S O L O W O R K
S O L O W O R K
“Ecstasy of Mania (Nashwet L Hawas)” LP is an experimental electronic album with a psychedelic edge, consisting of 18 musical pieces. The album is built on fast, continuous rhythms that drive the body to move, approaching dance as an instinctive act while remaining deeply conceptual and exploratory.
The rhythms shift between Egyptian shaabi rhythms and intricate electronic structures, with Eastern Maqams occasionally surfacing, sometimes clearly, sometimes subtly, woven into futuristic, metallic sonic textures.
The album features vocal samples sourced from social media and familiar Egyptian soundbites, introducing a layer of sarcasm reminiscent of numbing laughter, enhancing moments where the traditional merges with the deconstructed. These samples also open the door to philosophical reflections, enriched by the accompanying visual elements, whether in the digital realm of social media or through real-time visuals in live performances.
Sonically, the album experiments with percussive sounds such as tabla, sagat, hi-hats, processed human voices, and oriental keyboards, digitally manipulated to produce unfamiliar sonic textures. Distorted basslines emerge and disappear, while melodic fragments oscillate between clarity and abstraction. Layers of noise and distortion add sharpness and grit, yet all these elements move within an experimental field that resists stability or categorization. The album also features transitional, meditative, psychedelic tracks that maintain continuous movement without interruption.
Conceptually, the album draws on the personal experience of mania as a source of drive and creativity, where mania transforms into a companion to be embraced and harnessed rather than surrendered to. Time and perception dissolve; madness becomes a space for gratitude, and laughter turns into a numbing state. At the same time, the album reflects a collective condition of mania that permeates the details of daily life and surrounding events in a world overflowing with rapid stimuli.
It is a plunge into the very pulse of mania, a space where absurdity meets ecstasy, and madness meets control, leaving the interpretation open.
Tamheed Lil Fawda (Prelude to Chaos)’ is an experimental electronic EP that delves into the raw, unfiltered arrival of mania and its transformative power. This project balances chaos and control, embodying the tension between obsession and creativity. Each track features bold sound design, deconstructing rhythms from Egyptian Maharaganat Shaabi music into electronic frequencies while infusing oriental maqams like Rast and Bayati. By blending traditional instruments and textures with cutting-edge electronic elements, the EP offers a unique sonic experience that reflects the manic phase’s intensity, where creation peaks, evolves, and pushes boundaries. As both a standalone concept and a prelude to Amro's upcoming LP (Ecstasy of Mania “Nashwet l Hawas”), this EP is a profound exploration of artistic transformation through mania and the golden phase of creativity.
El Hufra (The Pit) EP: the first EP of "Ma Waraa Al Qutbeen" project.
Beyond the Poles – Ma Waraa Al Qutbeen: A Conceptual and Experimental Music Project by Amro Zidan
Ma Waraa Al Qutbeen (Beyond the Poles) is a groundbreaking music project by Amro Zidan that transcends traditional boundaries, rooted in experimental electronic and psychedelic sounds. Blending live instrumentation with electronic textures, it delivers a dynamic and ever-evolving auditory experience. This project challenges the conventional album format, unfolding instead as an open-ended series of EPs and singles that delve deeply into both musical and philosophical exploration.
At its core, the project reimagines how music is experienced, with each track presented in three distinct forms:
The Full Version
The Reflective Version
The Instrumental Version
This is not merely a musical endeavor but a conceptual journey. The project explores the complexities of human emotions, offering peace not as an escape from sadness or depression but as an embrace of them. It captures a profound transformation—a space where emotions like sadness and depression coexist with meaning, and pain and isolation are reconciled through acceptance.
Conceptually, Ma Waraa Al Qutbeen draws on the idea of something like “nihilistic peace” or “dark mysticism” where stillness and pessimism become pathways to clarity and healing. The music mirrors this journey, exploring themes of isolation, resilience, and self-discovery through haunting melodies, distorted beats, and philosophical depth. Tracks like Lahzet At-Talaashy (The Vanishing Moment), El Hufra (The Pit), and Simfoniyyat As-Su'oud (Symphony of Ascension) evoke a sense of floating on water—adrift in stillness, fading into non-existence, yet finding peace in the process.
The project’s open-ended structure allows for continuous creation and reinterpretation. Tracks may be released individually or as part of mini-albums, with existing versions revisited and reproduced. This fluidity invites listeners into a transformative experience that grows and evolves with every release.
Ma Waraa Al Qutbeen is a bold exploration of the tension between boundaries and boundlessness, using sound as a medium to navigate inner turmoil, resilience, and acceptance. Through its layered approach to music and meaning, it offers a deeply transformative listening experience.
El Tashweesh Tafah is an experimental electronic hip hop EP by Amro Zidan, expressing themes of anxiety, depression, pessimism, and alienation. The three tracks blend industrial sounds, folk rhythms, and distorted vocals to convey a unique philosophy where pessimism is seen as a strength and a defense mechanism. Created after a period of isolation, this EP showcases Amro’s innovative approach to music production and lyrical depth.
“Until It’s Clear” is an experimental album that expresses my feelings and energy that I received during my visit to Lebanon. The music blends electronic beats, synth sounds, and disturbing sounds, creating a sense of pressure, dream, escape, and meditation. The album is an exploration of the emotional contrast between the beauty of Lebanon and its stunning natural landscapes, and the sadness and muffled noise that inhabits it due to the wars and economic crises that have swept the country recently.
I was inspired by the different sounds I heard in Lebanon during my visit to create the album. The noise of the cities, the silence in nature which was a silence that was interspersed with other emotions. I mixed these sounds together to create a sense of pressure and meditation at the same time. I think the album is a way to express my feelings and energy derived from Lebanon during my visit to it. I hope that the listeners enjoy the music and feel connected to the emotions I am trying to express.
Between is an open-ended, experimental audio-visual project I initially founded as a solo exploration and later developed into a collaboration with filmmaker and visual artist Hamdy Wahba. The project investigates the relationship between sound, image, space, and perception through field recordings, photography, video documentation, live processing, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
We work with both urban and natural environments—listening, observing, and collecting fragments of daily life and atmosphere. These materials are transformed into live performances and installations that merge sound and image in a non-hierarchical dialogue. The work doesn’t aim to tell a linear story, but rather opens a contemplative space that reflects on memory, absence, presence, and subtle forms of resistance—those embedded in the act of living, sensing, and creating in uncertain realities.
Each iteration of Between responds to the specific context in which it takes place. It functions as both a methodology and a platform for improvisation and exchange across disciplines—welcoming contributions from musicians, dancers, sound and visual artists, writers, and thinkers. The project intentionally blurs the line between documentation, composition, and real-time experience.
Ultimately, Between is a space for deep listening, experimentation, and slow observation. It continues to grow through residencies, performances, installations, and workshops, always allowing the materials, context, and collaborators to shape what it becomes next.
We are currently developing a new phase of Between as part of the "The Mind is Like a City" residency by Bsarya for Arts, in collaboration with curator Farida Youssef and a group of amazing artists. This phase is supported by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture – AFAC, through a grant from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation – SDC.
This inaugural performance of "Between" was a solo endeavor by Amro Zidan, presented within the framework of the WANAS project at the Goethe Cultural Center - Alexandria. It focused exclusively on audio recordings of Alexandria and its diverse soundscapes, coordinated by WANAS and curated by the Alexandrian artist Ayman Asfour.