Cover photo by: CairoZoom
Cairo-based DJ and inter-disciplinary artist electroneya delivers a provocative message in their debut Arabic-Hyperpop single ‘Maltoota’.
True to their moniker, electronya’s distinctive music style intricately weaves complex electronic sounds. In ‘Maltoota’, a vernacular Arabic word comprising meaning ‘crazy story coming to an end’, electroneya mediates on the dysfunctionality of patriarchy and life lessons learned while navigating the labyrinth of real-life situations through infectious hard bubblegum basslines, electronic frequencies and robust synths. ‘Maltoota was inspired by a personal traumatizing experience, the more I gave to the lyrics the more it allowed for me uncover innate resolution within my pshyche,’ electroneya tells SceneNoise.
The track begins with an idiosyncratic Arabic note set against a brewing slow tempo, which serves as a premonition for the narrative the artist unfurls within the concise two-minute composition. Drawing inspiration from a diverse range of tunes across genres like Rania Kurdi’s ‘Shyef Nafsak’, babynymph’s ‘Ice’, and SOPHIE’s ‘Immaterial’, ‘Maltoota’ seamlessly merges trance and hardstyle elements with distorted glimpses of Arabic pop and arresting high-pitched vocals.
Complementing the hypnotic soundscape of the track, the artwork for Maltoota - designed by young local artist Hesham Taha - beautifully encapsulates the track’s genre-bending essence, artistically weaving elements of reality with surrealism in vivid striking colours.
Listen to the full track here:
