Renowned for her blending of experimental sounds with traditional Arabic influences and improvisational styles, she’s garnered international acclaim for her genre-defying artistry, mesmerising vocals, and avant-garde arrangements.

‘Laini Tani’ conveys a heady, exhilarating rush of excess, evoking a sultry haze of balmy nights that stretch effortlessly into dawn while clubs continue unphased. Each track serves as a vignette, capturing fleeting yet vivid moments of introspection, defiance, or unrestrained euphoria. Through intricate wordplay, layered metaphors, and personal symbols, El Shazly crafts an aural and lyrical tapestry vibrant with meaning, where every note and phrase hints at a more intimate narrative. The album is one of contrasts - between indulgence and contemplation, spontaneity and observation - inviting the listener to lose themselves in its enchanting rhythms while deciphering the deeper truths woven into its fabric.

The soundscape of the album is a rich balance that forges a dynamic interplay between classical Egyptian improvisation, voice manipulation and electronic beats. Nadah teams up with 3Phaz as co-producer, and her long-term collaborator, Sarah Pagé on harp and electronics. It captures not only the chaos and beauty of urban life but also the private battles and triumphs within it that define the human experience. Together, the tracks create a compelling portrait of an artist unafraid to embrace vulnerability and honour the power of music as a salve for the soul, as well as one immersed in a creative community that encourages this.

Born and raised in Cairo, El Shazly began her musical journey as a member of Sick Gdrch, a Misfits cover band, before venturing into electronic production and composition. Her debut album, 2017’s ‘Ahwar’, earned global praise for its merging of heritage and innovation, and established Nadah as a leading figure in the contemporary music landscape. She appeared on the cover of The Wire in 2018 in an issue announcing “Cairo’s New Wave.”

El Shazly's live performances are equally immersive, combining her enthralling voice with intricate sound manipulation and dynamic collaborations with other musicians. She has worked with a host of innovators including Sam Shalabi, Elvin Brandhi, Maurice Louca, and many more. She’s graced stages at prestigious venues and festivals worldwide, including Irtijal, Le Guess Who?, Rewire, Best Kept Secret, FIMAV, Roskilde, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Nusasonic, and Marfa Myths. Beyond her solo work, Nadah is an active contributor to Cairo’s independent music scene, supporting emerging artists and engaging in cross-disciplinary projects. 

Nadah is also known for her soundtrack work. In 2022 she scored the film Les Damnés ne pleurent pas (The Damned Don’t Cry), that follows Fatima-Zahra and her teenage son Selim who move from place to place, forever trying to outrun the latest scandal she's caught up in. El Shazly won the Best Original Music award at the Bordeaux International Independent Film Festival and at the Dublin International Film Festival. In the last year she’s also scored Last Party in R. Desert! by Mahmoud Sabbagh, and To a Land Unknown by Mahdi Fleifel.

In 2024, she released the experimental noise album ‘Pollution Opera' with Welsh producer Elvin Brandhi. Facing hell in full defiance, their nine-track album covers the spectrum of electroacoustic fragments and vocalization, suspended between the roar of engines, evocative intonations and guttural retching.

Within ‘Laini Tani’, El Shazly’s immense, captivating voice weaves through impeccably crafted synth-work and a propulsive rhythmic foundation co-produced with 3Phaz, with Patrick Graham’s rattling percussion alongside. Layers of kinetic bass and scorching electronics intertwine like the labyrinthine backstreets of a city. Sarah Pagé’s harp adds a textural, dreamlike quality to El Shazly’s deftly constructed arrangement, an edifice of bold and physical design that’s also surreal and otherworldly. A mosaic of unconventional instrumentation interacts throughout, with Nadah at its centre as the architect and cynosure. Her commanding performance and vocal stylings act as a guide through this intricate ecosystem.

‘Laini Tani’ introduces itself with the hypnotic, atmospheric ‘Elnadaha’, which Nadah says “is like a slow whisper of consolation. A gentle call to unfreeze, wake up from shock slumber, to reshuffle the cards, and play again. While the stars are getting scarce, we still shouldn’t lose our way. The hydraulophone tempts the masks to fall off, while the harp and synths connect the dots.” It is followed by the beat-heavy, hedonistic anthem ‘Kaabi Aali’, which “reveals a seductive and defiant voice that embraces life’s fast pace and sleepless nights. Amidst the high speed and rush, we zoom in on lovers who lost their way, and the promise that if they find each other again, they shouldn’t fall dizzy and give up. This song takes place amidst Cairo’s neon green city lights and should definitely be heard on high volume in the car.”

‘Banit’ is a ritualistic number about walking out of a disastrous situation, gathering strength, and calling on spirits for help. “It’s a dark, stripped-down confrontation that took the form of a spell. As guardians and castles turn out to be statues made of stone, a sense of determination and persistence become the only way out. The chorus repeats this sentence: ‘My road is long and I’ll protect it.’ The beat loosely references zar ceremonies that take place in Cairo, which are led by women to heal ailments of the body and spirit. The women’s choir and the doff instrument continue to build on this reference towards the end of the song.”

The final addition to the record, ‘Eid’, is elated and intoxicating, “telling stories of late summer night hallucinations. A ‘tell me without telling me’ kind of attitude, the lyrics allude to subconscious desires without laying it down for you. Sending melodious mixed messages, while being showered with a blissful major key change that goes right back to a cryptic Hijaz maqam (scale). To resolve the mystery, at the last verse, I ask to look at things in a new light, untangling poetic layers. I urge you to consider yourself in Eid celebration instead, a chance to wear new things and be showered with joy.”

With ‘Enti Fi Neama’, Nadah’s intention was to create a track that reflected the density, noise, and enormity of Cairo and “the sweet melodies that form in the middle of all that noise. Like a sugar rush.” She says, “I recorded the synth layers in Cairo on my Korg Monologue that I micro-tuned to a Bayati maqam. But I manipulated and finished the composition of this track in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, while I was there for three months in 2019 learning about music, scales, and instruments from Indonesia.” The track morphs into its second part, ‘Dafaa Robaai’, a profound extension of the theme and “a continuous battle with fate and a damaged infrastructure. It’s about getting the poetry and the music out of the tombs. Contrasting heavy lyrics with a dance beat has always been a main characteristic of Egyptian music, offering a chance to express things that are otherwise harder to confess.”

‘Labkha’ is a moment of calming meditation and a song reworked from ‘Pollution Opera’. “Sarah Pagé and I played this live a couple of times during our shows, with Sarah playing harp and electronics and myself on voice and synth duties. The different arrangement brings out a more delicate side of the song, and I decided to add it to the album. During recording, I added a piano line to it. This song is played in maqam Kurd, which is one of my favourite Arabic scales. I first wrote the vocals and recorded them at home, all in one go, without any stops, which felt like it was stored somewhere, ready to come out. The song is like letting out a cry and having a good sleep afterwards, that would heal a broken heart.”

El Shazly communicates her symbiotic creative partnership on the penultimate track, ‘Laini Tani’. “This song has a freeform mawal style beginning, where the words are about being in a relaxed, unbothered state and enjoying the moment. The beat comes in and breaks the mawal, and I start wondering what fate is bringing next. The melody switches to a more major scale when the beat disappears, asserting that if anyone wants to come visit, or enter my life, they should come back another time instead. And find me again later - maybe in a next life even! Musically it celebrates my close relationship with Sarah. We've been playing together since we met at Hotel2Tango recording studio in 2016 in Montreal, when I was recording my debut album, ‘Ahwar’. Sarah tunes her harp to Arabic scales, in this case, the Saba scale, and we can totally be in the same body and mind when we play together.”

Finally, ‘Ghorzetein’ explores the double wound of a heart that has loved and been broken twice, reflected in its English title, “Two Stitches.” The track begins as a brooding, atmospheric piece with building intensity, featuring the raw percussion of a sonic CPR, reviving the heart from its emotional stupor. This progression captures the duality of despair and resilience, making it both an emotional journey and a visceral listening experience.

With ‘Laini Tani’, Nadah El Shazly invites listeners into a thoroughly realised, deeply personal environment that is as much a marker of her artistic evolution as it is a celebration of her hometown and human connection. The album’s seamless meshing of experimental daring and traditional depth offers a rare glimpse into a world where barriers dissolve. As she continues to push the boundaries of contemporary music, El Shazly affirms her role as a vital voice in the global musical conversation, cementing a legacy of fearless creativity and infinite sonic possibility. 

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