The Rough Guide to the Music of Egypt (2003)

Cairo is the centre of the Arabic music and film industries that to this day dominates output from Marrakech to Beirut. The sheer magnetism of such a heaving metropolis has long attracted Arab musicians and poets, and continues to do so as Egyptian music is influenced by and in turn affects world cultural currents. The resulting renaissance has energized society and music mirrors these modernizing social trends – Egyptian pop has broken with the Arabic traditions of poetry, monophony and intricate melody, offering a fresh and sometimes controversial outlook. This album surveys the Egyptian music scene, the spiritual home of Arabic music, from Cairo and Alexandria in the north, to Nubia on the southern borders with Sudan.

Artists include: Ali Hassan Kuban, Angham, Amr Dieb, Abdel Halim Hafez, Nagat El Saghira, Warda, Hamza El Din, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Mohamed Mounir and Mahmoud Fadl.