In 2016, Amr Hamid received a box from his father filled with objects from his childhood in Mansoura.
Among the items, a collection of old cassettes caught his eye. As he looked closer, he noticed the unique cover designs and began to wonder about the artists and stories behind them.
That seemingly ordinary delivery of childhood and adolescent memories turned out to be the starting point of an incredible journey of research, documentation, and cultural preservation.
From this personal moment, Amr Hamid brought to life the Egyptian Cassettes Archive Project — a research-based initiative aimed at uncovering, documenting, archiving, and sharing Egypt’s rich cassette-based artistic, cultural, and historical heritage.
Meeting Amr in Cairo, The New Arab explored the project’s origins, challenges, and significance, and through his research on the stories in these cassettes, it became clear how this evolving archive is intertwined with culture, memory, and identity.
A responsibility to trace the past
When Amr received the box handed to him by his father, his perception of the familiar objects inside had been transformed by his academic studies in Fine Arts at Helwan University, his professional experiences in visual design, copywriting, and advertising, as well as his involvement in Egypt’s broader artistic fields, including cinema and music.
“The same object can tell something completely different depending on the experiences, time, and perspective with which you approach it,” he explains.
The idea of archiving these materials started to form as Amr thought about the cultural, historical, personal, and collective importance in the tapes. He realised that the artistic process behind these objects went beyond music, also involving visual design.
While famous singers and their songs often earned fame, the artists who contributed to the creation of the cassette artwork — such as designers, calligraphers, and photographers — remained in the shadows.
As a designer himself, Amr could not ignore how easily these creative contributions could fade into obscurity. “Something spiked inside me, like there is a personal connection to those forgotten people, as I might become like them in the future,” he affirms. “So I felt a responsibility to find these people, write about them, and build a database for them.”
With this in mind, one of the main goals of the Egyptian Cassettes Archive Project is to highlight these overlooked individuals and their work.
A journey of discovery
While the timing to collect cassettes was fortunate — by 2016, cassettes were still relatively accessible and affordable — uncovering the names and stories behind their cover designs proved to be much harder.
On the one hand, Amr could easily find and gather a considerable number of cassettes, which had started spreading in Egypt around the 1970s and gradually faded out by the 2010s.
This was thanks to his familiarity with the research process, as well as contributions from individuals willing to donate, sell, or share information and material.
On the other hand, most of the designers remained unknown, and simple Google searches or conversations with people in the field rarely provided answers.
“The most challenging part has been finding the originals, the unfolded covers, the posters, the prints, and the artists. These materials, in my eyes, are more important than the tapes themselves; this is my real archive, which is different from a private collection,” he explains.
In making this point, Amr shared that engaging with cassette dealers and exploring the networks surrounding these materials led him on a powerful journey of discovery, revealing insights into Egypt’s culture and heritage that he could never have anticipated when he began.
Retracing the names and stories of these creators has also brought up strong emotions for Amr.
Amr shared a moving experience of meeting one of the few surviving artists he reached in his research, Hatem El-Sherbiny, who designed the cover for the cassette of the movie Anyab (Fangs).
The film featured singers Ahmed Adaweyah, Ali El Haggar, Talaat Zein, and Mona Gabr, and reflecting on that meeting, Amr recalled how these special moments added a unique personal dimension to his research, motivating him to continue his efforts.
Reviving fragmented stories
For Amr, archiving is not just about collecting objects.
In his own words, it’s about exploring and reviving a maze of fragmented stories, forgotten details, and subtle connections.
While the Egyptian Cassettes Archive is rooted in research, its Instagram page serves as what Amr describes as “an entertainment platform” to communicate and connect with a wider audience.
Through this platform, he shares stories, engages with followers, and sparks conversations about the tapes, helping people reconnect with a past that still resonates today, while building a strong community and growing interest in the subject.
As Amr puts it, each post is carefully crafted with informative and engaging captions in both Arabic and English, but the primary focus is on reaching an Arab audience, reflecting the project’s strong commitment to preserving Egypt’s heritage for its people and the wider region.
Surprisingly, the reach of certain posts has extended beyond the expected mainstream appeal of figures like Ahmed Adaweyah, highlighting the archive’s ability to uncover lesser-known aspects of Egypt’s cultural history.
Some posts, such as the one about the mixtape Kanabel 91 (Bombs 91) – Tartor BeTerter (Sequins Party Hat) – Fido Dido – Oh Delicious, Oh Cool – Songs On Fire, have received significant engagement, exceeding Amr’s expectations.
Celebrating a rich heritage
As the conversation unfolds, Amr stresses that the Egyptian Cassettes Archive is not just about nostalgia or romanticising a bygone era.
Rather, it reflects an authentic desire to uncover and celebrate a rich heritage that still resonates today, while focusing on those elements and figures that have long been unjustly overlooked.
For Amr, the commitment to developing this unique research archive project is about embracing both the expected results and the surprising discoveries that arise along the way.
Now based in Sweden since 2019 and frequently returning to Egypt, Amr is dedicated to expanding the archive, which currently holds over 7,000 physical tapes and 20,000 digital ones.
At the same time, he continues to explore the stories of designers and uncover new narratives, bridging the past and present while honouring the creative voices that have shaped Egypt’s cultural identity.
Born in Italy and educated in France and Egypt, Veronica Merlo has gained extensive experience in journalism, media, and communications, collaborating with a diverse range of media outlets, international organisations, and NGOs across Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and France. She is the author of the book Sorprendersi in Egitto
Follow her on Instagram: almuhit_theocean
