Nos Habet Caramel

Cairo-based DJ, producer and multidisciplinary artist Fajr Soliman mixes electro-pop and mahraganat (a blend of Egyptian folk and shaabi music, EDM and hip-hop) with contemporary and nostalgic field recording samples from the sonic landscape of North Africa's most populous city. Recording under her stage name, El Kontessa, this collection of seven tracks makes for uneasy and sometimes challenging, but always engaging, listening: intense and discordant but bristling with the sheer frenetic energy that is the hallmark of Egypt's hopelessly chaotic yet ever-optimistic capital.

‘Mesh Marshmellow’ comes closest to being tuneful, whilst ‘Ghaltet Meen’ rarely distinguishes itself above the level of pure noise — an intriguing noise that somehow manages to keep you listening to the bitter end. Since her musical debut in 2018, Soliman has appeared at festivals such as the French Institute's ‘Fête de la Musique au Caire’ in her hometown, where her appeal to the local art-school crowd is presumably assured. It's easy to imagine this album being used in a video installation at a graduate's end-of-course show. Its lack of any discernible narrative or progression, however, makes it difficult to visualise its popularity beyond this. Soliman clearly has vision and talent, though, and her next release may well surprise.