{"title":"MCG Exclusives","description":"","products":[{"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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIncludes booklet featuring the lyrics in Arabic and English.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTracklist:\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\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePressing\u003c\/strong\u003e: 12\" clear vinyl.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mint, sealed.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFast shipping all-over Egypt.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Nadah El Shazly","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47768707989745,"sku":null,"price":3000.0,"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":"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: \u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003ea wild, h\u003cspan\u003eypnotic,\u003c\/span\u003e adventurous record from Maurice Louca, written over four years. The title comes from fera, the Latin root of \"feral,\" rendered in Arabic as برّي. It began as a solo set Louca first developed in 2019 and took its final shape in a Cairo studio in 2024, recorded with a circle of longtime collaborators and guests. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFera is built around hypnotic polyrhythms as its core. Louca uses custom-built microtonal guitars to shape its phrasing, and languid exchanges with violin, synthesizer, and other instruments open into moments of vivid, acoustic beauty.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe 12\" carries a printed inner sleeve by visual artist Maha Maamoun. Using the Decalcomania ink-transfer technique, she draws dream-like natural forms out of deliberate manipulation and chance, woven together with residue photographed from 6,000-year-old rock paintings at the Cave of Swimmers in Gilf Kebir, on the Egypt-Libya border. The \"Fera\" image was digitally worked for color and effect, with typography and design by multidisciplinary artist Hussein Nassereddine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePressing: \u003c\/strong\u003e12\" black vinyl.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition: \u003c\/strong\u003eMint, sealed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFast shipping all-over Egypt.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Maurice Louca","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47768816976113,"sku":null,"price":2850.0,"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":"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 (LP)","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":2650.0,"currency_code":"EGP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/6878\/5393\/files\/a0984675720_10.jpg?v=1776525256"},{"product_id":"https-madcitygrooves-com-products-aly-eissa-eggshells-lp","title":"Eggshells (LP)","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReleased June 19, 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e via Motvind Records: the solo album from Cairo oud player and composer Aly Eissa, a central figure in the city's experimental scene who has toured the world alone and with the trio The Handover. Eissa was mentored by two legends of Egyptian music, composer and multi-instrumentalist Abdo Dagher and oud master Hazem Shahin, and Eggshells carries both lineages into expansive, intricate original composition rooted in Egyptian classical and folk tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe epic title track, oud alone, takes up two-thirds of the record before flowing into \"Sukr At-taganni,\" where Eissa plays and recites poetry by the Arab poet Baha' al-din Zuhayr (1186 to 1258), serious, tender, and insistent. The music works two central concerns, time and microtonality, searching the geography of the oud for the exact point where a fingertip alters the soul of a sound. Phrases move from the percussive attack of sagat rhythms to delicate lines that dissolve before they reach the ear, fragments clinging together like shards of stained glass.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eEissa - oud \u0026amp; voice. Mixed by Mohamed Sabry, mastered by George Zakaria, artwork by Aly Gaafar. A record for the shelf that already holds Maurice Louca, Nadah El Shazly, and Simsara.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12\" vinyl.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e New, sealed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFast shipping all over Egypt.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Aly Eissa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48372807762161,"sku":null,"price":2850.0,"currency_code":"EGP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/6878\/5393\/files\/AlyEissa-Eggshells.jpg?v=1783164252"}],"url":"https:\/\/madcitygrooves.com\/collections\/mcg-exclusives.oembed","provider":"Mad City Grooves","version":"1.0","type":"link"}