

Photo courtesy of Justin Johnson of Philadelphia, PA.

I had the chance to speak with Fadi Naguib , one-half of the Egyptian trance duo Aly & Fila . Recently, Fila played at Toronto’s own VELD Festival. VELD Fest was predominantly electro and dubstep music, but on day two there was a trance stage. I wanted to talk to Fila about playing VELD, the absence of his partner Aly Fathalah , and what is coming up next.

A . Fadi, how did you feel when asked to play VELD as one of the very few trance artists?

F : It was a great honour, we haven’t played in Toronto since 2010 when we were here for ASOT 450, so I was really looking forward to returning!

A . You played here on your own, without your partner Aly, and some festival-goers have been heard to ask why he didn’t join you. I know the reason, but many still don’t, do you mind explaining again for our readers?

F : Around 4 Years ago Aly suffered a severe ear defect while playing. We had to go to the Doctor’s office and they advised him to not be exposed to loud music or he will have to face losing complete hearing in his ear. We decided from then on, Aly makes music with me at a very low level in the studio so it doesn’t damage his ear, and I represent the brand on tour when DJing.

A . You opened you set at VELD with your new song Perfect Love, which is incredible. I enjoy that song a lot and I’m definitely not the only one. What’s next from you?

F : I am actually listening to it right now as we are speaking! 🙂 Thanks for the kind words, we are really happy with the final outcome. We have another track and remix planned for the back end of 2012, and we are working on our next artist album.

A . I consider your podcast Future Sound of Egypt to be the most true-to-trance podcast of all. As a huge fan of the trance genre, I and many others thank you! Why do you choose to stay so trance-pure when it seems that most other trance DJs are now dipping into electro or dubstep in theirs now?

F : We stick to what we believe in, and that is uplifting Euphoric trance. That is what Aly & Fila is about. We love the sound, and it is very popular with the crowds.

A . One last question, tell me what your favourite things about coming to Toronto.

F : The warmth of the people and the city, I love it!

A : Thank you so much!

F : Thank you also, see you soon!

Aly & Fila’s next show is this weekend, August 20th, 2012. The event is FSOE 250 Space Sharm in el Sheik, Egypt. The show will be broadcasted live on the internet on Digitally Imported at www.di.fm/trance.