Throwing rocks in the sea, splashing in the Nile, all under the Egyptian sun. These are the simple and raw moments of Egyptian summers; simple, humble, and truly wholesome.
These are the moments that do not really make it into travel postcards, yet somehow stay with us the longest. From the cup of tea shared without a plan, the breeze cutting through the palm trees, and the laughter of children diving into the Nile before heading home for dinner, summer in Egypt has always been a feeling that lives somewhere between memory and music.
But, how does one translate the feeling of summer into both sound and flavour?
For Egyptian producer El Waili, born Kareem Gaber, music has always been a way of preserving feeling. Renowned for his hypnotic productions and futuristic fusion of Chaabi (urban folk) with electronic music, El Waili has built a world where tradition collides beautifully with experimentation.
And now, that sonic imagination has found an unexpected muse. In a collaboration with artisanal chocolates and drinks brand mōko, the music film, titled ‘Blended Colada,’ set out to answer a question few have ever thought to ask: What if a summer drink had a sound?
The result is a bespoke composition created for the drink Blended Colada, which is not simply a soundtrack to accompany the drink, but a musical interpretation of its spirit. Fresh, nostalgic, playful, and sun-soaked, the piece translates flavour into feeling, inviting listeners to experience summer with their ears as much as their taste buds.
Its accompanying music film is equally evocative. The film understands that the magic of Egyptian summers has never lived solely in beach resorts or Sahel escapes. It lives in the rituals we have inherited without ever realizing it, such as in spontaneous swims, long afternoons by the water, salt on our skin, and fleeting moments that become lifelong memories before we even know they are happening.
“Everyone can remember a song that defines a summer, but they can rarely tell you why,” says Mahmoud Barakat, Founder of mōko.
“We wanted to make a film about that feeling, nostalgia that’s still facing forward, memory that’s still moving.”
Yet perhaps what makes the music film truly compelling is the way it includes the many faces of summer across Egypt.
It drifts through the emerald green landscapes of El Qanater El Khayreya in Egypt, where fields sway gently beside the eternal rhythm of the Nile. It journeys into the vast stillness of the desert in Al-Qusair, where Bedouin communities gather after sunset, sharing stories as kettles of tea simmer over glowing fire pits.
Between riverbanks, coastlines, farmland, and sand dunes, the film reveals an Egypt that is diverse, yet emotionally connected by the same season, the same warmth, and the same sense of belonging. The film becomes an ode to the simple rituals of Egyptian summer itself.
“Summer doesn’t truly begin until there’s a song that defines it,” says Rula El Kaliouby, founder of Intuition Collective, the creative agency behind the campaign. “That’s what we want to create every year, a summer anthem that people associate with the season, rather than just another advertisement for the brand.”
To close out the collaboration, mōko will host an intimate live session with El Waili at Almaza Bay on the North Coast in the first week of August.
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