Sharayet El Disco - Egyptian Disco & Boogie Cassette Tracks 1982-1992 Selected By Disco Arabesquo

Description

Wewantsounds presents Sharayet el Disco, a selection of 80s Egyptian disco and boogie tracks, curated by Egyptian DJ Disco Arabesquo from his cassette collection and officially available on vinyl for the first time. Sharayet el Disco (“disco cassettes”) is part of an important mission for Moataz Rageb aka Disco Arabesquo. Based in Amsterdam, he has been collecting cassettes from Arab-speaking countries and their diaspora for many years, and has built up a vast collection of Egyptian music centered on the 80s, the sound he grew up listening to. His goal is to research these rare sounds and bring them to a new vinyl-hungry audience. During this decade, the rich Egyptian music industry, which had seen stars such as Oum Kalthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez and Warda take the Arab world by storm in the 60s and 70s, was going through a new phase and the cassette format was the cause. As Moataz rightly points out in his liner notes, this invention changed Egypt's soundscape in the 1980s, and for its youth, it opened the door to finding a new cultural identity. This radical shift allowed many young musicians and producers to disseminate their music directly to consumers by self-duplicating cassettes. A dynamic new music scene emerged in Cairo, blending its sounds with trends from the US and Europe, including, of course, disco, soul and funk. The cream of this crop was quickly picked up by the more audacious labels, including Mohsen Gaber's Alam El Phan, Sout El Hob and Americana. Sharayet El Disco gives you a glimpse into these great titles, most of which were only ever released on cassette. This set is a unique insight into the diversity of Egyptian disco sound, from the pulsating disco of "Hezeny" by Hany Shenouda's Al Massrieen band to the boogie of Simone's "Merci", and the ironic "Eklib el Sheriet" ("flip the cassette") by Firkit El Asdekaa, produced by legendary Egyptian musician Ammar El Sherei. The music is both inventive and funky and played with Western and Arab instruments, attesting to the quality of Egyptian music. This collection has been carefully selected by Disco Arabesquo and remastered for vinyl by David Hachour of Colorsound Studio in Paris. The artwork was designed by young Cairo graphic designer Heba Tarek and the album includes a full-color insert containing detailed liner notes by Moataz Rageb and photos of the original cassette artwork.