Jack Quigley Releases ‘Cairo Streets’

Naarm-based musician Jack Quigley continues his epic Upstream Trilogy with “Cairo Streets,” the groove-driven follow-up to the lead track “Dhunkasho.” Coining the term “Anarcho-pop,” Quigley uses this sprawling 27-track, four-continent project to explore what is possible when cultural borders are collapsed and collaboration is centred. The project teams 52 musicians over 4 continents with vocals spanning eight languages.

“Cairo Streets” is a dynamic fusion of jazz and funk with a distinct Egyptian flair, propelled by North African horns, open drums, and monstrous syncopation that swells with restless energy. Quigley originally composed the piece while walking the titular city. The iPhone field recordings from his Garden City window were injected directly into the mix to capture the real, endless noise of one of the world’s largest urban centers.

The recording sessions at the renowned Nour Studios brought together a remarkable lineup of Cairo’s leading and emerging talent. The track opens with Toqa El Hagrassy’s mesmerizing qanun, layered alongside Andrew Milad’s Fender Rhodes keys, Yousef Hady’s bass, Angus Leslie’s Moog synth, Ahmed Habibi’s saxophones, Hamad Nour’s percussion, and Quigley on guitar, all locked into Peter Lassy’s punchy drums.

The sessions carried a raw, edge-of-your-seat intensity from the start. Just two days before recording, drummer Peter Lassy narrowly escaped a street collision while crossing Cairo’s famously frantic traffic, brushing it off with the local humor of “it only clipped my feathers.” That adrenaline-fueled resilience bleeds into both the music and its accompanying music video, which races through hyperspeed footage of Tahrir Square.

Poignantly, “Cairo Streets” serves as a final time capsule for Nour Studio as it prepares to close its doors and go up for sale after shaping Egypt’s soundscape for over 25 years. Mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Nick Herrera and produced by Stefano Pizzolato, the single stands as a powerful snapshot of a legendary space, capturing both timeless artistry and cutting-edge global collaboration.

Check out the colour version of the music video. Exclusive to The Partae for the rest of the week.