How Cairo rejected clubs and embraced clubbing
Promoters like Jellyzone offer a ‘DIY alternative to Cairo’s disillusioned club scene’.
How Cairo rejected clubs and embraced clubbing
It’s hard to believe that a capital city of over 10 million people doesn’t have an underground music scene. Well, that’s because it does, you’re just not familiar with it yet. As Cairo began to identify the need for pioneering new electronic sounds - and facilitating the existence of a contemporary culture amongst young Egyptians - community-based, music orientated and alternative parties began to emerge and thrive in the city.
Promoters like Jellyzone offer a ‘DIY alternative to Cairo’s disillusioned club scene’. They’re among the pioneers providing a much needed alternative to the mainstream clubbing circuit on offer, which Jellyzone founder Donia described as ‘limited’, both sonically and conceptually. Essentially, the majority of clubs in Cairo suffer from a similar lack of ethos that leave most of us uninspired by the clubs in our own cities; venues which prioritise profit over people, and are centered around status instead of music.
Following the pandemic, raving in Cairo gained popularity as a new generation discovered they’d hit a ceiling that didn’t have to exist. An alliance was formed between those who created the foundations of the scene and the fresh sets of ears, with the energy to continue driving it forward. The increasing need for respite from commercially palatable records resulted in an influx of new producers and DJs. They showcase the ways that heavy percussion and avant-guard bass has become the not-so-ambient backing track to Cairo’s underground right now.
Record Label and collective MOSHTRQ focuses on the ‘deconstructed bass spectrum’ and is well worth a look into. Their release ‘MOSHTRQ VA01’ showcases a progressive catalogue of tracks including Postdrone’s - ‘Yaa’, which is a refreshing take on dubstep and breaks, incorporating Arabic vocal stabs with warped baselines. Similarly Assyyoti’s ‘Applied Pressure’, picked up by DJ Mag and released from the same label, is impassioned in exactly the ways jungle adjacent breakbeat was intended to be. This track also serves as a prime example of how harder sounds are shaping the landscape of Cairo and putting its contributors on international radars. Hassan Abou Alam’s Kiosk radio set and his Fasla EP are also great instances of dubstep embracing Egyptian influence and reaching wider audiences.
Ultimately, the evolving sonic identity of Cairo’s underground is not one to be overlooked. As punters are becoming more curious to explore beyond the mainstream, the demand for accessibility, community and diversity within their nightlife is strengthening. Other parties in the city worth mentioning are Lazuli, a club night prioritising affordability and spanning the genres of house, techno and electro and c0d3x, run by producer Jana, exploring experimental hip-hop and alternative beats.
Whilst Cairo may still face challenges with their events feeling ‘tolerated’ rather than ‘accepted’ by the wider public, the lack of mindless commercial intervention has allowed the parties to progress forward, ‘without losing what made [them] feel real in the first place.’
You can explore some more sounds of the scene below:
Spiritus de Mephistopheles - Assyouti
Ras El Ain (3Phaz remix) - Acid Arab, Rizan Said, 3Phaz
Azzouni - يس (YS) Riddim (feat. Dakn)
Jellyzone Shella radio takeover
Written by Pepper Macpherson
Contributions from Cairo’s Donia Jelly
