The Dwarfs of East Agouza

The Dwarfs of East Agouza was founded in Cairo and brings together three leading figures from the international experimental music scene: electronic musician Maurice Louca (Alif, Bikya), experimental composer and guitarist Sam Shalabi (Shalabi Effect, Land of Kush), and punk singer Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls, Alvarius B.). The trio creates free, improvised music blending elements of jazz and krautrock with influences from Arabic music and Egyptian shaabi. Their concerts are ecstatic and unpredictable sonic rituals, where dynamic chaos is sustained by electronic rhythms, free riffs, and microtonal melodies.

The band formed in 2012 when the musicians were living in the same building in the Agouza neighborhood of Cairo. Since then, they have released six albums on labels such as Akuphone, Unrock, Sub Rosa, and Constellation.