November 23, 2025
A mythic and introspective work, Syrr (Arabic for “secret”) transforms memory, loss, and lived experience into a shifting world of sound, voice, and embodied emotion. Written and composed by Maryam Saleh, a luminary of Egypt’s alternative music scene, the album traces a journey in which the self is fractured, questioned, reassembled, and ultimately expanded. Blending raw lyrical expression with subtle dramatics, Saleh crafts an immersive sonic autobiography rooted in intuition, embodiment, and human becoming. “Writing, for me, was not merely inscription, but a way toward understanding. A search for a private pulse that could hold feeling before it dissolves into noise. Loss began as the first crack, then became a current of energy, and finally an echo that runs between the words— balancing what is spontaneous with what is deliberately remade. Three years of listening, returning, revising, breaking open the text and re-forming it until it revealed itself more clearly.” Maryam Saleh Co-produced by Maryam Saleh, Maurice Louca, and Kamilya Jubran—who also perform keys, oud & backing vocals respectively throughout—the album’s songs are influenced by existing Egyptian and Arabic song forms (including the mawwal, lullaby, madih, muwashshah, taqtuqa and more). The project underwent a rigorous three-year journey of songwriting and composition by Saleh with Kamilya Jubran as mentor before recording. “Syrr” is mixed by Mokhtar El Sayeh and mastered by Heba Kadry, with artwork by Pauline Gouablin (photography), Omar Mostafa (image editing and treatment), and Siko Tatour of Mooni Studio (design). The album’s visual world features hand-drawn illustrations by Maged El Sokkary, animated by Yousef Adam and video footage shot by Mahmoud Lotfi. Lyrics translation from Arabic to English by Nariman Youssef. It was produced by Simsara Music with support from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC). -----First Single: “El Fetra” — Out 23 November 2026 Born from the Egyptian taqtuqa song form—light, popular Arabic vocal music built on strophic verses and a repeating chorus—the first single is written and composed by Maryam Saleh as a meditation on her evolving relationship to instinct and intuition. Co-produced with standout Egyptian musicians/producers Maurice Louca and El Waili, the track bridges traditional popular structures and contemporary production aesthetics and instrumentation. Single Credits: Vocals: Maryam Saleh Keys: Maurice Louca Cello: Zizi Ibrahim Drums: Dylan Hunter Chee Greene Percussions: Joss Turnbull Bass: Mahmoud Waly -----Artist Biography: Maryam Saleh Maryam Saleh habitually pushes the boundaries of Arabic music. A luminary of Egypt’s alternative music scene, she delivers a savvy mix of old and new, infusing shaabi and folk styles with innovative techniques and fearless personality. Once described as a “musical supernova” by Scene Noise, Saleh is a singer, composer, actor, and poet. As the teenage frontwoman of the band Gawaz Safar in the early 2000s, she revived the decades-old protest songs of folk legend Sheikh Imam for a younger audience. Her debut album, Mesh Baghanny, is considered a landmark of Egypt’s bustling underground scene of the 2010s. She broke new creative ground with the dizzying electro beats and sarcastic poetry of 2015’s Halawella, recorded with Soap Kills’ Zeid Hamdan. In 2017, she expanded her reach with Lekhfa, a collaboration with Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, Maurice Louca, and poet Mido Zoheir. She has also taken on memorable roles in TV, theater, and film. Born and raised in Cairo, Saleh grew up surrounded by art and music. Her father, Saleh Saad, was a playwright and director who brought her into his street theatre troupe at age nine. Her mother, a singer, immersed her in a potent spectrum of Arab music. Frequent gatherings—often featuring Sheikh Imam and Ahmad Fouad Negm—shaped her artistic instincts. Saleh started focusing on music in the early 2000s. Hanging out in downtown Cairo, the high-school phenom ditched the private tutoring her parents sent her to and used money to pay for the lessons to instead go to shows and fund projects. She formed an impromptu band that played a variety of regional folk songs and then launched Gawaz Safar (Passport in Arabic). In 2003, she secured her place as a key member of the Cairo scene—and won over her increasingly nervous parents in the process—with two breakthrough Gawaz Safar performances at the newly-opened venue El Sawy Culture Wheel. She also formed the band Baraka to feed her growing interest in psychedelic rock. While she continued playing Sheikh Imam’s songs, she also began writing her own, working with the poets Mido Zoheir and Omar Mostafa to set their lyrics to music. In 2012, she released her debut album Mesh Baghanny, an iconic record that cemented her status as the punk rebellious voice of the Egyptian underground. Saleh’s musical pursuits reached even greater heights when she struck up collaborations with Tamer Abu Ghazaleh (a Palestinian, Egypt-based composer and oud and buzuq player) and Zeid Hamdan (a Lebanese producer best known as co-founder of the trip-hop duo Soap Kills). Working with them and others, Saleh has been able to focus in on different facets of her many talents. Halawella includes electro-pop reinventions of Sheikh Imam and Ahmad Fouad Negm’s songs—their brazenly hilarious social commentary resonating anew on a bed of whimsical arrangements and sing-song melodies. Lekhfa, on the other hand, presents lyrical visions of disillusionment and despair even as Saleh, Abu Ghazaleh, and Maurice Louca forge a progressive path through an innovative mix of Arabic instrumentation, electronic grooves, and Saleh and Abu Ghazaleh’s cathartic vocals. -----Full Album Credits — Syrr Written by: Maryam Saleh Composed by: Maryam Saleh (in collaboration with Kamilya Jubran on 4 tracks)Arrangements by: Maryam Saleh & Maurice Louca Arranged by: Maryam Saleh & Maurice Louca Co-Produced by: Maryam Saleh, Maurice Louca, Kamilya Jubran (co-production with Nancy Mounir on one track and El Waili on El Fetra) Creative Production: Sarah El Miniawy and May Mostafa (Simsara Music) Mentoring (writing, composition & vocals): Kamilya Jubran (Zamkana) Mixed by: Mokhtar El Sayeh Mastered by: Heba Kadry Mixing Consultant: Kinda Hassan Assistant Mix Engineers: Somaya Hassaballa & Ahmed Karem Alnaqieb Mastering Assistant: Jacob Clements Recording Engineers: Mokhtar El Sayeh & Ahmed Karem Alnaqieb Recorded Live at: CairoGroove, 2025 Edited by: Maryam Saleh, Maurice Louca & Ahmed Karem Alnaqieb Label: Simsara Records Produced by: Simsara Music Release Date: 27 March 2026