The Dwarfs of East Agouza, founded in Cairo by electronic musician Maurice Louca, experimental composer and guitarist Sam Shalabi and avant-punk saxophonist and vocalist Alan Bishop, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2025 as part of Asher Gamedze's curation. You can relive the full performance via the recording below.
With the composure of veteran musicians and the instrumental mastery of seasoned improvisers, The Dwarfs of East Agouza shred, spiral and groove through hypnotic realms of noise and psychedelia. The trio creates free-spirited music that touches upon jazz and krautrock, combined with influences of Arabic and Egyptian Shaabi music. Their live sets are ecstatic and unpredictable sonic rituals, where dynamic chaos is held together by electronic beats, freeform riffs and microtonal melodies.
Le Guess Who? Recordings
The publication of this recording is part of Le Guess Who?’s ongoing expansion of the festival’s recordings archive, with 150+ recordings from past editions now freely available online.
This archive contains audio and/or video recordings of performances by The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, Ali Sethi & Nicolás Jaar, aja monet, ASA-CHANG & Junray, DARKSIDE, Meshell Ndegeocello, Kamilya Jubran, Alan Sparhawk, Stereolab, Tom Skinner, Selda Bağcan, clipping., Aldous Harding, Deerhunter, Art Ensemble of Chicago, The Microphones, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Lightning Bolt, Neneh Cherry, Arooj Aftab, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, and many more.
Captured at EKKO on Saturday, 8 November 2025.
Audio recording by Rens van Waterschoot; mix by Marc Broer
Photography by Indy Adarkwah
