{"title":"Arabic Gems","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"nozhet-el-nofous-lp","title":"Nozhet El Nofous (LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReleased on June 3, 2022\u003c\/strong\u003e, Nancy Mounir’s debut album, Nozhet El Nofous, is a remarkable communion with ghosts. Moody, hypnotic, and sneakily catchy, the album – whose title means “Promenade of the Souls” in Arabic – explores microtonality, non-metered rhythms, and bold vulnerability through a musical dialogue between Mounir’s own arrangements and the sounds of archival recordings of once-famed singers from Egypt at the turn of the 20th century. Adding her own ambient arrangements over voices haunted with passion and desire as she creates a sound that is warmly familiar but utterly \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"peekaboo-text\" id=\"package_description_0\"\u003enew.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lightweightBreak\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the album, Mounir slips into the gaps left by the lost frequencies of the aging recordings, finding space for counterpoint\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"peekaboo-text\" id=\"package_description_0\"\u003e and harmony in a traditional sound built on monophony. Elegant melodies unfold in measured gestures as Mounir – who plays most of the instruments herself – revels in the plaintive intonations and brash lyrics of the departed singers. With layers enmeshed together, it’s at times hard to pin down when the past ends and the present begins, but beneath it all is a liberating attitude of defiance that feels timeless.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lightweightBreak\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNozhet El Nofous is brilliant in the way it explores the techniques and perspectives of a more freewheeling time period in Arabic music, before Arabic maqam (modal systems) and other musical foundations were standardized by the Middle East’s cultural power brokers in the early 1930s. As she summons a rich, atmospheric landscape of tone and texture, Mounir engages an older generation of musical rebels in a creative dialogue across time and space – and the results are stunning in their ambition and beauty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lightweightBreak\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMixed by Adham Zidan. Mastered by Heba Kadry. Remastered for vinyl by Matt Bordin at Outside Inside Studio. Artwork by Egyptian filmmaker and photographer Ahmad Abdalla, with original typography and design by Salma Shamel. Lyrics translation by Katharine Halls. Co-produced with Simsara Records.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIncludes an 8-page booklet with lyrics in English and Arabic.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nancy Mounir","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47766702817521,"sku":null,"price":2800.0,"currency_code":"EGP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/6878\/5393\/files\/a3815927736_10.jpg?v=1773839382"},{"product_id":"ahwar-clear-limited-edition","title":"Ahwar (Clear LMTD Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReleased on November 10, 2017,\u003c\/strong\u003e via Nawa Recordings. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTwo years in the making, Ahwar (Arabic for marshlands) is an otherworldly record, not unlike an abstract mythological story-tale.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Opening with the mangled and filtered vocals of the album's lead track Afqid Adh-Dhakira (I Lose Memory) like an alien dream, the drones of a bowed double bass lead us into a drum groove that lays the groundwork for El Shazly's sultry and captivating presence, singing: \"(I am) coming, from a time far away. Going, escaping. Alone in the wilderness\".The Arabic prose lingers over interjections of slap-back delayed guitar twangs and an avant-garde arrangement of dissonant winds, horns and seemingly random drum fills, ending with an eerie soundscape that wouldn't feel out of place in a Giallo classic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA daring and potent statement that sets the foundations over which the rest of the album can unravel. Composed, written and produced by El Shazly herself in collaboration with The Dwarfs of East Agouza's Maurice Louca and Sam Shalabi on co-composition and arrangement duties, the album was crafted across two continents, between Canada and Egypt, and features the crème of Montreal's contemporary-classical and improvised music scene, most of whom aremembers of Shalabi's own Land of Kush ensemble. In between El Shazly's five original tracks, we are treated to an abstract coverversion of Sayyid Darwish's classic Ana 'Ishiqt (I Once Loved). El Shazly's haunting vocal floats over broken Kalimba and Harp arpeggios which slowly intertwine with a free, bowed double bass improv to nestle within the breaks between Younes Al-Qadhi's early 20th century verses of love and betrayal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than that, it is difficult to really describe, but imagine the worlds of Nico, Björk and Annette Peacock with the Arabic language as their mother tongue, re-approached through acoustic avant-jazz harmony and re-constructed with a dash of Kamilya Jubran's modern styling of Arabic maqam and you may be somewhere close. Recorded and delicately mixed through miles of analogue cabling by Thierry Amar at Hotel2Tango and mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering in Montreal, the album is adorned with the surrealist artwork of Egyptian artist Marwan El-Gamal and designed with custom typography by Egyptian designer Valerie Arif . All editions come with dual-language booklets featuring the lyrics in Arabic with English translation by Nariman Youssef.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIncludes booklet featuring the lyrics in Arabic and English.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTracklist:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA1 Afqid Adh-Dhakira (I Lose Memory) \u003cbr\u003eA2 Barzakh (Limen) \u003cbr\u003eA3 Palmyra \u003cbr\u003eB1 Ana ‘Ishiqt (I Once Loved) \u003cbr\u003eB2 Koala \u003cbr\u003eB3 Mahmiya (Protectorate)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nadah El Shazly","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47768707989745,"sku":null,"price":2600.0,"currency_code":"EGP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/6878\/5393\/files\/a0435364061_10.jpg?v=1770169940"},{"product_id":"maryam-saleh-maurice-louca-tamer-abu-ghazaleh-lekhfa-lp","title":"Lekhfa (LP)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"Description_reasons-to-buy-wrapper__0CthD\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-is-open=\"true\" class=\"Content_description-wrapper__XbO9z\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Content_inner-wrapper__xBJ2L\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Description_truncated-text__yUXZD\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Description_descriptionBody__bEN2t\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-testid=\"description-product\" class=\"Description_descriptionText__Lgv7A\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReleased on September 22, 2017\u003c\/strong\u003e: Maryam Saleh, Maurice Louca and Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, names that have turned heads in alternative Arabic music with solo albums and conspicuous collaborations, with \u003ci\u003eLekhfa\u003c\/i\u003e they give birth to an off kilter sound where layers of grit and beauty intertwine in and around the dystopian poems of their contemporary Mido Zoheir, whom they've dubbed the fourth member in this creation and one of the most talented Egyptian poets of their generation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTracklist:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#trackPlayPause:stop:prevent\" data-position=\"1\" data-url=\"https:\/\/a0.cdn.hhv.de\/audio\/00548\/548896_1.mp3\" class=\"track can_play\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"position\"\u003eA1. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"name\"\u003eKont Rayeh\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#iconPlayPause:stop:prevent\" class=\"icon icon-play\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#trackPlayPause:stop:prevent\" data-position=\"2\" data-url=\"https:\/\/a0.cdn.hhv.de\/audio\/00548\/548896_2.mp3\" class=\"track can_play\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"position\"\u003eA2. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"name\"\u003eNefsif Akli\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#iconPlayPause:stop:prevent\" class=\"icon icon-play\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#trackPlayPause:stop:prevent\" data-position=\"3\" data-url=\"https:\/\/a0.cdn.hhv.de\/audio\/00548\/548896_3.mp3\" class=\"track can_play\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"position\"\u003eA3. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"name\"\u003eEkaa Maksour\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#iconPlayPause:stop:prevent\" class=\"icon icon-play\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#trackPlayPause:stop:prevent\" data-position=\"4\" data-url=\"https:\/\/a0.cdn.hhv.de\/audio\/00548\/548896_4.mp3\" class=\"track can_play\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"position\"\u003eA4. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"name\"\u003eMathaf Fonoun El Ghesh\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#iconPlayPause:stop:prevent\" class=\"icon icon-play\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#trackPlayPause:stop:prevent\" data-position=\"5\" data-url=\"https:\/\/a0.cdn.hhv.de\/audio\/00548\/548896_5.mp3\" class=\"track can_play\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"position\"\u003eB1. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"name\"\u003eMazzikaw Khof\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#iconPlayPause:stop:prevent\" class=\"icon icon-play\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#trackPlayPause:stop:prevent\" data-position=\"6\" data-url=\"https:\/\/a0.cdn.hhv.de\/audio\/00548\/548896_6.mp3\" class=\"track can_play\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"position\"\u003eB2. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"name\"\u003eWoshoush El Leil\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#iconPlayPause:stop:prevent\" class=\"icon icon-play\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#trackPlayPause:stop:prevent\" data-position=\"7\" data-url=\"https:\/\/a0.cdn.hhv.de\/audio\/00548\/548896_7.mp3\" class=\"track can_play\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"position\"\u003eB3. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"name\"\u003eMakonsh Wakoun\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#iconPlayPause:stop:prevent\" class=\"icon icon-play\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-action=\"click-\u0026gt;items--shared--tracklist--base-component#trackPlayPause:stop:prevent\" data-position=\"8\" data-url=\"https:\/\/a0.cdn.hhv.de\/audio\/00548\/548896_8.mp3\" class=\"track can_play\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"position\"\u003eB4. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"name\"\u003eAyez Awsal\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Maryam Saleh, Maurice Louca, Tamer Abu Ghazaleh","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47768767627505,"sku":null,"price":2600.0,"currency_code":"EGP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/6878\/5393\/files\/0013566734_10-2.jpg?v=1770170320"},{"product_id":"maurice-louca-fera","title":"Barĩy (Fera) برٌِي (LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReleased on May 30, 2025\u003c\/strong\u003e: Hypnotic polyrhythms play a central role on Fera, creating the pulse for a sound that’s rich in acoustic tonality and lively energy. Louca uses custom-made, microtonal guitars to explore nuanced phrasings, and his languid interplay with violin, synthesizer, and other instruments lead to moments of vivid beauty. This wild and adventurous album that Egyptian artist Maurice Louca wrote over a four-year period takes its title from the Latin root for the word feral, and has its origins in a solo set that Louca first developed in 2019; the compositions eventually took their final shape when he recorded them in a Cairo studio in 2024 with a group of longtime collaborators and guests.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e12\" Vinyl with printed inner sleeve, created by visual artist Maha Maamoun, using the Decalcomania ink transfer technique, to create dream-like natural forms that emerge through both deliberate manipulation and chance. Residue elements photographed from 6,000-year-old rock art paintings found at the Cave of Swimmers in Gilf Kebir (an area on the Egypt-Libya border) can be seen in the Fera “painting”, which was digitally manipulated for color and other effects along with original typography and graphic design in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist and designer Hussein Nassereddine.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Maurice Louca","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47768816976113,"sku":null,"price":2800.0,"currency_code":"EGP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/6878\/5393\/files\/a4195884010_10.jpg?v=1773922472"},{"product_id":"electrosteen-lp","title":"Electrosteen (LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReleased on January 17, 2020\u003c\/strong\u003e: Electrosteen is an initiative to bring Palestinian traditional music, in it's widest sense, into the contemporary international art\/musical scene. A team of professional researchers\/musicians\/technicians carry out an extensive fieldwork, documenting the oral musical traditions of different ethnic and religious communities of historic Palestine. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFeaturing staples of Arab EDM, as well as emerging and up \u0026amp; coming producers, the star-studded cast includes SAMA’, Julmud, Al Nather, Muqata’a, Sarouna M., Nasser Halahlih, Bruno Cruz, and Basel Naouri, with guest appearances by Mehdi Haddab of Speed Caravan, Walaa Sbait of 47 Soul, and BLTNM sensation Shabjdeed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe collective of carefully curated young Palestinian musicians and DJs came together for a two week residency in Ramallah in 2017. They produced original tracks, using the database from the Popular Arts Center in Ramallah, containing an audio library collected from existing archives or recorded from professional and amateur urban, rural and Bedouin musicians.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Various Artists","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47769309937905,"sku":null,"price":1900.0,"currency_code":"EGP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/6878\/5393\/files\/8099338.jpg?v=1773923586"},{"product_id":"maryam-saleh-syrr-سِرّ","title":"Syrr سِرّ","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReleased on March 27, 2026, \u003c\/strong\u003evia Simsara Music: Syrr arrives as a carefully crafted vinyl edition that mirrors the album’s intimate and layered world. Pressed on black 12\" vinyl and housed in a spined sleeve, the release includes five inserts featuring lyrics and translations, printed on special translucent paper. These inserts are interwoven with Maryam Saleh’s own hand-drawn sketches, taken from her personal journals during the early songwriting process, offering a rare glimpse into the emotional and visual landscape behind the record. Together, the package unfolds as both a listening experience and a tactile archive of the album’s creation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Maryam Saleh","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48056412274929,"sku":null,"price":2900.0,"currency_code":"EGP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/6878\/5393\/files\/a3531599327_10-2.jpg?v=1776470772"},{"product_id":"abosahar-raasny","title":"Raasny","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReleased on October 3, 2025\u003c\/strong\u003e: Co-released by Cairo's HIZZ imprint and Heat Crimes, Upper Egypt’s “King of Trobby Music” detonates another singular vision on Raasny—a 9-track suite of bruised street rhythms, electro-shaabi fireworks, and raw emotional voltage, beamed direct from El Minya to the world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbosahar has spent the last decade carving out his own micro-genre—Trobby, short for “True Being.” Here it comes into sharpest focus yet: a sound that blurs electro-shaabi, house, techno, trap and pop into dazzling, rough-edged collages, powered by cracked software, busted machines, and the immediacy of lived experience.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRaasny loops wedding-party ecstasy into journeys from Minya’s dusty streets to Cairo’s neon clubs. Tracks like “Bs Ya Baba” and “Shaabi Alarab” fold shaabi’s serrated synth stabs into mutant pulses; “Moled w Samar Haz” and “Moled Altenee” lock into hypnotic folk-ritual cadences; while the title cut “Raasny” surges with an almost devotional intensity, all cracked voices and distorted beats tumbling into the red.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abosahar","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48057755959537,"sku":null,"price":2400.0,"currency_code":"EGP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/6878\/5393\/files\/a0984675720_10.jpg?v=1776525256"}],"url":"https:\/\/madcitygrooves.com\/collections\/arabic-gems.oembed","provider":"Mad City Grooves","version":"1.0","type":"link"}