Words and sound by Malalaalaaa
Images by ASLI
This piece is part of the “Frenquencies” issue
As imperfect humans we are allergic to what is perfect. If something is perfect from start
to finish there is no suggestion of the infinite.
Yanagi Sōetsu
I’ve been pondering about communities, connections, and finding spaces in a spaceless city. As I approach my late twenties, I’m realizing that communities and change cannot happen only through self-reliance or “working on yourself.” I feel the desire to be surrounded by energies and be in spaces that don’t often appear in Cairo.
How can we create an atmosphere where softness and difference can thrive, without being overly focused on what’s “lacking” in our context? How can we wake up to start a new day with a fresh mind, unburdened with what came before?
A certain type of resilience arises when you get knocked down or told that “you can’t” so many times. This resilience pushes us to focus on how we envision what we feel we want to create, not just minding what is happening around us. When we’re in the flow, things start to happen for us rather than just to us, even when the outside is drenched in frustration and dense with limitations that we need to confront to continue on our evolving path.
A group of womxn artists emerged amidst the frustrations surrounding us, to think about how we can step out of the tight spaces determined, at least in part, by patriarchal validation. We are motivated by the sense of how we can be constructive, how we can build something both for us and those around us. Each of us is here for a reason, and each has a purpose.
Shifting the focus to ourselves.
What’s your reason? What’s your purpose?
We wanted to have fun, to create space for us to express, to connect, to build a constructive community based on love and sharing. Once these collective conversations started to take place, it felt like the energy shifted from “we’re stuck” to “what can we do with what we have,” even if it’s not perfect.
Alignments started to emerge, an air of lightness ruffling our air. We haven’t done much, yet, was what I thought. With a few small events, we hoped for a small portal to get a taste of how this collective emerging between us would take shape, how it could come into existence, remaining nameless for now.
Little did we know that creation of a reality starts with conversation and scattered ideas, with a little bit of action.
In January 2024 I came together with El Kontessa, منهارة (monhara) and ASLI to collaborate on a gig which inspired a whole trail of events. The three of us have some kind of synergy, despite our own sounds; منهارة (monhara) brought excited energy to make us dance non-stop. El Kontessa followed with a more intense percussive sound that gives the set depth, cut with elements from our background giving a dancy slutty energy. My selections came to sonically incorporate themes of connection with the self and others, transmuting pain, and feeling the body.
More than the sound.
I knew I wanted to work with ASLI (Nora Khorshid) when curating the night. Not only was my own sound selection influenced by spending so much time with her, but her work, way of collaborating, and vision of the night aligned with what I was imagining. Introducing her project and the ethic behind it, Nora said:
I consider ASLI to be more of an alter ego than a project, reflecting the universe in my head, my deepest thoughts and desires, my need to express myself. ASLI grows with me as I grow as an artist, skills wise and maturity. One of the key values of ASLI is little interest in harnessing a big crowd, followers, or fans. I have little interest in growing my online presence, nor to put the pressure of constant creation and the cycle of toxic productivity. If I don’t find the right space and opportunity to exist and create, I disappear until I find something within me screaming to come out or respond to an invitation from the outside to participate in something.
The night of the event, ASLI’s 3D renders of the inverted red triangle, signature characters, and butterflies danced across the faces of DJs and the wall behind them. Sharing about the visuals she produced for the night, Nora said:
We brainstormed themes and ideas we wanted to tackle and keywords like resistance, death, freedom were our north star. With everything going on in Palestine, it didn’t feel right to simply escape reality and have a little fun.
I offer my unconditional support to any resistance born from any faction in Palestine, to hell with the Occupation. Hopefully, we slowly keep fighting and pushing back to create more spaces where people can find a little solace and freedom…
Squirrel breaks free by ASLI
ASLI’s use of symbols – in this case, the triangle indexing resistance – was direct yet soft, using cuteness and humor to help cope and to create something both poetic and melancholic. Her visuals were essential to building the atmosphere for the night, framing its political context, and adding a layer of phenomenological meditation for audiences and DJs alike.
Where freedom of expression is a distant possibility, these aesthetic forms allow us to document and fill in the gaps, becoming a mode of action and articulating frustrations.
Meditation on the visual of resistance in a safe environment gave space for the audience to engage their senses; the sense of sound, movement & focus from my perspective allowed them to connect as one and release tensions; making space for expression and solidarity. In this context, collaborative visions and the ability to vent frustrations allow us to create spaces to imagine.
Discomfort & Frustration
يا رب ابعث لهم عاشقا فظا، دعهم يحترقوا شوقا كى يعرفوا شدة الألم الذي يعتري العاشق
جلال الدين الرومي
O lord send them a cruel lover; Let them burn with longing
to know the intensity of the pain that the lover feels.
Galal El Deen Al Rumi
The event was collaborative from the beginning, and about creating something we were proud of. Nora and I did a sort of bootcamp to develop different elements and test them properly. This immersion, though, was never really an escape; it was impossible to disregard our feelings of sorrow and rage over the events.
And yet, despite all of this planning and the meaningful collaboration, the day of the event was full of frustrations. Hiccups with the sound system, failed CDJs, and a projector unsuitable to the space meant that we were only able to deliver part of our vision.
I think we’ve gotten used to “making due.” Venues are run by amazing people who care about their work, but overworked and underpaid, there is only so much they can do. DJs and artists have gotten used to things not going as planned, also getting underpaid despite the rapid inflation of the country. And, despite venues raising the entry fee and expenses, these fees don’t seem to reach the people doing the work of their production.
Each of us, as womxn and artists, had been on our own journey, creating with our own flavor and identity. When we came together, everything happened organically – we didn’t need to agree on rules beforehand. Our struggle came not with each other, but with the art of putting out our creations and being perceived. For this, our purpose and reason became even more important.
Space to flourish
Dhamma (ضمة ) popped as a portal, and set in motion the much-needed little bit of action. After coming together with Yas Meen Selectress and منهارة (Monhara), we realized that a platform could allow us to share our passion for music and art with our community.
We want this intimacy, to create spaces where people can share vibes and what they find valuable, to give ourselves space to be fluid and adaptive. That night was the start of this portal of imagination to connect as several beings coming into one, and part of our quest to find new experimental and sensual methods to cope with our world.
Tracklist
- They’re with you always – Mu tate, Igor Dyachenko, Mathilde
- Make You Happy Housefire – Yawning Portal
- Attention – Softi
- 1 (Warm Dub) – Cousin & Priori
- Living – Angelicaa, First Circle
- Pkds – Buttechno
- Porcelana y Corrupción – Genosidra
- Fake – Kundai
- KKKKKKKKKKKKKKK – Duke
- How to disappear completely – Eisebelle
- Vulgar – Cr1s1s
- The Unholy Mausoleum – Prophän
- Ama – QOQEQA
- Mandragore – Judgitzu
- Opener – King Softy
- Warning signs – Qwqwqwqwa
- En Tu Cora – CRRDR, ROOi
- Velv – K2dj, Ben Bondy
- Conchas – Toada
- Yip, Yip, Yip – LI YILEI