sample of Khosara, the crooning classic by Abdel Halim Hafez – in the first episode, and Enta, which samples and precedes Warda’s Batwanes Beek, in the third.
The pilot episode also includes Najat Al Saghira’s Bahlam Maak, which is heard during a scene in which Steven (Isaac) is waiting for his date at the restaurant. The second episode also has an Egyptian song – El Melouk by Ahmed Saad featuring 3enba and Double Zuksh – played during the end credits.
According to the Egypt Independent, the song “ranked 15th in the world’s top song sales” after being heard on the show.
Its official music video currently has more than 57 million views on YouTube. Several posts uploaded in the past week by personal accounts pair the song with artwork from Moon Knight, each of which has accumulated tens of thousands of views.
The third episode features an almost exclusively Egyptian playlist. With its percussive lilt and the flair of zurnas, even Walima by Tito Rinesi sounds, as its title suggests, like a wedding from the region.
Warda’s Batwanes Beek is heard after one of DJ Kaboo’s tracks, followed by another Hafez classic Shaghalouny.
Salka by singer Hassan Shakosh and rapper Wegz is also heard in the episode. With incessant hi-hats and a heavy low-end, the song is energising and pairs Wegz’s signature lyrical style with the colloquial ceremony of Shakosh’s vocals.
With two more episodes to go before the first season of Moon Knight draws to a close (it’s still unclear whether the show will have a second season), the mini-series might just dole out more Egyptian classics and contemporary hits as the plot delves deeper into ancient Egypt.