Habibi Funk 006: Al Massrieen - Modern Music

We’re happy to present a reissue of “Modern Music”, the last album by the iconic Egyptian band Al Massrieen, originally released in 1984. This was the final installment in a five-album run that marked the group as one of the most unique acts to emerge from Egypt at the time. Al Massrieen developed a distinctly modern sound shaped by funk, disco, and pop, written in Arabic lyrics and rooted in Egyptian musical tradition but with a twist.

The group was founded in the late 1970s by Hany Shenouda, a prolific composer and producer. He assembled a collective of musicians to form Al Massrieen, which included talents such as Eman Younis, Mona Aziz, Tahseen Yalmaz, Mamdouh Qassem, and others. Shenouda wrote and arranged most of the band’s music, and his vision guided the group throughout its career.

While many contemporaries leaned on the more classical or shaabi styles of Egyptian music, Al Massrieen carved out a new sonic space with a stronger pop sensibility and a clearer use of electronic instruments.

Notably, it is also the only one of their albums that was pressed in Lebanon, rather than Egypt, which makes original copies particularly difficult to find. Even inside Egypt, the record is rare due to limited distribution and availability at the time.

This reissue was licensed directly from Hany Shenouda, who also took the time to sit with us and share the story of the band and this particular album.