Egyptian songstress Maryam Saleh returns after a five-year hiatus with the anthemic dance track Baghanny in collaboration with Syrian producer Hello Psychaleppo. Penning the lyrics herself in a playful yet vulnerable take on finding her muse, her signature alluring vocals as expressive as ever, coupled with Hello Psychaleppo’s gritty dance production and ebullient Arabic synth interjections, rendering the single a long-awaited celebration of Maryam Saleh’s return as the soulful icon of alternative Arabic music. A major creative force and a powerful voice for her generation, Egyptian singer and songwriter Maryam Saleh composes and performs music that is personal, rebellious and contemplative. She released her monumental debut album Mesh Baghanny (eka3, 2012), after which she joined forces with Lebanese electro-pop pioneer Zeid Hamdan to release Halawella (Mostakell, 2015) and collaborated with Egyptian experimentalist Maurice Louca and Palestinian multi-instrumentalist and composer Tamer Abu Ghazaleh on Lekhfa (Mostakell, 2017). Known for her muscular vocals and charismatic stage presence, stemming from being brought up in the world of theatre by her late father, she is also credited for bringing the protest songs of Sheikh Imam back to life in new alternative forms through her band Baraka. She starred in many Egyptian films and TV series including Ibrahim El-Batout’s Eye of the Sun (2008) and Tamer El Said’s In the Last Days of the City (2016). Hailing from one of the most musically rich cities in the Levant, Hello Psychaleppo is the brainchild of pioneering Syrian music producer and visual artist Samer Saem Eldahr. Deeply rooted in Arabic music, Hello Psychaleppo’s work captivates listeners with melodic strains of Tarab threaded seamlessly with his distinct strain of electronic music. Hello Psychaleppoʼs first album “Gool Lʼah”, pioneered the genre of Electro-Tarab, with his productions gaining a significant following both in the Arab World and internationally. Described by VICE Magazine as “a pastiche of twitchy electronic sounds and golden age Arab pop music of the 1950s and 60s…alternately danceable and cathartic, melancholic and apocalyptic.” Since his seminal 2013 release, Hello Psychaleppo has released two full albums, ʼHA!ʼ (2014) and ‘Toyourʼ (2017) alongside a wide array of collaborations with artists such as Bu Nasser, El Rass, El Far3i, Jundi Majhool and Nass El Hal. Baghanny is written and performed by Maryam Saleh, composed by Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, and produced and mixed by Hello Psychaleppo. Mastered by Josh Bonati with an artwork play on her debut record Mesh Baghanny, by Omar Mostafa.