In the last few years Aly El Sayed Amr Fathalla and Fadi Wassef Naguib
have become a worldwide sensation. Maybe they wouldn’t have using their real names, but better known as Aly and Fila, their unique Egyptian brand of euphoric, driving trance marks them out as producers par excellence. It would be wrong to overlook Fila’s work behind the decks, with standout shows gracing many a club and festival, including last year’s Trance Energy tour down under.
They’ve come a long way from 2003 when their first track Eye of Horus
was released on Euphonic, with the boys now running Armada sub-label Future Sound Of Egypt. To coincide with their debut artist album, Rising Sun
, Data Transmission caught up with them to get the lowdown on all things Aly & Fila. Where did you meet?We met very young and became really good friends.
How did you end up in the studio together?We both shared a passion for electronic music and decided to go for it.
How did you first get hooked on trance music?Our earlier influences are Paul van Dyk and Chicane. We loved what these guys were doing and were hooked straight away.
How would you describe the Aly and Fila sound?We would say we have our own sound; uplifting driving trance, and you can still hear traces of what has become familiar as Egyptian trance in our sound.
How do you work together in the studio?We both have ideas, and both work very well together, we sit down and work through everything, each inspiring one another.
How long were you working on Rising Sun for?We were working on it for about 1 year +. We didn’t want to rush it and we are very happy with the finished product.
What are your favourite tracks from Rising Sun and why?We love them all, it would be very hard to say which ones are our favourites. It was great to work with new vocalists such as Sue McClaren and Josie to name but a few.
How did you strike the balance for the album between the club-oriented trance and the more chilled tracks?We wanted to create an artist album that reflects a variety of tracks and genres of trance. We feel this has been captured on the album, with the more uplifting style like
Perfect Red, downtempo tracks such as
Still and
Paradise to vocal tracks such as
Listening,
My Mind is With You and
I Can Hear You.
There are some collaborations on the album including ones with Activa, Bjorn Akesson and Philippe El Sisi.What was it like working with each of these artists?We absolutely love working with these artists. All of them apart from Activa are signed to our label.
How is your Future Sound of Egypt label going and any hot label gossip you’d like to share with us?We are really happy with the progress of the label. Now with it being a sub-label of Armada, they are really amazing to work with and have helped the label progress. We have lots of new forthcoming releases to look out for too.
Who is a young talent we should watch out for and why?There is so many young talents coming through. We predict a bright future for many of the artists on our record label including Philipe el Sisi, Neptune Project, Vast Vision, Bjorn Akesson, Brave, Mohamed Rageb, Mark Andrez to name but a few.
How is the clubbing scene in Egypt? The clubbing scene in Egypt is mainly house music, but with our radio show Future Sound Of Egypt being aired weekly on Nile FM it creates more awareness of trance in the country. We recently played an FSOE event for our album party at Pacha in Sharm el Sheik.
What has been the best night you’ve played at recently and why?We have just come back from South America, and the only word to describe the Argentina crowd is wow! The Chile crowds were also amazing. Paradise Garage/Fiesta Pura Events in Argentina were the highlights!
What advice would you give to young DJ/producers out there?To work hard and keep believing in yourself.
What is your current top 3? - Max Graham – Nothing Else Matters (Aly & Fila Remix)
- Bjorn Akesson – Robot Religion
- Neptune Project vs Luke Bond - Atlantis
And your all time top 3? - Paul van Dyk – For An Angel
- Chicane – Saltwater
- Thrillseekers - Synthesaisia
Catch the duo at the Rising Sun album launch @ The Gallery, Ministry of Sound on 23rd July. Click for more details http://www.datatransmission.co.uk/ViewEvent/5666/