Rising Star: Egypt
We meet the enigmatically named London singer
Words by Tyler Dane
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF DREAMS. “I always keep a Dictaphone by my bedside,” explains the 23-year-old London singer known only as Egypt, “and I actually wrote my single In the Morning in bed. I woke up and the track just came to me. I had it done within half an hour.”
The track, first sung to Egypt’s bedside cabinet, was re-recorded with the hotly tipped dance music producer Fuzzy Logik. The finished record has gone on to become a modern club classic, blasted from car stereos and cranked out on numerous pirate radio stations across the British capital this summer.
Indeed, Egypt’s song is a fine example of one of the capital’s latest dance music sub-genres. Dubbed ‘UK Funky’, the music is a close relative of both house music and UK garage – that uptempo, distinctly British dance genre which first found popularity a decade ago.
But while In the Morning might be styled to suit contemporary dance floors, the perennial draw of a catchy hook and a great voice are the true source of Egypt’s success.
A fan of Bob Marley, Kate Bush and David Bowie, Egypt says she’s introducing “old school music back to the new school”. She’s certainly found some success. More recently, the track has been championed on radio stations Kiss FM and BBC 1Xtra, and it looks as if Egypt is bound for the charts when In the Morning is given a widespread release this month. However, chart positions and radio airplay aren’t how Egypt judges a good song herself.
“I test my songs on my friends,” she reveals. “If I hear them singing it back to me a few days later, I know I’m on to a good thing.”
In the Morning is released on 7 September
