DJ Hady Tarek talks career, electronica and the local scene
The first time I met Hady Tarek was seven years ago at the school of pharmacy. Tall, dark and slightly brooding, Tarek wasn’t the typical Egyptian book-worm. His passion was music, and that’s where we hit it off.
Four years later, after he moved to another school, I bumped into him on cyberspace. And to my great surprise, he said that he was now a DJ.
In the last three years, house music fans became more familiar with Tarek’s name and, steadily, he moved from one success to another. By the end of 2005, he was named by the prominent Heineken Thirst contest as one the 12 best DJs in the country. Last year, he scored both a major DJ and music promoter when his co-organized end-of-year Bayfest – the first electronic music festival in Egypt – was dubbed by many as the hottest of all last year’s New Year celebrations.
Despite his glowing success, Tarek is still creating his music in his bedroom using the same old mixer and equipment he used to experiment with years ago when he grew weary of rock music’s curbing limitations.
Tarek’s first impression of trance, progressive house and other forms of electronica was not far from the current conception shared by most people: Loud music coupled with strong beats that make a great party. Tarek quickly began to recognize the multiple layers of this music and the genuine artistry needed to produce it.
“The is much more to electronic music than the subcategories people use to describe it, he said. “There are deep feelings that this music generates and it takes a real talent to be able to transmit these feelings to the crowds.
Tarek listened to numerous artists and almost every subgenre there is. But for every Deep Dish, Sacha and John Digweed, artists that would leave an undeniable mark on Tarek’s future works, there were many others he disliked yet always found some elements that stimulated him.
Consequently, he set out to cut and paste the pieces he liked using regular, amateur software and complied the finished product on CDs.
The mix-CDs swiftly found their way to his friends who liked his music and played it in their parties. Tarek, on the other hand, began to meet people sharing the same fervor for this music and attended plenty of concerts “to watch this raw music in action, how it’s made on the spot and how people interact with it.
The next step for Tarek was to organize small-scale parties to put his skills under the microscope. He knew he needed to learn more through experience, research and experimentation. “I tried out different software, read lots of reviews and observed how DJs interpreted their music.
His first breakthrough came four years ago when he sent his music to Nile FM radio station that eventually played his music and secured him a fixed spot on their schedule. The Heineken Thirst’s gig followed and the rest is history.
By that time, Tarek, who’s still who’s still studying pharmacy acknowledged that this can’t, and will never be, his vocation. “The only reason that pushed me to join the faculty of pharmacy was to get a respectable degree to satisfy my parents and, supposedly, to have better work opportunities, he smiled.
With pharmacology behind him (he’s finally planning to change his major this year), Tarek is lives on his adjacent career as a music organizer.
The fruit of Tarek’s growing solid network was last year’s Bayfest; a three-night event that brought 12 DJs from around the world to Egypt and attracted more than 3,000 people.
“It took us about four months to bring Bayfest to life, he said. “It wasn’t flawless but the end result was very satisfying. I had never seen a similar bigger event.
Tarek’s next major concert is Friday’s Ministry of Sound at the Coco Loco club in Agami, Alexandria. With this concert Tarek has set for himself a new challenge: To bring back the real music fans to dance venues.
“Unfortunately, the key appeal for the majority of electronic-music’s concertgoers is to experience the effect of this type of music while they’re on dugs, he said. “I understand that drugs are part of music of all genres but the existing dance scene has alienated both the true music lovers and girls.
Tarek hopes to build a name for himself alongside the best DJs in the world. “Most music promoters in the country are either junior college kids or drug dealers, he said. “DJs are the latest fad. Promoters are only concerned with identifying which DJs people like and bring him/her to them. It’s never really about the music and I’d like to change that.
Tarek’s expectations are clear. “I want to create music for everyone, to introduce my vision to people, he said. “I want to meet everyone like me, to work with and play my music to people who share my passion and respect for this music.
Tarek admits that his career may be short-lived but this doesn’t seem to hold him back. “I started listening to music when I was a baby because it calm me down, he says. “Every step I took in my career opened up another door for me. I’m a very ambitious person and when I like something, I’d rather do it or die trying.
Catch the Ministry of Sound’s DJ Dom Kane at the Coco Loco club in Agami tonight. For more information, please call 012 730 7795
