Can the human body sustain a 24/7 work shift?

1

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Inflation was up 14.9% in July

☀️ Good morning, friends, and happy weekend. We’re introducing something new to the Weekend Edition today: The Long View, a monthly essay on something worth sitting with — not news, not a how-to, just a question the week left behind. This month: the night shift and what the 24/7 economy costs the one in five workers who keep it running while the rest of us sleep.

Elsewhere in today’s issue: We revisit Primal Fear — the 1996 courtroom thriller that gave Edward Norton his start and still holds up — explore a new Japanese-inspired restaurant in Maadi that gets almost everything right, and listen to Cairokee’s new album, which sounds like growing older without quite knowing what to do with it. That and more.

But first, your weekly recap…

🗞️ LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

ECONOMY-

Egypt’s annual urban inflation sped up to 14.9% in July, its first acceleration since March — but it came in below the 15.6% that a Reuters poll of analysts had predicted. The pickup reverses three straight months of cooling — 14.9% in April, 14.6% in May, and 14.3% in June — and puts the rate right back where it stood in the spring.

TELECOM-

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has referred Egypt’s four telecom operators to the public prosecutor, citing recent violations involving SIM lines registered in users’ names without their knowledge. The NTRA ordered a suspension on the sale and activation of new corporate lines across both private-sector and government entities, while requiring operators to notify existing corporate line holders via SMS to re-register in person or face permanent line cancellation. Operators are mandated to fast-track the integration of biometric verification features.

INDUSTRY-

The government has locked in its industrial land pricing and allocation roadmap through June 2027, extending a policy framework that ties state asset facilitation to operational timelines. The new governorate-specific tariff schedule applies to all industrial contracts signed between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, though the government has yet to publish the price schedule.

CAPITAL MARKETS-

The Financial Regulatory Authority loosened the foreign-currency financing rules it introduced last year, widening the scope of transactions that leasing and SME-finance companies can fund in foreign currency. Under the new rules, this mechanism can be utilized if the proceeds are channeled directly to funding imports, purchasing assets, or settling existing foreign-currency obligations linked to the client’s business.

M&A-

E-finance will pay as much as EGP 4.8 bn for full ownership of MSME lender Tamweely Financial Services, the EGX-listed fintech infrastructure player said in a bourse filing, confirming the acquisition we had flagged earlier this week. This puts Tamweely’s valuation 71% above the price it fetched when it was last sold almost two years ago. The transaction still needs shareholder and regulatory sign-off — from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) and the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) — before it can go through, with E-finance eyeing a close in 3Q or 4Q 2026.

HOSPITALITY-

The Awqaf Authority is putting a 41k-sqm plot at the former Rawd El Farag market site in Cairo up for development through a private-sector partnership. The prospect is already open to investors, with the authority accepting proposals from both local and foreign developers. Hotels, office buildings, and towers are among the potential uses identified for the plot by the authority.

AND- Qatari Diar launched the first phase of its USD 29.7 bn Alam El Roum development, with up to EGP 220 bn going into the 4 mn sqm phase. This phase will span around 1.4 mn sqm of built-up area, including four hotels with more than 1k rooms, a marina with 50 yacht berths, around 195k sqm of artificial, swimmable lagoons, and a 2-km beach and waterfront promenade. Initial deliveries are targeted for 2030.

REGULATION-

Fund managers can soon launch hedge funds in Egypt for the first time, either by building ones from scratch or converting existing mutual funds. The decision seeks to deepen local capital markets by introducing absolute-return strategies to the Egyptian Exchange. With that, the FRA just created a whole lot of demand for our nascent derivatives market.

ENERGY-

The Oil Ministry is lining up EGP 257.7 bn in investment to expand extraction activities over the coming period, including EGP 103 bn earmarked specifically for natural gas. The spending will focus on the West Nile and the southern Western Desert, alongside new exploration work, as the ministry looks to lift domestic output after years of declining production and reduce reliance on imports.

AND- Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec brought the rest of its 1.1 GW Obelisk solar-and-battery project in Nagaa Hammadi fully online. The USD 600 mn project’s second and final phase added 564 MW of solar capacity. The company calls Obelisk Africa’s largest hybrid solar-and-battery project. The full project is expected to generate more than 3 TWh of clean electricity annually.

DEBT-

The government is preparing to issue tax-backed sukuk for the first time, allowing corporate taxpayers to purchase sovereign-yield-bearing certificates today and surrender them to clear future tax liabilities after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi approved the proposal. The government expects the tax-exempt instrument to lower its borrowing costs and debt-service bill, offering a more stable alternative to conventional treasury bills.

AND- The gov’t is also preparing to launch a USD-denominated investment fund for Egyptians abroad next year, looking to channel record-breaking remittance inflows into a wider menu of investable assets. The fund was announced during the seventh Egyptians Abroad Conference, where the government rolled out a wider package of financial, digital, consular, healthcare, and payment services for the diaspora.

Making It is back: Six days a week, we help top executives make sense of the Arab world’s companies and economies — and every Thursday, our editor-in-chief, Patrick, talks shop with the people who run them.

Making It is an hour where the CEOs, founders, investors, and policymakers shaping our region show their work and talk about what’s next.

New episodes drop every Thursday.

Listen to the trailer on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anghami | YouTube.

Sign up to our newsletter to get Making It in your inbox.

🌍 AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

This week’s headlines were dominated by a US-Iran stand-off stuck in diplomatic quicksand, capped by the revelation that US President Donald Trump secretly swapped planes mid-flight after Iran threatened to shoot down Air Force One. Here’s the rundown.

Negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz went nowhere this week. Iran laid out its conditions for reopening the waterway — ending the naval blockade, lifting sanctions, paying war reparations, and unfreezing Iranian assets — while refusing direct talks with Washington. The UAE reported that an Adnoc carrier was attacked while transiting the strait. Trump counter-demanded that Iran pay reparations for American casualties and said Washington could afford to wait as Tehran’s economy deteriorates.

Pakistan’s defense minister said Wednesday that things are shaping up in favor of peace — neither side confirmed anything. The week’s sharpest — and most humorous — revelation: Trump secretly boarded a catering truck at Ankara airport after Iran threatened to fire a missile at Air Force One during the Nato summit last month, slipping onto a smaller military aircraft out of sight of the cameras.

ELSEWHERE IN THE REGION- Yemen’s Houthis claimed a drone strike on an Aramco refinery in Jazan, with Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry confirming a fire at the site — no casualties were reported. A Syrian court sentenced Bashar Al Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes — the first legislative action against the former Syrian president since he fled in 2024. And Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected a US-backed framework to disarm Hamas, declining to withdraw IDF forces from Gaza.

IN SOUTH AMERICA- Colombia’s most powerful earthquake this century — a 7.4-magnitude tremor — killed at least 164 people. A large section of a hospital in Cali collapsed, leaving 600 patients in urgent need of care.

IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO Greg Abel ended Warren Buffett’s three-year selling streak, deploying a net USD 19.8 bn in 2Q — including a USD 10 bn stake in Alphabet. Nvidia is mobilizing USD 500 bn for AI infrastructure after signing MoUs with BlackRock, Blackstone, Apollo, Goldman Sachs, and KKR. The Hormuz stand-off is already reshaping global shipping: Panama Canal transit prices jumped 16-fold this month, while Chinese carrier Sea Legend launched the first regular container service through the Arctic — the Ice Silk Road — cutting the China-UK journey from 40 days to roughly 20.

ALSO- More than 1 mn people were evacuated across eastern China as Typhoon Dolphin — the strongest storm to hit the country this year — made landfall near Shanghai, canceling nearly 1k flights and prompting severe flood warnings.

The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum is back — and we’re devoting the full day to the singular set of questions on everyone’s mind: What does AI actually mean for your company, your people, your economy, your own job — and your kids’ future?

Every session on stage answers one question: “So, what do I actually do about it?”

Join us on 5 October in Cairo. Seats are limited and attendance is by invitation only.

Request your invitation here.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND-

This weekend brings another spell of hot weather in Cairo, with the mercury climbing to a sunny 38°C on both Friday and Saturday — prompting dehydration and heatstroke warnings — before dipping to a clear overnight low of 26°C. Up on the North Coast, it’s a slightly cooler but more humid affair, with highs of 32°C and lows of 24°C on both days, according to our favorite weather app.

🎤 HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-

Number 1 is heading to Sahel. Tonight at 10pm, Mohamed Ramadan is taking over the Porto Golf Summer Festival in Al Alamein City. The iconic singer is bringing his signature high-energy, crowd-favorite hits and an unforgettable sing-along summer night. Tickets are available on TicketsMarché.

It’s a star-studded Friday on the North Coast as masked sensation Tul8te heads to Sahel tonight as part of his ongoing world tour. The singer will take over U Arena, North Coast, to perform his addictive chart-topping hits live. Tickets can be purchased through Tellr — the concert kicks off at 6pm.

Comedy group The High Five is heeding their fans’ calls and heading to New Cairo for the first time tonight, with their In & Out Standup Comedy Show at Teatro 90. The five-member crew — Fekry Tarek, Abdelrahman Mohamed, Pola Samwel, Badr Nour, and Gamal Ramzy — brings together distinct comedy styles as they take turns cracking jokes and sharing humorous stories. The show starts at 9pm, and tickets are available on TicketsMarché.

If you’re just settling into Sahel, the Tiatro Romano festival is right there with you as it continues its star-studded summer run. Tonight, Arab pop icons Nawal El Zoghby and Wael Jassar are taking over The Roman Theater in Marina 2, Al Alamein. The night will see both singers bring their biggest hits to the stage. The concert kicks off at 10pm, with tickets available on TicketsMarché.

🎤 HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Beloved composer and pianist Omar Khairat is taking over the Great Hall at Bibliotheca Alexandrina as part of the library’s International Summer Festival. Khairat will take the stage on Sunday, 16 August, and Monday, 17 August, accompanied by the BA Orchestra led by Nayer Nagui. Expect an evening of Khairat’s unmistakable orchestral sound in one of Alexandria’s most iconic cultural venues. Both concerts begin at 8:30pm — tickets are available through Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s website.

Jordanian indie band Autostrad take the stage at CJC 610 on Wednesday, 19 August, bringing an energetic set of their signature alternative rock hits alongside tracks from their latest album. Resident DJ Andy Cheikho will be spinning the band’s fusion sounds throughout the night. Doors open at 8pm — you can get your tickets through TicketsMarché.

Clear your calendar for Thursday, 20 August, because the legendary Hakim is heading to Sahel, joining the Tiatro Romano’s big-name summer line-up for a performance at the Roman Theater in Marina 2, Al Alamein. The concert kicks off at 10pm, with tickets available on TicketsMarché.

One in five workers runs on a disrupted body clock. The rest of us rarely think about what that costs

💡 The Long View is EnterpriseAM Weekend’s monthly space for the essay — a take on something worth sitting with. Not news, not a how-to. Just a question the week left behind, examined. This week: the night shift.

The night-time economy has long operated behind the scenes in busy capitals and cities, keeping businesses running 24/7 and the infrastructure of everyday life supplied, staffed, and supported. But it comes at a cost: completely flipping the way our bodies naturally function. Whether driven by the nature of their jobs, higher pay, or the freedom to have their days to themselves, night-shift workers are effectively working against their body’s natural rhythm — and inevitably bearing the health costs of doing so.

If you’re reading this on a Friday morning, you are, in all likelihood, among the direct beneficiaries of that arrangement — and rarely have to think about what it costs.

Worldwide, one in five workers, or some 20%, work night shifts. Industries providing essential services — including transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, and social services — often require round-the-clock operations. In Egypt alone, tens of thousands of BPO and call center workers run through the night to serve European and American clients — a number growing at 15-17% a year as more multinationals route their 24/7 operations here.

While the economy may run around the clock, the human body unfortunately can’t.

Fighting against nature

The most obvious concern with night-shift work is sleep — one of the biggest pillars of good health. While working nights doesn’t necessarily mean getting less sleep, it can mean sleeping at the wrong time and getting poor-quality rest. Sleep is governed by our body’s inherent circadian rhythm, which is closely tied to the rising and setting of the sun and regulates our bodily processes according to the natural light-dark cycle. Once you flip your waking and sleeping hours, your sleep system can become severely disrupted — interfering with critical restorative biological processes that take place during sleep.

The brain, above all, needs sleep. During sleep, it processes the day’s memories and emotions, solves problems that troubled it during waking hours, and supports the body’s immune defenses and muscle repair. In short, sleep helps the brain clean itself out through a process of plumbing in the glymphatic system that washes away waste it has accumulated while awake.

So, what happens when this drainage system is impaired? Over time, disrupted sleep may increase the risk of dementia. A Swedish study by the Karolinska Institute, which followed more than 13k shift workers for up to 41 years, found that working shifts in midlife was associated with a 36% higher risk of dementia — though the researchers noted this represents a statistical association rather than a proven causal link.

The risk increased among workers who remained in shift-based jobs for more years. If carried on for years, sleep-disrupted night shifts can also contribute to raised levels of amyloid, a protein in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease. For some workers, this can develop into what is known as shift-work sleep disorder (SWSD) — a circadian rhythm sleep disorder that affects people who work non-traditional sleep hours. People with SWSD may struggle to fall asleep (insomnia) or experience excessive sleepiness while awake (hypersomnia). Other symptoms can include difficulty concentrating, lack of energy, headaches, and irritability.

The cost of too little sleep

The effects go deeper than that. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies night shift work as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Night shift workers are more likely to be overweight and have higher BMIs and waist circumferences, according to Worldwide Cancer Research. Night shift workers, particularly those with a genetic predisposition, may also face higher risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. Cortisol levels, in particular, are strongly influenced by the circadian rhythm, with levels typically peaking in the morning. A disrupted cortisol rhythm, in turn, can contribute to metabolic problems and increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

It can’t take a toll on the body without affecting the mind, too. Psychologically, night shift work is associated with a 28% higher risk of depression and anxiety disorders, according to research in the Journal of Affective Disorders. Working during the hours when most of the population is asleep inevitably leads to social asynchronicity, making it harder to participate in social occasions and maintain relationships when your sleep and work schedules are out of sync.

Working with the body, not against it

There are ways to mitigate some of these effects, though none fully reverse them. Night-shift workers may find some relief in biphasic sleep — a pattern that predates the industrial age and was reportedly common in the West until the mid-19th century. Researchers at Norway’s National Institute of Occupational Health found that shift workers living in the Arctic Circle, where the sun barely sets, often split their sleep into two distinct blocks — one a few hours before noon and another before their shift begins. Evidence on how much this improves health and performance is still emerging, but the pattern offers a useful reframing: the idea of one long, unbroken sleep is itself a relatively recent invention, one the industrial economy imposed on human biology without asking whether it fits.

Other studies suggest that napping during or after a shift reduces sleepiness and improves alertness. Working fewer consecutive night shifts may also reduce some of the associated health risks. Controlling light exposure, sticking to a consistent sleep schedule — even on days off — and limiting caffeine to the early part of a shift are all practical levers. But the deeper point is structural: the 24/7 economy was built around what the market needed, not what the body can sustain. The people running it through the night are paying a price that rarely appears on any balance sheet.

Revisiting classics: Primal Fear is a 1996 courtroom thriller with one of Hollywood’s most memorable endings

🍿 Nothing worth your time at the movies? Plug in that soundbar and throw some popcorn in the microwave. If you’re a fan of thrillers, investigations, and courtroom drama, you’ve probably already heard of American director Gregory Hoblit’s Primal Fear. Starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton in his very first screen role, alongside Laura Linney and Frances McDormand, the film has everything a great dramatic thriller needs — and never disappoints.

The plot: Martin Vail (Gere) is a brilliant defense attorney who gravitates toward complicated, high-profile cases that keep him in the spotlight. One such case lands on his radar when it becomes the talk of all Chicago overnight: the brutal murder of the beloved Archbishop Rushman (Stanley Anderson), with a young altar boy named Aaron (Norton) found at the scene covered in blood. A chase ensues, Aaron is caught, and his trial begins. Vail watches the arrest on television and decides to take on Aaron’s defense.

It’s a difficult case to crack. Aaron is a young man who comes across as shy and confused but unfailingly polite — he stammers frequently and shows signs of psychological disturbance. He insists he has no memory of what happened, telling Vail he didn’t commit the crime: he walked in at the same moment as the real killer, a confrontation broke out, and he fell to the ground, ending up covered in blood himself.

…Vail’s task is harder still. He is almost the only person who genuinely believes Aaron is innocent. When psychiatrist Molly (the excellent McDormand) enters the picture, Vail learns that Aaron suffers from dissociative identity disorder and was subjected to repeated sexual abuse by the archbishop — abuse that caused him to develop a violent alter ego his mind summons whenever he faces danger or harm. Vail attempts to use this diagnosis to secure a reduced sentence from the jury, knowing that without it, Aaron faces the death penalty.

Truth and fiction: The film carries a weight of moral complexity, examining institutional corruption, crimes committed under the cover of religion, and the moral immunity that powerful institutions grant themselves. It also explores the concept of truth itself — how it can be bent and shaped to serve any purpose — through a tightly constructed story that opens slowly before building pace at its midpoint, culminating in two closing scenes in which Norton delivers a staggering performance opposite both prosecutor Janet (Linney) and his own attorney Vail.

What we liked: Primal Fear is a masterclass in suspense and dramatic construction — every scene advances the story in some way, pulling the viewer forward from beginning to end. The ending delivers one of Hollywood’s most memorable closing twists, a moment that handed Norton a golden entry into the industry and established him as one of the defining talents of his generation from his very first appearance. Gere, meanwhile, gives a nuanced and precisely calibrated performance as the sharp-minded attorney in the moment he confronts the shocking truths of a case that will change the course of his life.

The verdict: Primal Fear brings together the best of courtroom drama, mystery, and psychological suspense in a way that doesn’t resemble conventional courtroom thrillers. This is a film that grips you with tension before deceiving, shocking, and astonishing you with a finale that stays with you. Watching Norton — who took home the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in 1997 — is reason enough to remember why we love cinema and why it still manages to surprise us.

WHERE TO WATCH- You can stream Primal Fear on Netflix. Watch the trailer on YouTube (watch, runtime: 2:29).

Sarah Wilson’s I Eat the Stars offers a guide to navigating a collapsing world

📚 Does the looming environmental and cultural collapse keep you up at night? It probably will after reading this book. I Eat the Stars: How to Live Fully and Beautifully in a Collapsing World by Sarah Wilson reflects many global anxieties while helping readers make sense of the grim state our planet is in. The book began as a series of essays published on the Australian journalist’s Substack before being collected into a single book, published last June.

What to expect: Modern life often means carrying on against a backdrop of destruction and confusion, much of which we have to sweep under the rug just to get through the day. Wilson chooses otherwise, confronting head-on the realities of our current world with agonizing clarity — from environmental ruin to political polarization, civil unrest, economic instability, and more. Her starting point is surprisingly bleak, rejecting hope as the answer to change. From there, she describes a strangely liberating acceptance of reality — and a sense of relief — that can actually leave us better equipped to face it.

What we liked: Wilson’s startling honesty. After dropping enough world-ending facts to make you feel like humanity is fighting a losing battle, she lays bare a candid progression toward a hard-earned clarity. She is appropriately witty, funny, and warm with her words — a welcome counterbalance to the dark subject matter. Her urgency and emotion feel so palpable they practically jump off the page.

The verdict: I Eat the Stars isn’t an easy read, per se, but an existential one that meets your doomsday worries with grace. The book reads like a collection of confessions and diary entries from Wilson, making for a vulnerable read. Despite clocking in at more than 300 pages, much of it flies by, as Wilson highlights the value of holding on to faith in humanity while letting go of futile despair. If you’re looking for something to snap you out of your own bubble, make you a little uncomfortable, and perhaps approach the world differently, I Eat the Stars is worth a read.

WHERE TO GET IT- You can place a special order for the paperback version through The Bookspot. You can also get the eBook version on Amazon and Kobo.

M’OISHI Resto brings polished, Japanese-inspired dining to Maadi

🍴 Some restaurants gain your favor with one unforgettable dish. Others do it by getting almost everything right. M’OISHI Resto, a new concept in Maadi, falls firmly into the second camp, pairing a polished setting with fresh, generously portioned plates and service that might just be the restaurant’s strongest selling point. What started as a much-loved mochi and boba spot has since grown into a restaurant concept, bringing the brand’s Japanese-inspired identity to a much bigger menu.

First impressions: M’OISHI looks relatively compact from the outside, but step inside and the space opens up considerably. There’s an outdoor area, two indoor sections upstairs, and even a dedicated smoking room — a rare luxury for anyone who’d rather not brave Cairo’s summer heat. A dessert display downstairs adds another tempting detail, even if we didn’t get around to trying it this time. The service was exceptional from the start. Staff were stationed throughout the restaurant, making it easy to catch someone’s attention without having to wave frantically across the room. Dishes arrived promptly and together. Tables were cleared quickly, and everything was served hot and fresh.

What we liked: The meal kicked off with the Shrimp Toast, a fresh shrimp plate featuring avocado, greens, and a sweet apple-vinegar-style salad dressing that brought everything together. The shrimp itself could have used a little more salt, but it was fresh. The accompanying toast had a subtle pesto-like sauce that added flavor without overpowering the plate. The Katsu Beef Sando was another standout. Served alongside Parmesan-covered roasted potatoes, the sandwich brought together tender beef, sweet coleslaw, and tonkatsu sauce in a harmonious combination. Some pieces of the meat were slightly chewy, but the sandwich was generously portioned and more filling than its petite appearance suggested.

The Truffle Fries arrived piping hot, generously coated with truffle mayo and Parmesan. The sauce had an unexpected citrusy zing, which may not be traditional for truffle fries, but it worked surprisingly well, adding brightness without drowning out the truffle. For drinks, the Strawberry Mojito was refreshingly balanced, neither too sweet nor too syrupy.

The Japanese Fluffy Pancakes with Belgian Chocolate were the most dramatic turnaround of the meal. The first serving was slightly undercooked, but after management was alerted, it was replaced immediately with a perfectly cooked, cloud-soft version. The Belgian chocolate was rich and high-quality, while boba and hazelnuts added an unconventional finish. We also appreciated that the staff checked for nut allergies before adding the hazelnuts.

The verdict: M’OISHI isn’t the cheapest meal in Maadi, but the price feels considerably easier to swallow when the food, portions, setting, and service are all working together. With attentive staff, fresh ingredients, a comfortable space, and enough variety to keep a return visit certain, M’OISHI Resto is worth your time.

WHERE TO FIND IT- M’OISHI Resto is located in Maadi. Delivery of M’OISHI’s OG products is also available through Talabat.

💵 Per person: 800-1k

🪑 Outdoor seating: Yes

🍺 Alcohol: No

🦽 Accessibility friendly: No

Cairokee’s new album reflects on growing up without growing out

👂 Cairokee have spent much of their career giving a voice to the restless, but on their newest album, Supernova, the band is reckoning with a different kind of growing pains: getting older and realizing you’re not where you thought you’d be. Four years after Roma, Cairokee’s seventh studio album presents a 10-track reflection on adulthood, nostalgia, and the anxiety of watching your younger self disappear in the rearview. The result is a record that captures the quiet panic of feeling older but not necessarily wiser — and that’s what makes it work.

The sound: Supernova sits comfortably between indie, electronic, and soft rock, occasionally dipping into the more folkloric and sha’by sounds Cairokee have explored throughout their catalogue. There’s a hazy quality to much of the record, with its softer arrangements giving Amir Eid’s haunting voice room to breathe. It’s reflective without being relentlessly gloomy, largely because Cairokee still know when to have a little fun with their own melancholy.

What we liked: Writing remains one of the band’s greatest strengths. Lyrics move from introspective to hilarious without much warning, puncturing the album’s heavier moments with the band’s signature dry humor. “I’m cold like the band that was playing on the Titanic” is an apt example.

The hits: That balance becomes effective on Ana Bakbr, one of the album’s strongest tracks. Featuring long-time collaborator Sary Hany, the song looks at adulthood not as an arrival point but as something messier. Ana Bakbr is where Supernova feels most emotionally precise. The song carries a sense of being older without necessarily feeling like you have moved forward. It’s a familiar feeling for Cairokee’s audience, many of whom have grown up alongside the band. The album doesn’t spend its entire runtime staring inward, however. Haseb Haseb reaches further back into Cairokee’s musical history, recalling the energy of tracks such as El Keif and Ghareeb Fi Belad Ghareeba.

Still, Supernova succeeds because Cairokee have become adept at documenting their generation’s anxieties. Their collaborators — Hazem Wefy, the late Mido Zohair, and Mostafa Ibrahim — have helped maintain the identity that has long been central to the band’s music, while the production gives those familiar concerns a slightly more mature sonic home.

The verdict: Cairokee sound older here — more comfortable sitting with uncertainty, but they have not outgrown the restlessness that defined them. At its strongest, that makes for an honest record. At its weakest, it makes Supernova feel a little too familiar. Cairokee know their sound, their audience, and the emotional territory they want to inhabit, sometimes so well that the album feels more like a refinement of the band’s established formula than a genuine leap forward.

WHERE TO LISTEN- Supernova is available to stream on all major music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Anghami.

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

🗓️ AUGUST

1 August - September 15 (Saturday-Tuesday): El Alamein Book Fair.

6-15 August (Thursday-Saturday): The Garden Market at Lakeyard, Hacienda Bay, North Coast.

11-17 August (Tuesday-Monday): El Sawy CultureWheel Sakia Book Fair, Zamalek.

14 August (Friday): The High Five: In & Out Standup Comedy Show at Teatro 90.

14 August (Friday): Tough Mudder Kids by The TriFactory at Ramla by Marakez, North Coast.

14 August (Friday): Tul8te at U Arena, North Coast.

14 August (Friday): Mohamed Ramadan at Porto Golf, Al Alamein City.

14 August (Friday): Nawal El Zoghby and Wael Jassar at Tiatro Romano, Marina 2, Al Alamein.

15-24 August (Saturday-Monday): The International Citadel Festival for Music at Saleh El Din Citadel.

15 August (Saturday): Riham Abdel Hakim at Mahka Theatre, Salah El Din Citadel.

15 August (Saturday): El Leila El Kebira at Teatro 90.

16 August (Sunday): Aziz Maraka and Samar Tarik at Mahka Theatre, Salah El Din Citadel.

17 August (Monday): Wust El Balad and Nesma Mahgoub at Mahka Theatre, Salah El Din Citadel.

17-18 August (Monday-Tuesday): Omar Khairat at Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

19 August (Wednesday): Hisham Abbas and Sherif Mounir at Mahka Theatre, Salah El Din Citadel.

19 August (Wednesday): Autostrad at CJC 610.

20 August (Thursday): Hakim at Tiatro Romano, Marina 2, Al Alamein.

20 August (Thursday): Saad El Oud and Fouad & Mounib at Mahka Theatre, Salah El Din Citadel.

20 August (Thursday): Mohamed Fouad at Premiere Show, Golf Porto.

20 August (Thursday): Hisham Abbas at Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

20-29 August (Thursday-Saturday): Leila Assal at Theatro Arkan.

20-26 August (Thursday-Wednesday): I Want a Pet Dinosaur at Rawabet Art Space.

21 August (Friday): Ain Gamal at Al Anfoshy Cultural Palace, Alexandria.

21 August (Friday): Black Coffee at Cubix North Coast.

21 August (Friday): Ruby and Ramy Ayach at Tiatro Romano, Marina 2, Al Alamein.

21 August (Friday): Autostrad at Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

22 August (Saturday): Wust El Balad at Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

22-26 August (Saturday-Wednesday): Revive Heritage Week.

23 August (Sunday): Autostrad at El Sawy Culturewheel, Zamalek.

23 August (Sunday): Ali El Haggar at Mahka Theatre, Salah El Din Citadel.

24 August (Monday): Medhat Saleh, Amr Selim, and Nesma Abdel Aziz at Mahka Theatre, Salah El Din Citadel.

25 August (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday.

27 August (Thursday): Jadal at Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

28 August (Friday): Ramy Sabry at Tiatro Romano, Marina 2, Al Alamein.

29 August (Saturday): Jadal at El Sawy Culturewheel, Nile University, Sheikh Zayed.

30 August (Sunday): Tamer Ashour at Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

SEPTEMBER

4 September (Friday): Ehab Tawfik at Premiere Show, Golf Porto.

4 September (Friday): Abyusif and Shehab at Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria.

4 September (Friday): The High Five: In & Out Vol.3 at Al Anfoushy Cultural Palace, Alexandria.

6-9 September (Sunday-Wednesday): Khayal Mareed at Theatro Arkan.

11-14 September (Friday-Monday): MedFest Egypt at AUC Tahrir Square.

26 September (Saturday): John Achkar’s Feena Nehke at Theatro Arkan.

OCTOBER

1-4 October (Thursday-Sunday): She Arts festival across Cairo and Alexandria.

6 October (Tuesday): Armed Forces Day.

15-23 October (Thursday-Friday): El Gouna Film Festival.

17 October (Saturday): Konnect Summit at The Greek Campus, El Tahrir St.

24 October (Saturday): Blue 25th Anniversary Tour at New Capital.

28-31 October (Wednesday-Saturday): Egypt’s Cheese Festival at Al Horreya Garden, Zamalek.

NOVEMBER

5 November (Thursday): Gala De Danza at the Grand Egyptian Museum.

2-7 November (Monday-Saturday): Barbara O’Neill Wellness Journey at Sheraton Miramar Resort, El Gouna.

11-20 November (Wednesday-Friday): Cairo International Film Festival.

19-28 November (Thursday-Saturday): Cairo Design Week.

21 November (Saturday): El Gouna Half Marathon.

28 November (Saturday): Shakira at the Pyramids of Giza.

DECEMBER

11-12 December (Friday-Saturday): The Marakez Pyramids Half Marathon at the Pyramids of Giza.

Sections

About

Privacy & Support