Kings of Trance

DJs like Aly & Fila are more than just the ‘disc jockeys’ of old, who kept the turntables and tape decks loaded in radio stations. Club DJs have evolved as musicians in their own right, using sophisticated computer software to remix existing songs with dance beats, or even to compose their own melodies.Trance music, characterized by fast melodic beats, is equally underestimated and misunderstood. Many people think all it takes is some simple beats and a bass line for people to dance to.  Many more believe you can only enjoy the music while high on drugs.

Not true, says Fila: “I feel that this kind of music doesn’t need drugs and you can really enjoy it without drugs or anything, so this is something that really annoys me. Trance is the electronic style that has the least to do with drugs, because it is nice music with a lot of composition.”The DJs describe their music as uplifting melodic trance, with banging beats and a rapid tempo incorporating intricate musical composition and theory. “It is a music [genre] that you feel,” says Fila. “Some people go to trance parties to listen to the music not only to dance. It is an experience for them.”

According to the DJs, trance is a great genre to not only dance to, but also great for long road trips as well.

The local trance scene is still developing, and the DJs are not as popular in their hometown as they are abroad. According to Aly & Fila, playing in Egypt can be a bit difficult because of the lack of opportunities there are to throw well-organized parties. Local large-scale trance parties are often broken up by rowdy crowds. “Some people who want to enjoy the music stopped going to parties in Egypt and just go abroad,” explains Fila. “We see so many Egyptians at our parties with their flags and all.”Nonetheless, the pair threw an unforgettable launch party in Sharm El-Sheikh for their album Rising Sun in 2010. The DJs are hoping that this will not be the last party they throw in Egypt. To help both the genre and the DJs develop, Aly & Fila have been organizing more local events under the umbrella of their label The Future Sound of Egypt, launched in 2009 as part of the famous Dutch label Armada Music. The now-veteran DJs are helping to promote the work of new Egyptian talents such as rising DJ Philippe El Sisi and Mohamed Ragab. The rising talents also get some play on Aly & Fila’s weekly radio program, also called The Future Sound of Egypt. Started five years ago, the show currently airs on several stations including Nile FM every Thursday night at 1am and the internet-based Digitally Imported Radio on Mondays at 10 Central European Time (12am, local time). The DJs plan to celebrate their 200th episode of The Future Sound of Egypt with a massive three-day event that will be taking place in Egypt, London and another yet to be determined European city.

Aly & Fila started composing songs in 2000, but it took two years of arduous work and constant traveling before they landed a deal in 2002 with a German music label that noticed their work at an electronic music labels exhibition. Fila says getting signed on with a music label was much harder back then, noting that nowadays digital releases on the internet have simplified the process for musicians worldwide.In 2003, the DJ team released their first track “Eye of Horus,” which reached fourth on the Dutch dance charts and garnered its composers immediate success. Since then they have released more and more successful dance tracks including “Spirit of Ka,” “A Dream Of Peace,” “Ankh – Breath of Life,” “Thebes” and “Lost Language.” In 2008, they attracted attention by remixing the entire Trance World 2 Compilation album; the following year they took home the Best Break Through DJ award at the 2009 International Music Awards at the Winter Conference in Miami. The pair of star DJs released their first full-fledged album, Rising Sun in 2010, which was voted as one of Mix Mag magazine’s top albums. The DJs experimented with their own style with Rising Sun, using new slower beats with more vocals than their previous work. Fila describes it as “more artistic with commercial spices.” The track “Listening” featuring American vocalist Josie has the honor of becoming Aly & Fila’s first music video. As their success gradually grew, the rising stars from Egypt joined the ranks of extremely talented DJs and producers and have played alongside the world’s biggest DJs at the hottest venues for trance music. Aly & Fila attribute most of their success to the support they received from international DJs, including some of the top names in the electronic music industry —Armin Van Buuren, DJ Mag’s number-one ranked DJ for four years running; Tiësto (number three) and Paul Van Dyk (number six). “One of the main reasons for our name to have grown internationally is the support of the DJs who for us [were] the influence,” Fila says as Aly nods in agreement. “They all gave us so much — almost 50 percent of our success we owe [...] to them.” The future continues to look bright for the nation’s hottest DJs, especially with the upcoming release of their latest track “A Rising Sun remixed version” this March. Aly & Fila will also be making a guest appearance next April at DJ Armin Van Buuren’s mega celebration of the Dutch DJ’s 500th episode of his A State of Trance radio show. “People around the world are surprised and amazed that Egyptians did this with electronic music,” Aly & Fila say, their words bumping into each other. “We are very happy and so proud that we’ve reached such a level.”