Hazem Beltagui
Hazem Beltagui is an Alexandria-born DJ and producer now based in Paris who is regarded as one of Egypt's most successful dance-music exports of the past decade. He began producing after being encouraged to try Ableton, releasing his first track shortly after, and was later contacted by Egyptian trance duo Aly & Fila, who invited him to open at one of their events despite his having never DJed in a club before.
That relationship led him to release music through Aly & Fila's label Future Sounds of Egypt, and he went on to head FSOE Excelsior, a sister label functioning under Armin van Buuren's Armada umbrella. As his interests broadened beyond trance, he stepped back from the FSOE brand and rebranded toward underground house and techno, building sets that could range from a 110 BPM ambient opener to 142 BPM psytrance peaks.
He founded his own label, Crossings, designed around genre-crossing releases from both international and Egyptian artists, and has hosted Crossings nights in Egypt with plans extending to markets including Tunisia. Beltagui continues to tour internationally alongside artists across the trance and techno spectrum, reflecting his genre-spanning approach to production and DJing.