Band of the week: WETROBOTS <3 BOSAINA

My father once gave me a crucial piece of advice: “Everyone likes a party girl, but no one really loves a party girl.”

I guess that pretty much rings true. Unless you are Bosaina II, lead vocalist of the electro-pop trio known as the Wetrobots <3 Bosaina.

If you’ve ever seen her perform, you’re likely to have been whisked away by her “I don’t give a fuck,” post-punk party girl attitude that blends magically with head-banging blonde locks, high-kicks, catsuits and sardonic lyrics to create a dizzying spell.

Bosaina musically met the Wetrobots — aka producers Ismail Hosny and Hussein El Sherbini — in 2010. They say it was love at first sight. And if we’ve learned anything from classic literature about true love in revolutionary settings, then all things are possible.

For close to four years now, the Wetrobots <3 Bosaina have been pertinaciously pushing forward an electronic music conviction in a city that is almost entirely at odds with the democratic environment typically associated with progressive dance music scenes.

After the success of their debut electro-pop EP, “Dirty Bourgeoisie” (2011), and the darker follow up “Bang is Blow” (2012), the group took a brief production hiatus to build upon on their individual strengths. In the past year, the trio’s performance and production schedule has rivaled most established internationally touring bands.

Cairo has been on lockdown since August, yet the Wetrobots have had more performances this year than almost any other electronic act in the country. This activity alone suggests that while on stage they might appear to be party boys and a party girl, they are in fact among the most potent and prolific performers in Cairo’s burgeoning indie music scene.

Earlier this summer, Bosaina was stateside performing with her side project, Quit Together, at a leading international music festival, South By Southwest (SXSW). Unfortunately, her partner Ahmed al-Ghazoly (Zuli) only received his visa after two days of the performance, leaving Bosaina to fend for herself on one of the most important stages of her career thus far.

While in the States, Bosaina took a production course, allowing her to further develop her special brand of ambient sample-based electronica. Meanwhile, Hussein released his down-tempo debut EP, “Fairchile,” this past August — the album is an interesting experiment with lo-fi textures, manipulated vocals, minimalistic beats and heavy bass lines. Hosny has been busy sweeping local and foreign venues, with his recent Cairo performances including D-CAF, 100Copies, 100LIVE Electronic Music Festival and the Cairo Jazz Club.

The trio has also remixed major electronic works by The Presets and Jerry Bouthier, in addition to collaborating with Diamond Version (Alva Noto/Byetone) from Europe in the global Ten Cities Project organized by the Goethe Institut. This Thursday, October 30, they will also travel to Europe on a tour with their newly formed KIK (Kairo Is Koming) collective, made up of some of Egypt’s top emerging electronic performers including Nader Ahmed, Zuli and Asem Tag.

Wetrobots <3 Bosaina are currently working on their first LP, which is tentatively scheduled for release in early 2014. After receiving a sneak peak of some of the album’s demos, I think I can safely say that the trio is maturing in their sound. Their sonic sphere includes an interesting concoction of ambient sounds, white noise, repetitive conversational clips, discordant dance rhythms and a lot of bass. It’s rumored that they have coined the phrase “post-curfew” to define their new sound, which metaphorically plays off the limitations and surprising possibilities found within the current, curfewed confines of Cairo life.