In the latest installment of WaraElMazzika’s ongoing “Favorite 5” series, Egyptian producer, artist, and electro-shaabi pioneer Molotof takes us through five music projects that have shaped the way he hears and approaches music. From psychedelic pop and childhood imagination to Jamaican revolutionary sounds and Egyptian Sufi heritage, his picks move across very different worlds, while reflecting the mix of electronic production, spiritual traditions, and cultural memory that runs through his own work. In a conversation with Molotof, he explains what each record opens up for him and why some of these sounds continue to find their way into his own productions.
“For me, music is a time and space machine. Each of these albums teleports me into a completely different world. I truly believe there are other dimensions out there, and music is the vehicle that carries us right into them.”
Labrinth, Sia and Diplo Present LSD
“With this album, I feel like I am catching a glimpse of paradise. It shows a bright, illuminated world where you can view existence through a totally different lens, far removed from rigidity, evil, and conflict. It is the lens of pure creativity and absolute freedom.”
Gorillaz – Demon Days
“Just like the LSD record, this one allows us to see another corner of paradise or Earth, but through the eyes of childhood and imagination. This shows up so strongly in the track ‘Dirty Harry,’ proving that holding onto that inner child brings us much closer to the ultimate truth.”
Egyptian Project – Ya Amar
“I have had this album since 2011, listening to it long before I ever made music myself. I had forgotten it for a while, but I recently brought it back into my daily rotation after realizing it shares a very similar spirit to my own path in fusing Sufi heritage with modern electronic music.”
Damian Marley – Welcome to Jamrock
“While some worlds feel like pure fantasy, gaming, and childhood, there is another world tied directly to the spirit of revolution, which I call the World of Peace. This album lets me step right into that world of the true, raw streets when the street expresses itself through pure art.”
Ahmed El Tuni – Ahl El Karam
“This is a 30 minute track, so to me it functions like a full album. El Tuni is not just a Sufi chanter, he is a portal. I play his voice and completely lose myself, forgetting the world and ascending into a spiritual realm where human history unfolds from the time of Prophet Adam all the way to our present day.”
The final pick also connects directly to Molotof’s own catalogue. His track ‘Spiritual Transmissions’ is a remix of ‘Ahl El Karam’, taking El Tuni’s voice into an electronic setting while drawing on the Sufi idea of spiritual connection across time and space.
“I created a track titled ‘Spiritual Transmissions,’ which is my remix of ‘Ahl El Karam.’ The concept comes from Ibn Arabi, who wrote about how Sufis across time and space connect through an invisible channel called spiritual transmissions. I felt that Ahmed El Tuni’s music is the ultimate gateway to those very transmissions.”
