The IASC: Turning Cairo’s Nightlife Into Liberation

The IASC (International A** Shaking Committee) was born from necessity and a can-do attitude. When founders Lana M, Noor Adel, and Aly Khalifa found themselves hosting a joint birthday party, and Lana couldn’t DJ for six hours straight, the other two decided to learn how to mix the day before. The result was fire and, in less than a year, they’ve hosted 10 sold-out shows across Cairo, El Gouna, London, and Dubai. 

“Beyond our DJ sets, The IASC is about sharing our energy as three best friends who like to have fun,” shares Aly. And their chemistry is electric. Lana (the music nerd with a classical background) crafts the narrative; Noor (the design queen) creates the tactile, witty visuals; and Aly (the content guy) documents their side quests, like the time they turned an Uber driver stealing their neon sign into a breaking news promo reel. Aly also has a background in dance, adding, “After all, they say trauma is released from the hips and, baby, I am trauma free.”

There aren’t many youth-led collectives in Egypt’s nightlife scene—and it’s not for lack of interest. The financial and legal maze of throwing an event in Cairo keeps most people out. But The IASC made the decision to walk straight through it. “We welcome everyone, but our branding, references, and sound naturally pull a younger crowd,” they tell Dazed MENA. “It’s mostly people who live between Egypt and the diaspora, or those who grew up blending influences by default.”

That hybridity is baked into their music philosophy, too. Cairo’s scene has long orbited around fixed genres, but The IASC treats it as a playground.“There’s a real lack of platforms drawing influences from all corners of the globe into one space,” they explain. Their sets therefore move restlessly, weaving soca into Iraqi radh, slipping bubbling next to kawina, letting bouyon crash into whatever comes next. “After that first party, I knew I never wanted to go to another one that wasn’t ours,” Noor shares. “Of course, we still go out sometimes, but nothing ever feels quite like our own parties.”

The IASC’s mission is simple: to save nightlife from itself. “We’re in a weird place in nightlife culture; parties are more about looking and acting cool than actual enjoyment,” she continues. Fighting against passive consumption, the trio demand that you “dance, sweat, and forget about your ex or the bills you’ve gotta pay”. Their set designs, covered in interactive posters, are part of that change. As DJs, they loosen up, moving like they’re back in their childhood bedrooms, and the room mirrors them with that contagious energy. 

“It only takes one person dancing without a single care in the world to start a whole crowd moving,” they concur. The sets, which Lana credits to the boundary-pushing influence of Indian-Dutch DJ Jyoty, are a global mash-up. Aly, meanwhile, ensures the energy translates into movement: “I like to let myself go as much as I can to give others the space to do the same.” This genre fluidity aims to expand Cairo’s musical palate and create an inclusive space that draws influences from the world over. 

Looking ahead, they hope the region catches that momentum, too, forging more collaborations with Arab, African, Latin American, and Asian artists and collectives. “At the end of every gig, we hand out certificates of excellence to five people who have shown commendable performances busting down,” he reveals. “And they’re more coveted than the Nobel Peace Prize.”