It’s approximately 5:35 PM on a hot summer day in Egypt’s July: pink and orange hues emanate from the setting sun, a long day at the beach is over, and the group of friends make their way back to their chalet. After an 8-hour beach day, a friend shouts, “play Side A, Track 1.” ‘Awedouni,’ (They Taught Me) by Amr Diab plays in the background on the cassette, and life feels good. Before the vast array of streaming services, social media, and even compact discs before them, the slightly dysfunctional – due to their low durability and quality sound – but simple cassettes were how people listened to music. The tapes had a peculiar joy to them, whether it was collecting the compact plastic cases that were wrapped in decorated album artwork, or the gratification of personalizing a tape and becoming your own DJ. Cassettes became a ubiquitous staple in Egyptian homes and stores in the 1970s and 1980s. The compact cassette tape was originally developed in 1962 by Phillips in Hasselt, Belgium by Dutch engineer Lou Ottens. Portable cassette players were first introduced to the Egyptian market in the…
