Biography
A versatile multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer, Nancy Mounir is a key member of Egypt’s alternative music scene, contributing original music to theatre productions, films and international art installations. She plays a range of instruments, including violin, piano, bass, theremin and the traditional Egyptian
bamboo flute called the kawala.
While developing her skills as an instrumentalist, she explored both the harmonic principles of the western canon and the microtonal foundations of Arabic maqam [musical modes]. Mounir has collaborated with artists such as Massar Egbari and Dina El Wedidi, and she is the violinist for Massive Scar Era, one of Egypt’s most renowned metal bands, which she co-founded in 2005.
She has recently debuted her solo album Nozhet El Nofous (Simsara Records, 2022), a transcendent exploration of musical freedom through the lens of century-old archival recordings.
Born in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, she now lives in Cairo.