While a handful of producers on Egypt’s independent music scene can claim as much star power as performers, there still exists a balance that pulls in favour of musicians and rappers, one that almost means that producers need performers to craft their own paths to success.
One man, however, has been standing firm on his own: DJ Totti. While his library of work features some of the biggest names on the scene, ranging from Wegz to Ibrahim X of Kafr El Dauwar Records, the Alexandria native has been releasing more and more standalone instrumentals in recent times, which has allowed him to showcase his versatility without the anchor of catering for an artist.His latest release comes in the form of ‘A7zany’, a five-minute piece that feeds into an increasingly distinctive Totti signature sound. The track kicks off in an ambient tone, before a heavily reverberated guitar-riff takes centre stage. From there, its various other elements are worked in around it, including a nasally synth that acts as the main melodic line for the first act of the track alongside Totti's signature drums. The track, overall, is best described as an alt-shaabi fusion, though the second half introduces a melancholic violin that adds a warmth and an intangible emotive streak, before winding down with a similar sounding synth that kicked off the track, but with the the addition of arpeggiation that gives off the sense of closure.
All in all, it very much reflects the title, which translates to ‘my sorrows’, offering a different side to Totti’s musicality and showing that even without a rapper or singer, his work can speak a thousand words.
