The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Long before
his music was made public in Egypt, Neobyrd was slated for stardom. At the age of fifteen, his music was playing
on British radio. A careful listen to
his debut album Transbyrd tells us that
it wasn’t just luck that got him on international airwaves at such a young
age. 

The album’s
line-up is a stirring introduction to the world of electronic music: a mood
lifter that journeys the listener up and down, only subtly resembling the true
tendencies of Neobyrd’s Wael Alaa.

‘This album
is an introduction for Egyptians to this type of music, not to Neobyrd
specifically,’ said the 24-year old about his choice of ten tracks featured in Transbyrd.

The short opening
track ‘Ooh Oh’ is a whirlwind of accelerated beats. It’s a lively tune that
will take the listener on a buoyant ride; it will feel like you’re on a road
trip with the windows down and fresh air splashing into your face. 

‘A journey
of a bird that started many years ago/ Leaving its nest and flying away to
reach its place,’ strikes Neobyrd toward the end of this tune, as if telling the
tale of how he started out.

While ‘Spill
Your Sunshine’ is a crunchy yet mellow arrangement featuring vocals by Yass, and
reminiscent of the French electronic duo Air, ‘Stranger in Love’ is a fizzing
track with a sneaky undertone and a layer of what sounds like slight
squeaking. 

In ‘My
Sweet Heartless’, Neobyrd sings through a voice encoder, a device through which
his voice is synthesized, but it still manages to carry the same mellow, catchy
recipe.   

‘The most
difficult part was choosing a homogenous set of tracks that are somewhat varied
and as a whole give an introduction to the kind of music I will be producing in
the future,’ said Neobyrd about the collection.

While
electronic newbies are guaranteed to cling to at least a couple of songs in the
early line-up on Transbyrd, a shift
in mood is evident toward the end.

‘Lick my
Tiesto’ and ‘Twisted’ both have a relish of Depeche Mode with a slightly more
aggressive and distorted sound-scape; a strain that Neobyrd hopes to build up
on in future projects.

‘Future
stuff will be more layered, more aggressive, with more distortions but will definitely
keep the groove,’ he said.