We have the pleasure of sitting down with Egyptian DJ and producer Misty to celebrate his latest release ‘Warm (feeling)’ on Pete Tong’s ThreeSixZero imprint alongside Alan Dixon. We find out more about the release, the scene in Egypt, his musical inspirations and more…
WWD: Hi Misty, great to have you here. How are you?
Hello, thank you for having me on here, I’ve been having a relaxing 2024 so far 🙂
WWD: What have been the highlights of your 2024 so far?
2024 started off on a good note for me thankfully, I had my first release of the year, a collaboration with Alan Dixon & Speakman called ‘Warm (feeling)’ that came out the end of February on ThreeSixZero Recordings. We’ve got really good feedback on it with Pete Tong playing it out on Radio 1 and Supported by Keinemusik, Adriatique, Maceo Plex and Laurent Garnier.
WWD: Did you have any New Year resolutions which you have put into action this year?
I told myself that this year would be more focused on putting out collaborations. Alan Dixon & I put out an edit we did for Amr Diab last December, and then ‘Warm Feeling’ in February. We’re already working on a new project collaborating with a big artist which hopefully will be ready before the summer. Along with a few open projects with friends lined up for Q3 & Q4 of the year.
WWD: Tell us about the release? What inspired it?
So Alan and I were bouncing off ideas to each other for months for our first collaboration together. Eventually after working on 4 or 5 different tracks, Alan came across an old remix he never completed for Speakman and the stems on an old hard drive he had somewhere. We opened up the project and reworked the original by Speakman to give it a feel that is similar to both our Indie dance sounds and the track quickly took shape.
WWD: What is the scene in Egypt like at the moment? Is it booming?
The scene in Egypt has been growing extensively over the past 30 years, way back when I was a kid. We had huge industry names like Aly & Fila pushing the trance scene in the 90’s that gave Egypt its first step into the electronic music world. Nowadays with the industry being the biggest its ever been, We have various different scenes and promoters all pushing their own sound and direction. Egypt is also home to Sandbox Festival, which is in my opinion one of the best festivals in the region, if not in the world, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
WWD: Whats the story behind your musical journey? what drove you to the indie dance spectrum?
For me, I love all kinds of music, I never limit and breakdown music in genre’s in my head. If it’s something that sounds good and I like it, I’ll find a way to make it work in my sets. That’s how I feel someone builds honest identity to their sound. For me, I was always driven towards uplifting, happy music. I can’t relate to overly dramatic music and something that doesnt have a groove. Incorporating everything I enjoyed growing up with what I’m enjoying today from house, italo and disco.
WWD: Who would you say your biggest musical influences are today?
My biggest musical influences are probably Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, Chemical Brothers and BT to name a few. Timeless music.
WWD: What are your three essential tracks that never leave your bag at the moment?
My 3 essential tracks at the moment are:
Xols – The Time Of The Night
COEO – Planet Earth
Daniel Monaco – Change (Marvin & Guy Miami Mix)
WWD: What is your studio set up like? What was used to make ‘Warm Feeling?’
In my studio I’m running Ableton 11 as my DAW on a maxed out Mac Mini M2, Apogee soundcard and my trusted Dynaudio’s BM6A’s for monitoring. For hardware I use the moog minitaur & TD-3 for basslines, kord microkorg for strings and synths and sometimes the Behringer Model D. I have a few other synths lying around like the Roland Juno and Behringer Neutron that I prop up when I’m feeling a bit more creative than usual. I work on a select few plugins like Serum, Hive and the M1 on most of my tracks and I almost always throw in the Arturia Delay-Tape for effects to make my sounds come to life.
WWD: What do you listen to outside of the musical spectrum?
I’m a sucker for rare 70’s and 80’s records and bands that barely anyone has heard of. I find myself in long drives getting lost on YouTube in disco, electro and Italo playlists just either enjoying the music or snatching ideas for music. When I’m in a more relaxed mood, Blue Six – Aquarium Angel is one of my most played albums.
What was the last record that blew you away?
Psyche – Unveiling The Secret
Alan Dixon x Misty x Speakman – Warm (Feeling) is out now on Three Six Zero Recordings. Grab it here