Al Massrieen was one of the first bands I learned about once I discovered the tape format. They were really popular in Egypt in the 1970s and the more of their music I found on either tapes or Arabic pirate mp3 sites, the more I was becoming a fan. Only very few bands from the region can match the band’s versatility as well as their strive for innovation. Hany Shenoda is the man behind the Al Massrieen band. He is a reknown figure of the Egyptian music scene and has worked with everyone from Abdel Halim Hafez to Mohamed Mounir. Al Massrieen was his attempt to introduce his ideas of modernizing Egyptian music, heavily encouraged by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt's only winner of the Nobel Price for literature) after discussing his ideas with him.

Tracklist:
A1 اسف جدا = Asef Gedan
A2 ٌإبدأ من جديد = Ebda' Men Gedid
A3 صح = Sah
A4 لونجا = Longa 97
A5 الصبحية = El Sobhiya
A6 من أول دقيقة = Men Awel Deqiqa
B1 ما فاتش ليه = Mafatshi Leh
B2 بتبكي ليه = Betebki Leh
B3 حتجيني تاني = Hatgini Tani
B4 حرية = Horreya
B5 وسط الغابات = West El Ghabat