This playlist is the sound aspect of my 74 in 74 project, which aims to cover Dennis DeSantis' "Making Music: 74 Strategies for Electronic Music Producers" in 74 days. 

Not all days have sound clips, so if one if missing you can head over to my youtube page:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHliKD7WSB1wp-jtdsTijudwyjZVS0hiD

Or better yet, head over to http://74in74.tumblr.com to read all about the project and how it's progressing

74in74 - Blog Files

We all get stuck talking about how we listen to a lot of Arabic contemporary music, but have little to show for it. So here's a playable cheat sheet: a co-curated year-end compilation playlist curated by Mada music contributors Rami Abadir, Kinda Hassan, and Maha ElNabawi. The playlist will carry you through music from the MENA region, across genres like neo-folk, rap, electronica, noise, and alt-rock mostly from 2015.

#MadaMixTape Co-curated Best of 2015

December/2015

N. Africa/ Middle East

Electronic(a)

pie are squared

Youssra is a young Egyptian singer, actor and radio host. She had a viral hit with her first song "El Soor", dealing with the walls that were build in central Cairo to block off Tahir Square. "Ghareeb An El Medina" was produced by Oddisee and remixed by Brenk at Mohsen Matri Studios in Tunis, Tunisia. 
www.facebook.com/YoussraElHawary

PRE-ORDER:
jakartarecords-label.bandcamp.com/album/sawtuha

some more infos:

“The free spirit refuses oppression – only fear can kill the spirit”
(Badiaa Bouhrizi)

A little less then three years ago the political situation in many countries of the Arab world changed dramatically. Uprisings started in rural areas of Tunisia and from there spread to various countries in the region. Millions gathered in the streets united by their demand for more democracy, rights and participation in the political process. In most cases the reaction of the governing dictators were relentless and severe towards every form of protests. Violence in the streets of Cairo, Tunis and Bengasi escalated and resulted in the overthrow of the governments in Tunisia, Egypt and Lybia.
A year later a group of female singers and musicians from Tunisia (Nawel Ben Kraiem, Badiaa Bouhrizi, Medusa, Houwaida), Libya (Nada) and Egypt (Donia Massoud, Maryam Saleh, Youssra El Hawary) met in Mohsen Matri Studio in Tunis to sing- against corruption, despotism, patronization and narrow-mindedness. The song with Syrian artist Rasha Rizk was recorded some months later in her political asylum in Cairo. Sudanese/American producer Oddisee and Olof Dreijer of the Swedish pop duo The Knife joined the session, participating in the creation of the musical backdrop as well as the often multi-instrumentalist female singers. For the vinyl edition producers such as Brenk, Blackjoy and Blundetto contributed remix versions of the project.

"Sawtuha" (Arabic for "her voice"), the album that is the product of the 2-week session, is a vital encouraging testament of rebellion against the repression of democratic rights, gender inequality, and lack of inclusion. The music is an organic mixture of traditional Arabic music, regional influences and various forms of contemporary Western musical genres. A mixture that may sound contradicting at first but makes total sense once you listen to the music.

The studio session was organized by the Berlin based NGO MICT (Media In Cooperation And Transition) and was funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

www.soundcloud.com/youssraelhawary
www.jakartarecords.de
www.mict-international.org

Youssra El Hawary - Ghareeb An El Medina (Brenk Remix)

I heard this song (https://soundcloud.com/rynweaver/ryn-weaver-octahate) two days ago and loved the melody, the production, the layers in each section and of course Ryn Weaver's voice. Unable to think of anything else, I buckled down all day yesterday and made this remix. Whereas the song itself is an upbeat summery track, this maintains that summer vibe but more laid back, a dozing off at the beach kind of vibe I guess. Anyways, enjoy.

Ryn Weaver - OctaHate [Pie Are Squared Remix]

Remix and additional production by Prins Thomas 

Ultraviolence(Prins Thomas Diskomiks Remix)

ETNEEN ARBA3A

74in74/Day 1 - 1&a2&a3&a4&a

Day 3 of my 74in74 blog, one musician's attempt at covering all 74 strategies in dennis desantis' "making music" in 74 days

read all about it here: http://74in74.tumblr.com


74in74/Day3

Today I set up my guitar and pedals after two and half months of them waiting in their case and boxes, and I came up with this...

Read all about it on my blog 74 in 74...http://74in74.tumblr.com

74in74/Day6 (Work in Progress)

Today, I had to choose a tempo, so I used my spreadsheet random number generator and ended with 112bpm. So here you go; a song in 112bpm and a whole lot of odd time signatures and polyrhythms. 
Read all about it here: http://74in74.tumblr.com

74in74/Day9 (Work in Progress)

Today, I had to focus on one element of the song and build from there. Naturally, I chose the guitar and the outcome is a indie track in the making.
Read all about it here
http://74in74.tumblr.com

74in74/Day10

From the album Aynama-Rtama out now on CD, LP (black and ltd. edition red 12" vinyl) and Download. 

iTunes: http://smarturl.it/NAWA003IT 
Bandcamp: http://smarturl.it/NAWA003BC
Spotify: http://smarturl.it/NAWA003Spotify
Indiepush: http://smarturl.it/NAWA003IP
Amazon.com: http://smarturl.it/NAWA003AZ
Bleep: http://smarturl.it/NAWA003Bleep
Norman Records: http://smarturl.it/NAWA003NormanRecords

دَرْسٌ مِنَ كامَاسُوترا
بِكوبِ الشَّرابِ المُرَصَّعِ باللازَوَردِ
انْتَظِرْها،
بِصَبْرِ الحِصانِ المُعَدّ لِمُنْحَدَراتِ الجِبالِ
انْتَظِرْها،

بِذَوْقِ الأميرِ الرَّفيعِ البَديعِ
انْتَظِرْها
بِسَبْعِ وَسائدَ مَحْشُوَّةٍ بِالسَّحابِ الخَفيفِ
انتَظِرْها،
بنارِ البَخُورِ النِّسائيِّ مِلءَ المَكانِ
انتَظِرْها،

ولا تَتَعَجَّلْ
فإنْ أَقْبَلَتْ بَعْدَ مَوْعِدِها
فَانْتَظِرْها،
وَإِن أَقْبَلَتْ قَبْلَ مَوْعِدِها
فانْتَظِرْها
وَلا تُجْفِلِ الطَّيْرَ فَوْقَ جَدائِلِها
وانْتَظِرْها،
لِكَيْ تَتَنَفَّسَ هذا الهواءَ الغَريبَ عَلى قَلبِها
وانْتَظِرها،
لِتَرفَعَ عَنْ ساقِها ثَوْبَها غَيْمَةً غَيمَةً
وانْتَظِرْها،

ومُسَّ على مَهَلٍ يَدَها عِنْدَما تَضَعُ الكأسَ فَوْقَ الرُّخامِ
كأنَّكَ  تَحْمِلُ عَنْها النَّدى
وانْتَظِرها،

تَحَدَّثْ إِلَيْها كَما يَتَحَدَّثُ  نايٌ إِلى وَتَرٍ خائِفٍ في الكَمانِ
كَأنَّكُما شاهِدانِ على ما يُعِدُّ غَدٌ لكما
وانْتَظِرْها،

وَلَمِّعْ لَها لَيْلَها خاتَماً خاتَماً
وانْتَظِرْها
إِلى أَن يَقولَ لَكَ اللَّيلُ:
لَمْ يَبْقَ غَيْرُكُما في الوجودِ
فَخُذْها، بِرِفْقٍ، إِلى مَوْتِكَ المُشْتَهى
وانْتَظِرْها

شعر لمحمود درويش

With a wine glass, ornamented in lapis lazuli,
wait for her. With the patience of a horse prepared for mountain slopes,
wait for her. With the courtesy of a refined and splendid prince, 
wait for her.

With the softness of seven pillows filled with clouds, 
wait for her. With the fire of feminine incense that fills the place, 
wait for her, and don’t make haste.


If she arrives behind time,
if she arrives ahead of time, 
wait for her.

Don’t startle the bird resting on her curls, and wait for her
to make herself as comfortable as a garden in full bloom, and wait for her 
to breathe this air that is a stranger to her heart, and wait for her
to pull up her dress one cloud at a time, and wait for her. 

When she places the glass on the marble top, slowly touch her hand 
as if to relieve her of the burden of dew drops, 
and wait for her.

Talk to her, like a flute to an anxious violin string,
like two witnesses to the schemes of some tomorrow, 
and wait for her. Polish her night one ring at a time, and wait for her
until the night tells you: 

There is no one left in the world
but the two of you. Only then, 
take her, gently, to your desired death,
and wait for her.

Poem by Mahmoud Darwish. English translation by Nariman Youssef

----------------------------------------
Alif is Tamer Abu Ghazaleh (Vocals, Buzuq), Khyam Allami (Oud), Maurice Louca (Keys, Electronics), Bashar Farran (Bass Guitar), Khaled Yassine (Drums, Percussion).

Composed, Arranged, Performed and Produced by Alif

Recorded and edited by Khyam Allami at Tunefork Studios, Beirut, Lebanon, 19-22 Dec 2013 and in Cairo, Egypt May 2014, unless otherwise noted.

Drums recorded by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh and engineered by Fadi Tabbal at Boustros Palace, Beirut, Lebanon, 16-18 Dec 2013.

Bass recorded by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at Tunefork Studios, Beirut, Lebanon, 18 Dec 2014.

Mixed by Alistair Chant at Toybox Studios, Bristol, UK

Mastered by John Dent at Loud Mastering, Taunton, UK

(c) & (p) 2015 Alif under exclusive license to Nawa Recordings.

----------------------------------------

www.nawarecordings.com 
twitter.com/nawarecordings 
facebook.com/nawarecordings

www.alif.xyz
twitter.com/alif_music
facebook.com/alifmusic1

Get it on iTunes

Alif - Dars Min Kama Sutra (Lesson From Kama Sutra) الألف - درس من كاما سوترا

New album out: Lucciole, available here on a "pay what you want basis": http://piearesquared.bandcamp.com

My second full length, "Lucciole", is the outcome of my "74 in 74" project (the link is in the header), where I covered all 74 strategies in Dennis DeSantis' "Making Music". It is also the culmination of everything that makes Pie Are Squared what at is. 

Elements of every single EP or LP that I've released thus far can be heard on this along with new facets of my music that hadn't been touched upon before. It's equal parts glitch, ambient, noise, drone and rock and yet is probably my most accessible album to date. 


Yr Misery, Babylon (You Babble On & On) •NEW ALBUM OUT•

B1 + B2

01 Khally Balak Hatmoot

DOWNLOAD!

Mirak

After messing around with Max for Live's new instruments, I came up with this. Sound-wise, it's a continuation of the direction I took on my last album, Lucciole. Enjoy!

Fire at Sea Parks

Discrete

Orpheum

Give it a ❤ at @Hypem if you like it: www.bit.ly/foalslondonthunderlakechildedithypem 

Featured by 
@IndieShuffle: www.indieshuffle.com/foals-london-thunder-lakechild-remix
@Chrome-Music-Vibes: www.chromemusic.de/music/foals-london-thunder-lakechild-edit
@AudioAquarium: www.audio-aquarium.com/foals-london-thunder-lakechild-edit
@BeautifulBuzzz: www.beautifulbuzzz.com/home/2015/12/24/foals-london-thunder-lakechild-remix

Dear friends & fans, 

we are incredibly happy to present our latest song to you - an edit of the amazing song "London Thunder" by @Foals. We absolutely adore Yannis' voice, it just makes us feel like we are flying. We had to give this one a go.

Hit us up: contact@lakechild.de

Share and like it if you dig it!

Hypem ❤ it 

Foals - London Thunder [Lakechild Edit]

SONOIO's "Blue" is probably my most listened to album in the past two years and Alessandro Cortini (https://soundcloud.com/alessandrocortini) is a personal hero of mine, so it only seemed fitting to remix one of my favourite tracks of his. This is meant to be listened to as loud as possible through decent headphones/speakers.
Here's the original song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vh00BFxl3M
Enjoy x

SONOIO - Hold On, Let Go [Pie Are Squared Remix]

A (very) slow evolving soundscape all done using only the Make Noise 0-Coast and a bunch of pedals. Will probably be part of my project to make an album or EP using only the 0-coast, SQ-1 and pedals.
The full EP is now available on bandcamp for download/purchase: piearesquared.bandcamp.com/album/co-a-sts-ep

Slower Than Your Life (Make Noise 0-Coast + Pedals) *EP OUT NOW*

An even slower-evolving soundcape using the Make Noise 0-Coast as the only sound source running it through the Boss DD-3 and using Ableton Live's Resonator and Reverb
The second in a series of songs I am making using only the 0-Coast to create everything. 
The full EP is now available on bandcamp for download/purchase: piearesquared.bandcamp.com/album/co-a-sts-ep

Three and a Half (Make Noise 0-Coast) *EP OUT NOW*

A new track to include in my EP based around using the Make Noise​ 0-Coast as the sole sound source for everything. Sequenced by the KORG​ SQ-1 and running it through Ableton​ Live's resonator and reverb, it's soundscapey, ambient and with a whole lot of feedback generated by hitting the resonator exactly at the right spot via the 0-Coast's Overtone circuit.
The full EP is now available on bandcamp for download/purchase: piearesquared.bandcamp.com/album/co-a-sts-ep
Enjoy x

Nearly There Now (Make Noise 0-Coast) *EP OUT NOW*

Written between Cairo, Istanbul and Hurghada and clocking in at less than 5 minutes; this is a whole new sound for Pie. Beat heavy, classically influenced, tonnes of reverb and a couple of guitars hidden in the mix.

Dreamscape (in C Major)

Another track that I made as part of my coursework at school and ended up liking quite a  bit. It's really different than anything I've done before, pretty uptempo, no instruments recorded, just a lot of sampling and stuff. Enjoy [available for download as always]

PS. It's not really pop, I just like Disco Inferno's "D.I. Go Pop" a whole lot.

Pie Are Goes Pop

Found Sounds, field recordings, samples and excerpts of Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski's interview with Dr. Park Dietz (The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer)

Two Sides of A Coin-Shaped Object

Pie Are Squared is Italy-based Egyptian musician Mohammed Ashraf. 
One-half of Bennu.
One-half of Śruti.
One-half of Aken's Sleep.
One-sixth of Postvorta.
One-fifth of Void of Sleep.