Aly & Fila

Aly & Fila have been the sound of uplifting trance for over two decades, and they’re a big reason the world first paid attention to Egyptian dance music. Aly Fathalah and Fadi Naguib grew up together — they’ve known each other since kindergarten — and started producing music around age eighteen after falling for the melodic, emotional style of artists like Paul van Dyk and Chicane.

They signed to Euphonic Records in 2003, becoming the first duo out of Egypt to break through on an international level, and they’ve spent the years since building one of trance’s most respected catalogs. Their sound leans hard into the uplifting and progressive side of the genre — big melodies, soaring builds, the kind of tracks that are built for hands-in-the-air moments.

In 2009, they launched their own label and radio show, Future Sound of Egypt (FSOE), which has become both a launchpad for rising trance talent — Sean Tyas and Roger Shah both got an early boost through it — and one of the longest-running weekly trance broadcasts around, still pushing out new episodes well past its 900th installment. Their studio albums, including Rising Sun, Quiet Storm, and The Other Shore, cemented their spot at the top of the genre, and they’ve picked up four “Tune of the Year” wins on Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance, including collaborations with Plumb and Armin himself.

These days, Fila handles the bulk of the live sets, as Aly has stepped back from touring to manage a hearing condition — but the FSOE machine keeps running, with new radio episodes dropping regularly and the label still signing fresh trance talent.

Aly & Fila didn’t just make it out of Egypt — they built a home for trance fans everywhere, and FSOE remains one of the genre’s most trusted stamps of quality. For anyone who wants to understand where uplifting trance has been and where it’s headed, Future Sound of Egypt is still required listening.