Photography by The Cairo Zoom
New Vibes/اجواء جديدة gives a snapshot of emerging and established independent, experimental, and underground sound artists and projects in their own words <3
Based in Cairo, Badreya Electroneya (they/them) is an electronic music producer, singer-sonwriter, and noise artist who creates “unorthodox sonic vistas” driven by intensions and an ever-expanding set of references. Read more about them, their sound and process, and more their new collaborative project Mārid – a hybrid-bass, percussive-club track that draws on Islamic folklore, produced with DJ MARTINA – below.
Find more of their work on Soundcloud, Instagram, and X.
Tell us a bit about yourself…
Hai! I’m electroneya, an electronic music producer, singer-songwriter, noise artist, and DJ based in Cairo, Egypt. I don’t come from a highly musical background; instead, my affinity for music developed when I was young, crafting playlists like a DJ in training and curating a digital library of songs that felt like my own little treasure chest. Sadly, I lacked access to physical music growing up, as it was nowhere to be found in Cairo. Thank God for iTunes and the internet—they were my besties during those formative years! This playful exploration of sound sparked a love for music that has only grown, encouraging me to delve deeper into a vast world of creativity and experimentation.
How do you describe your sound?
I’m actively working towards defining what that means for me, but for now, I would say my sound reflects the dual nature of my being, embracing a polarity that drives me to create unorthodox sonic vistas. By conjuring erratic, gut-wrenching noises and melding them with blissfully coruscating soundscapes. I also draw a lot of inspiration from hard-drum music, industrial, breaks, noise and ambient; fusing elements from these musical styles as an emblem to my sound design & DJ sets.
Recently, I find myself synthesizing a lot of water sounds often—as a fire sign, I like to think it soothes my core.
Can you tell us about your latest project, and what you’re looking forward to?
My latest project was a song called Mārid, created with one of my dear friends and collaborators, multi-instrumentalist producer DJ MARTINA. We first met several years ago at a party she was DJing in Cairo, and soon after, we bonded over how agonizingly CIS the music scene here is. And, so, working on a song together felt like a natural, synergistic unfolding! Mārid is a high-energy, percussive club track that blends violin acoustics with elements of hybrid-bass music. It draws thematic inspiration from Islamic folklore. In this context, Marid is a deity unique to Islam, known for its spirit of radical rebellion—distinct from figures in Western esotericism. The track was released on Barcelona-based art collective ‘les shapeshifters’ and mixed by our mutual friend TNSXORDS.
Looking ahead, I’m focused on enhancing my sound design skills so I can fully express myself in a future LP—hopefully by next year! I also have an upcoming project next month that I’m incredibly humbled and excited to be part of, though I can’t reveal much just yet.
What is one of your tracks that you connect with the most, at the moment? Can you tell us more about it?
I’d have to say “UHH,” released earlier this spring as part of my three-track exploratory, experimental-electronic project “Beroud” on the Cairo-based independent record label/collective ‘Special Project.’
I vividly recall spending three weeks crafting the sound design for this one song, which ended up being just two minutes long. This was the first project where I had a clear end goal in mind while creating. This was something new for me, as I typically prefer not to set intentions or seek references before going into the ‘creative process.’ I usually just allow for the music to flow through me!
Once the beat sought completion, its synthetic artifacts began to arouse my ears, and I knew then I wanted to expand deeper into themes of sultriness. I found myself humming “Uhh” seductively—props to the legendary Miss Britney Jean Spears for raising me well—until eventually that vocal sample ultimately became the glue of the song’s overall composition.
Who are you listening to these days?
This year has been abundant in releases by artists challenging the notions of what is perceptible as ‘normal’ across all musical genres. Though I’ve been gravitating a lot towards El Kontessa’s debut LP, Nos Habet Caramel, especially the tracks Bingo and Dofda3. MARTINA’s fabulous track, “ورا الشمس,” which bends & blends post-shaabi sonics with avant-pop structures. Truly cannot get enough of this song; absolutely obsessed! Also listening to a lot of ZULI’s new ambient record “Lambada” and avidly delving into Abadir’s ambient work!
A couple of months ago, I also came across “Nonbinary: A Memoir” by Genesis P-Orridge, prompting me to dig deeper into their work. Although they sadly passed away recently, I learned they were pioneers of industrial music back in the ‘70s, one of my absolute favorite genres. I’ve been immersing myself in their work, released under Throbbing Gristle—truly fantastic stuff!
Reflect with us, is there something on your mind you’d like to share?
Being a skinny legend is imperative to good sound-design! #UltraSkinny 4ever x
Click here to discover two of our favourite mixes from Electroneya: Rinse FM Set for Sarrah Wild’s ‘Worldwide Underground’ & Stegi Radio Set for El Kontessa’s Billiardo