Hany Mehanna / MUSIC FOR AIRPLANES – A collection of instrumental showpieces and scores for Egyptian films and TV-series (1973-1980)

Those vaguely familiar with Egypt and its tumultuous yet triumphant modern history can probably associate it with two things: an incredibly rich musical heritage, and a penchant for revolt. In many ways, Egypt experienced a sonic revolution in the 1970s against a backdrop of President Sadat’s Infitah (his “opening-up” of the economy and embrace of Neoliberalism). The passing of Egypt’s Golden Age musicians such as Umm Kulthum and Abdel Halim Hafez, the emerging cultural rifts in an increasingly individualistic society, and the landing of the cassette format in Cairene homes were some of the catalysts for this observed modernism. Enter Hany Mehanna.