Scenenoise Podcast

This week’s Select comes courtesy of Cairo-based selector Mahmoud Okasha (AKA Zeft Funk), who has been helping Egypt’s top dancefloors groove over the last four years with his distinct blend of italo disco, acid house, textured bass-heavy sounds and eclectic tunes pulled from his own secret collection. For his Select set, Zeft Funk delivers an hour-long mix of fancy funk tunes and pulse-bounding acid, disco and groovy house. The set kicks off with spoken words of the classic intro of radio broadcasting in Cairo, which then wafts through a fire mix of Lineat’s ‘InsBLaue’. The set is a treasure trove of irresistibly danceable grooves, featuring some of Zeft Funk’s favourite tunes like ‘Bigboy Exercises’ by Schwarzfahrer, ‘Self Loathing Rulz’ by Shout Out Out Out, and more.

For Select 285, we have veteran techno DJ and producer Anthon, a prominent figure in the Lebanese underground music scene, recognized for mastering the craft of dark edgy big room sounds, as well as his ominous twisted techno productions, which are infused with shadows drawn from his own life experiences. Anthon is the founder of one of Beirut’s burgeoning party series, Deep Department, which has been running since 2015. He has done his rounds at some of Lebanon’s most famous clubs and venues, from The Grand Factory and The Garten to AHM, Harbor, Ballroom Blitz and B018. He has also showcased at prestigious clubs across the globe, including Berlin’s Suicide Circus, Montpellier’s PZ Club, as well as Klub Der Republik with the Cluck Im Ohr crew. He has shared the decks with a roster of globally acclaimed artists like Sam Paganini, Boris Brejcha, Dubfire, Stephan Bodzin, Marco Bailey, Reinier Zonneveld, and Victor Ruiz, just to name a few. His extensive discography boasts several EPs, released on famed labels

For this week’s Select, we have Berlin-based underground DJ/producer duo Marko & Bene, aka Longhair. Arguably one of the leading figures in the electronic dance scene, they’re known for their devilishly pumping and harmoniously uplifting sets that dabble in versatile shades of hazy house, with influences that range from disco and balearic to trance and electro. Earlier this year, the duo released ‘Surf & Turf’ EP on the famed London-based label OPIA Records, a deep and progressive house fusion of futuristic funk and dreamy rave nostalgia across four cuts. For their select set, Longhair came in with a pulse-pounding house set, featuring psychedelic layers, acid-licks and rousing synth-heavy grooves with hip-thrusting kicks, combined with a subtle pinch of trance-like repetitive rhythms. The set features tunes by famous international producers such as Eddie Richards, Nanami Togarashi and Hidden Spheres.

On today’s Select, we have SAUD, a veteran DJ hailing from Belgrade, Serbia, recognised for his multicoloured hypersonics, blending hardcore breakbeat patterns with contemporary gradients that gravitate towards a regenerated form of rhythmic psychedelia. He is also the co-founder of Belgradie-based famed rave platform SUTRA, which has brought a roster of acclaimed producers the likes of Gabber Modus Operandi, ZULI, Abadir, Aisha Devi, Mumdance, Batuu, Lee Gamble, Flore and more, to Serbia’s clubbing scene over the last 7 years. Besides running SUTRA, SAUD was featured on Boiler Room x Belgrade. He has also played in various clubs and venues across the globe, from NYC, Berlin, and France, to Austria, Belgium, Norway, Poland, and Beirut, just to name a few. In 2023, he also launched his own club in New Belgrade called Živa. For our 289th Select, SAUD shares the set he played at his club Živa’s season-opening party that took place earlier this year, featuring Kuwaiti producer Van Boom on the lineup. The set, a

This Saturday on Select, we have Badry, a Dubai-based Egyptian spinner who was raised between Cairo and Toronto, bringing a mix of minimal and deep house that leans more towards the groovy side of the spectrum with hints of acid licks. The set features eclectic tunes like ‘Where You To’ by Harrison BDP, ‘I Wanna Turn’ by Franck Roger, ‘Into the Clouds’ by Politics of Dancing and ‘Planet Express’ by James Andrew. Badry is also the co-founder of Dubai’s party series Duck Soup, curating various parties and events across the city. He has previously showcased at the Groove On The Grass festival in Dubai.

On this episode of Select, we have Taqtuqa, formerly known as Maxi 45. The France-based label run by Egyptian-bred selectors Joseph and Dafadee3o delivers a disco edit and deep club cuts of retro Middle Eastern music and Egyptian cassettes, including tracks by Amr Diab and Simone, featuring multi-layers of pulse-bounding kicks, tabla arrangements, vocal samples and throbbing basslines. Raised between Beirut and Alexandria, Joseph grew up listening to a lot of classical scores and French records. As an avid digger with a passion for vinyl, Joseph’s extensive record collection encompasses everything from classical and synth-pop to house, disco and punk. After relocating to France, he launched his own label, Taqtuqa with DJ Dafadee3o, which specializes in releasing remixes and edits of classic Middle Eastern music and Egyptian cassettes from the 60s up to the late 90s.

This Saturday’s Select comes courtesy of Cairo-born Abu Dhabi-based selector Gloria Roffael. The house mix opens with minimal sounds and a driving 4/4 beat intersected with crisp hi-hats, before transitioning into an upbeat house, featuring vocal samples, light breaks, firm kicks and tunes by the likes of Fantastic Man and Pocket Beagle, as well as an unreleased slow burner by Egyptian house maestro Misty. Gloria has been keeping dancefloors on all their toes since 2018 with her unique blend of house and dreamy electronic beats. She has previously showcased at major regional festivals like Egypt’s Sandbox, at SceneNoise’s Selectbox, as well as Shorelines and Abu Dhabi’s Bred.

For Select 285, we have brought in Willillah, a Lebanese-born DJ, producer and co-founder of Beirut’s HighHats Community, recognised for her innovative productions and dynamic sets encompassing breakbeat, bass, hardcore and more. She has a series of releases on prominent global labels like HHC, Synthwave Records, Glanz + Elend, Aux Records, Ekstasis, and Disorder. For her select set, Willillah shows off her breakbeat and jungle Dnb side, and affinity for distorted kicks and incorporating obscure sounds and unusual elements in her sets. The set opens with a drill track by ‘Naja’ by Palestinian artist El War3i, before transitioning into a cacophony of bouncy kicks, wacky vocals, occasional sultry amen breaks, and tunes by famous producers the likes of Muskila, Booty Bouncer and Clafrica.

This Saturday’s Select comes courtesy of Alexandria-born, Cairo-based DJ and producer Fady El-Tellawy, aka Fady T, whose repertoire of productions encompasses house, techno and trance beats. He has been performing at exclusive private parties and famous venues across Alexandria, Cairo and more since 2019, including Cairo Jazz Club and Lazuli. His select set is a club-ready mix of colourful, groovy and ultra-bouncy tech-house and deep-tech, packed with driving 4/4 beat, punchy kicks, deep basslines and multi-layered claps, hats, and percussive textures, featuring some of his unreleased productions as well as eclectic cuts and tunes by the like of DJ Sneak and Louden.

For Select 283, we have Cairene selector, vinyl collector and multifaceted artist Khaled Youssry. His deep passion for vinyl records led him to travel across the globe collecting records, building an extensive record collection that has become central to his work. Khaled’s commitment to DJing transcends the booth; he is the co-founder of Laselky, a Cairo-bred platform and party series committed to celebrating the roots of Egypt’s underground culture whilst embracing new sounds, and fostering a space for artists to connect and collaborate. He has done his rounds at famous local parties and venues, including Lazuli, Laselky, Cairo Jazz Club, Yellow Tape, Tap East and Cassette, and shared the decks with a slew of international artists like Velasco and Lamalice. “It’s a raver’s journey packaged into less than two hours, capturing the stages I love about the experience of a raving,” Youssry tells SceneNoise of his set, which was mastered by Saharty. “Starting with those warm inviting beats as you enter the clu

Select 282 comes courtesy of Beirut’s rising DJ Andreo, delivering an interesting take on house, where he carefully weaves eclectic hi-hats with ear-tingling synths and luscious drum patterns, showcasing his wholly unique blend of melodic, deep and progressive house. The set features tunes by renowned producers like Ray Mono, The Ginger Cat and Sepp. Andreo initially began his musical career by performing at private parties and has since been spinning in many prestigious venues and clubs across the globe, such as B018, GrubanandGroove, Orient and Express, establishing a name for himself in the regional electronic scene. His sets are known for being energetic, engaging and quite unpredictable. He has recently ventured into music production, working on various new projects to expand his creative reach and evolve his sound.

On this episode of our Select series, we have Cairo’s Adham Zahran, one of the breakthrough producers in Egypt’s underground music scene, recognized for his other alias Relic & Rarity. Having been releasing music on vinyl and digital with various international labels over the last decade, Zharan is one of those artists you should keep on your radar. For his Select set, Adham Zahran crafts a deep house mix, peppered with warm grooves and various analogue sounds, featuring eclectic tunes by the likes of Green Sequence, Space Ghost and Steven Jullian & Kyle Hall.

For this Select, we invited Dubai-based DJ and producer Rose End, who is known for his provocative sound, which he describes as ‘stylish underground’. His sets are a hybrid of deep house, lo-fi electronic, neo trip-hop and techno, drawing inspiration from prominent global DJs like Thom Yorke, Blawan, Terrence Dixon and Ivan Dorn. Rose End is also known for his electronic party series ‘Jack’ and his YouTube channel, ‘Flanger’, where he conducts interviews with seasoned and rising DJs and producers. For his select set, Rose End cooked us a mix of deep house and neo trip-hop that showcase his wholly unique and distinctive style. The set features old samples with ambient melodies, lo-fi elements, potent drum patterns and hints of breaks that will take you on a trippy journey through the sounds of staple underground clubs, from Chicago and Berlin to London and Detroit.

On our 279th Select, we have Beirut-based DJ and producer Nicolas Merheb, who built up quite a reputation in the region’s underground electronic scene with his dynamic melodic house sets. His innate ability to read the crowd has seen him fire up some most prestigious clubs and venues across the globe, from Beirut, Doha and Amman to Dubai and Barcelona, sharing decks with a slew of prominent global artists like Mathame, Rampa, &Me, Marco Carola, Monolink and Adriatique. His select set is a heady melodic house ride decorated with driving four-on-the-floor rhythms and high-voltage pop anthems. The set features intricate arpeggios, throbbing basslines and anthemic synth hooks with hints of tribal house, as well as eclectic tunes like ‘Good Times’ by Tripolism and ‘Born in Blu’ by Chambord.

This Saturday's Select comes courtesy of Uruguay-born vinyl spinner Maximiliano Perez, aka Mape. Mape began his musical career in hip-hop before moving to electronic music, and since then he has been mixing vinyl and doing the rounds in prestigious venues and clubs across Uruguay such as Emile, Living, El Ciclo, Montevideo Micro and Formato Montevideo. He also launched his own record label, AroAro.uy, which puts the spotlight on diverse sounds from various emerging local and international artists. His unwavering passion for vinyls propelled him to open his own record shop 22:22, which is currently located in Montevideo, where he’s based. His sets are colourful and evocative, born from his own feelings and interpretations of various subgenres, crafting stories and generating conversations on every stage he takes over. He is all about chasing new sounds, recognized for delving deep into a little bit of everything from Goa and Bleep to techno and progressive house. “I never focus on one genre in my sets, I re

Cairo-born selector Essam has become recognized in the underground electronic scene over the past few years for his refined blend of deep and progressive house, smoothly transitioning between atmospheric and ambient to full-on elaborate grooves. In this edition of our select series, Essam delivers a dynamic set that leans more on the lighter side of things, incorporating progressive tracks with tribal drums and subtle trippy rhythms that are uptempo but still pretty mellow. Featuring tunes from the likes of David Alvarado, Ben La Desh and Soulforce, the set is peppered with warm grooves and layers of organic and synthesized sounds that evoke the feeling of floating in outer space.

This Saturday’s Select comes courtesy of Baltimore-based selector Hollowpoints Radio, aka DJ Luh, a quiet purveyor of hip-hop who gained quite the reputation globally for her bi-monthly show on UK’s NTS radio. She has also showcased at Boiler Room’s System Mix. Hollowpoints brings a special rap mix of the best and brightest the underground hip-hop scene has to offer to our Select series, featuring an hour of uncompromising regional sounds from the darkest corners of the American scene.

On this week’s Select, we have seasoned Ibiza-based DJ, electronic music producer and self-entitled ‘happiness provider’ YazzMin, delivering a juicy danceable house mix that blends elements from minimal and melodic house with afrobeats. YazzMin’s four-on-the-floor groovy sets have been played on prestigious dance floors across the globe, from Amsterdam and Italy to Lebanon, Dubai and more. Her select set is a treat for house lovers, filled with as many joyful grooves and driving percussion as ambient melodies and soulful rhythmic vocals, evoking that euphoric bliss that comes with magical ruby sunsets. The set features eclectic tunes from the likes of Fiona Kraft, Tal Fussman and more.

Seasoned Egyptian DJ Omar Zahran has established a name for himself in the local underground electronic scene for his funky house mixes. He has done the rounds at famed venues and clubs across Cairo, performing at The Tape, Cairo Jazz Club and more. For our 274th select set, Zahran cooks up a groovy mix of the ‘90s and ‘00s dance anthems and obscure disco gems from Europe and the US, featuring tracks from the likes of Disco Tamarro and Boys/Girls.

This week on our Select series, we have Beirut’s seasoned melodic techno DJ duo and long-time rave buddies Jom & Terry. A driving force in the Lebanese clubbing scene, the pair went from co-hosting intimate house parties almost five years ago to sharing decks at a slew of prestigious venues across Lebanon and the globe. Their select set pulses with the hypnotic energy of those early techno rave days, featuring rapid frequency thumps, syncopated snares and hints of breaks. It opens with relentless rolling basslines which then fade away smoothly, and have your guts frizzling with anticipation as powerful drops hit. Right amidst that cacophony, around minute 43, the duo mix in their self-produced track ‘Calm But Scared’, amping things up even further.