Egyptian DJs Live Stream During Pandemic

By: Dana Farouk 

@danahfarouk

Cairo-based nightlife event planner Playground Music Agency organised a weekly live show, known as Playstream, featuring different Egyptian DJs performing at scenic locations around Egypt during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The agency’s founder Mahmoud Zidan said that the pandemic has put Egyptian artists’ careers on hold since all shows have been cancelled as a safety precaution. 

“But it’s giving them an opportunity to spend time on their craft in the studio, or broadcast live streams as we’ve seen many artists do,” Zidan said. 

With that, artists are trying to look at the situation in a positive light rather than panicking about the lack of events. 

“The notion of not knowing when things will normalise again so you can go back to work isn’t very easy to accept but I keep telling myself that were all in this together and bumps in the road are necessary,” said Moustafa Sheta, also known as Misty, the first DJ presented on Playstream.

The concept of Playstream is that a local DJ performs at sunset at a different visually interesting place that the Playground Music team has selected and that performance is then broadcast live on several global channels. 

Zidan explained that the broadcasts were initially his idea but required a team effort to make it come to life, this included people from the marketing and videography teams. 

Misty said that he received a call from Zidan and they began brainstorming possible ideas to keep their jobs alive, and that’s how the idea of Playstream came along. 

“We try to pick places that are either rich in history or in nature. The idea is to not just showcase the artists but also showcase the amazing places we have in Egypt,” Zidan said.

Misty told The Caravan that he streamed his show in Mit Rehan which is a neo-traditional house built by the famous Egyptian Architect Hassan Fathy in 1981 in Shabramant, Giza. 

“One of my friends actually owns the house and for years I have wanted to do something there with my music and it finally came to life,” Misty said.

Zidan explained that Playstream’s mission is two-fold because it’s showcasing Egypt’s scenery and promoting the Djs since they receive international exposure from their live streams. 

“It’s difficult to break through international markets when you are a local artist, but with the current challenges there’s actually more opportunities,” Zidan added. 

They’ve received interest from a greater number of global channels which want to share the streams and the government has also shown interest by offering to help them find bigger and more convenient locations. 

“We saw really great engagement on the first stream with Misty, people were happy with the idea and the quality of video and audio,” he said. 

One issue that the team is experiencing is having to work with the newly implemented curfew by the Egyptian government because it keeps them tight on schedule. 

“As touristic sites are closed to the public at the moment, this makes it difficult for us to get the permits we need. But as the situation begins to clear up, we have plans to work with the Ministry of Antiquities to use some very interesting locations,” Zidan said.