Music
Q&A: Aly & Fila
Meet the Egyptian duo who’ve become one of the world’s most acclaimed trance acts.
Aly & Fila 1
© Ultra Music Festival
It’s tough for anyone making music in the Middle East to establish their name outside of even their own country, never mind the region. To become internationally renowned, registering on the most significant global rankings for their particular form of music, is practically unheard of. But Egyptian trance DJ-producers Aly El Sayed Amr Fathalah (aka Aly) and Fadi Wassef Naguib (aka Fila) have done just that. Their radio show Future Sound of Egypt and their record label of the same name are both wildly popular and acclaimed. They regularly perform at some of the biggest electronic music festivals and events in the world – including Creamfields, Stereosonic, Electric Daisy Carnival, Tomorrowland in Belgium and Brazil, A State of Trance and their own events at the Great Pyramid in Giza and the Karnak Temple in Luxor. They’ve also featured in the Top 50 of DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll every year since 2008. There are few more respected artists in the trance music scene. And they’ve done all of this out of Cairo.
Ahead of their DJ set at Sensation Dubai 2016, which takes place at Bab Al Shams on November 11, Fila took time out from their hectic touring schedule to answer a few of our questions.
How did you guys meet?
We met in kindergarten and have remained close friends ever since.
Who first got you interested in music?
Well, Aly’s grandfather was a very famous musician in Egypt – and that inspired him. My brother was a DJ and promoted some club nights in Cairo.
When and why did you start DJing and making your own music?
In the mid-Nineties. I used to visit Germany a lot with my father. I’d buy mixtapes and vinyl of Paul Van Dyk and when I got home to Egypt, Aly and I would listen to them. We just became inspired by them and decided we wanted to learn how to DJ and make trance music.
What is it about trance that made you want to concentrate specifically on that genre?
The style just blew our minds. It was so energetic and uplifting.
Aly & Fila 2
© Aly & Fila
It’s pretty extraordinary for artists to make an international impact from the Middle East. Can you isolate a couple of reasons for your success, d’you think?
It was and is pretty much unique for musicians/DJs from Egypt to be making waves in the dance music scene – it was generally British, Dutch and Americans when we were starting out. We think there are a number of factors: First, we’re proud Egyptians and we’ve always tried to incorporate our history into our marketing – even with track names like “Eye of Horus” and “Thebes”. A lot of it’s just down to working very hard, believing in what we’re doing and having a great team who share our passion and vision around to advise us.
We’ve also had great support from DJs like Armin Van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk – we’re very grateful for that. Then there’s our radio show. Future Sound of Egypt is on its 468th episode, and it’s on more than 60 FM stations worldwide every week, so we’re reaching all corners of the globe with that – not just with our music and brands, but other producers from our genre. Trance is a worldwide family.
Do you feel like your Egyptian roots have impacted your music too?
Oh, one hundred percent. You can definitely hear traces of Arabic influences in our music.
Apart from Paul Van Dyk, who were your early inspirations?
The Thrillseekers, Chicane, Armin Van Buuren, Eric Prydz…
And who do you most admire in the international scene at the moment?
DJs who’ve been around for 10 or 20 years and are still smashing it. So, Sasha, Dave Seamen, Nick Warren, James Zabiela, Carl Cox, Ferry Corsten, and – of course – Armin Van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk.
What about in the Egyptian scene? Who do you look out for there – whether electronic acts or not?
Well, obviously we’re very proud of the Egyptian artists we’ve signed to our label – Mohamed Ragab, Fady and Mina, A&Z, and Omar Sherif. Also, we think Amr Diab’s an amazing talent.
Aly & Fila 3
© Aly & Fila
How did you get started with Future Sound of Egypt?
We started the radio show back in 2006. We wanted to spread our music and our love of other producers’ tracks around the world. We love it just as much now as the first day we did it. We love listening to all the demos.
The label started in 2009, under the umbrella of Andy Prinz’s Offshore Music, but a year later it became an Armada sub-label. That’s how it stayed until June this year, when it became fully independent. We release something every week, and we’ve got two sister labels: Excelsior for more progressive sounds and Clandestine for the darker, tech-y sound. Future Sound of Egypt is the number one selling trance label on Beatport for the last 12 months, and we’re very proud of that.
We feel that through the show and the label, and our Future Sound of Egypt events, we’ve helped create greater awareness of trance music in Egypt.
When you started out, I can’t imagine you ever dreamt of achieving the level of success you have …
Very true. It would have been hard to believe. We just wanted to be the best we could be, and hoped to touch people’s lives with our music. We’re very thankful for all the support we’ve had so far from family, fans, other musicians and our teams.
Aly & Fila 4
© Aly & Fila
Earlier this year you took over BBC Radio 1 in the UK with your own ‘Essential Mix’. How was that?
It’s always been a dream of ours to do the famous ‘Essential Mix’. We’re really proud to have finally got the chance – our management had been trying for some time – and the feedback was brilliant.
What do you hope audiences take away from an Aly & Fila set?
We hope they go away happy and inspired.
Do you plan your sets in advance? What can we expect from your Dubai set?
We never plan our sets, no. We play to the crowd. But you can expect a typical Aly & Fila set: Uplifting, melodic and driving.
What are your main goals right now?
Just to continue working hard and making music, really. We’re working on our next album, which should be out in early 2017. We want to build the label more, help the artists signed to the label, and strive to break boundaries with our brands.
