Episode 16 – Kairo

Episode 16 – Cairo © Artwork: © Šejma Fere Episode 16 – Cairo

A podcast by Fajr Soliman

Featuring:
Rama
Nancy Mounir
El Waili

00:00 00:00

Here and Now: The Subtle Pressures of Cairo

Episode 16 of the Timezones podcast series, co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut. This episode hosts three Egyptian composers, musicians, and DJs of various backgrounds and music styles. It sheds a light on actors in the music industry and tries to understand the music scene from a first-hand perspective. An immersive sonic experience of the city of Cairo.

Rama © © private Rama

Rama is a multidisciplinary artist and DJ based in Berlin. In 2019, she co-founded the independent Cairo-based music platform irsh. Rama quickly made a name for herself in Cairo’s electronic and dance scene playing at underground parties. She also hosts a monthly show on Noods Radio and is known for drawing from a wide variety of sounds, with no constraints on genres. Follow her on Instagram, Linktree or SoundCloud.

Nancy Mounir © © Eslam Abd-El-Salam Nancy Mounir

Nancy Mounir is a versatile multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer as well as a key member of Egypt’s alternative music scene. She contributes original music to theatre productions, films, and international art installations. Nancy Mounir plays a range of instruments – including violin, piano, bass, theremin, and the traditional Egyptian bamboo flute called the kawala. She has explored both the harmonic principles of the Western canon and the microtonal foundations of Arabic maqam (musical modes). She recently stepped further into the limelight with her solo debut album Nozhet El Nofous – a transcendent exploration of musical freedom through the lens of century-old archival recordings. She was born in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and now lives in Egypt’s capital, Cairo. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp or X.

El Waili © © private El Waili

El Waili is the stage name of Egyptian music producer Kareem Gaber from the city of Sohag in Upper Egypt. Kareem Gaber started his music production journey while studying drum and percussion at the Faculty of Musical Education, Helwan University. In 2020, he initiated the El Waili project to experiment with noises and sounds that distinguish his musical persona and to develop his famous “beat drop”. He launched his project with a remix of the Egyptian hit “Elabd Wa El Waili”, “العبد والوايلي”, making his mark in the electro chaabi/EDM music scene. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, X or SoundCloud.

Trailer

Bonus Material

On Language in Audio and the Burden of Translation
moderated and produced by Adham Zidan

This Bonus Talk features Adham Zidan in conversation with Fajr Soliman, producer of the TIMEZONES episode Cairo. Their discussion covers the production of the episode as well as her choice of guests before focusing on how the question of language was addressed – culminating in an episode in which the featured artists speak their native Arabic (with some English words interspersed sporadically) and two voice-overs translate their words into English once they have finished talking. Zidan and Fajr also examine different options for handling language in an audio format and discuss the burden of translation and how it affects communication.

00:00 00:00

Adham Zidan © © private Adham Zidan

Adham Zidan is a musician, recordist, mixer, and producer from Cairo as well as a band member of The Invisible Hands, Baskot Lel Baltageyya, Another Time Ensemble, and Today Is Tomorrow. Adham has worked with Alan Bishop, Maurice Louca, Nadah El Shazly, Nancy Mounir, Raed Yassin, Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, Youssra El Hawary and others, both in the studio and live. He has also designed sound and composed music for a select group of theatre- and filmmakers. Alongside Maha El Nabawi, Adham is the co-creator, co-editor, and co-producer of Katalog, an Arabic podcast about music-making, published by Mada Masr. He also DJs and hosts radio shows; his latest show is “Music from the Hive”, on movement.radio. Follow him on his website, Instagram, X or SoundCloud.

Credits

Credits:

Assistant Producer: Nouran Hatem
Mixed by: Ismael Hosny
Artistic Editor: Abhishek Mathur
Project Management: Hannes Liechti
Video Trailer: Karrl
Sound Design: Turkana and Rey Sapienz
Jingle Voiceover: Nana Akosua Hanson
Jingle Mix: Daniel Jakob
Mastering: Adi Flück, Centraldubs
Artwork: Šejma Fere
Copy Editing: Elisabeth Meister

This episode is supported by:

Return to TIMEZONES

Top