Andrew Simon: I Wanted to Write a Book for Egyptians, Not Academics, and the 'Shadow Archive' Was My Entry to Writing History Without Official Documents

American researcher Andrew Simon spoke about the concept of the "alternative archive" or what he called the "shadow archive," explaining that this concept was the fundamental starting point in his work on the book "Mass Media: Cassette Culture in Egypt," published by Dar Al Shorouk.

He said that at the beginning of his research, he was preoccupied with a main question: how can one write a historical study in the absence of access to official documents or when obstacles prevent reaching them.

Simon added that he resorted to building his own archive by researching multiple audio-visual sources, including places like the Azbakeya Wall, cassette companies, personal interviews, old magazines, and others. He noted that he collected nearly 20,000 photos taken from these magazines over two years, which became part of his private archive.

He pointed out the importance of translating the book into Arabic, emphasizing that he was keen to choose an excellent translator who had lived through the period and events covered by the book. He noted that from the start, he did not want to write a book aimed only at the West or academics, but for an Egyptian audience, even though he wrote it in English. He added that translating the book into Arabic represents a dream come true, expressing his great happiness about it, and confirming that he plans to translate his upcoming works into Arabic.

During the signing and discussion event for the book "Mass Media: Cassette Culture in Egypt," organized by Dar Al Shorouk at the consulate building, with a notable attendance of intellectuals and those interested in cultural and social history, Simon confirmed that most Western studies about the Middle East often focus on stereotypical topics such as oil, Islam, or terrorism, while he was interested in writing about the social Egypt he knew during his stay there in 2017.

He added that he loved the voice of Ahmed Adaweya and used to listen to his songs in his friends' cars and even on other transportation, and also listened to Sheikh Imam's songs during the revolution, which encouraged him more to write about the daily life of Egyptians rather than the prevailing stereotypical image.

Simon revealed that he owns about 500 rare cassette tapes and explained that he intends to make them available online in digital form in the near future.

He said he sees a great similarity between how the public received Ahmed Adaweya's songs in the past and how festival singers are received nowadays, noting the use of the same terms such as "collapse of public taste" and "auditory pollution," and confirming that returning to the press archive reveals the repetition of the same discourse over time.

In response to a question about any similarity between Sheikh Kishk and the new preachers, Simon denied that, confirming that the phenomenon of Sheikh Kishk ended and his presence almost completely disappeared.

The event was attended by former Minister of Culture Dr. Emad Abu Ghazi, Mohamed Basal, Editor-in-Chief of Al Shorouk newspaper, artist Saad Hajo, Osama Arabi, director Layali Badr, journalist writer Ghadir Hussein, Amr Ezz El-Din, Carmen Al-Tawarji, Nadia Abu Al-Ala, founder of the Al Shorouk Readers Club group, Mohamed Al-Shammaa, Nancy Habib, publishing manager at Dar Al Shorouk, along with a number of writers, journalists, and those interested in cultural affairs.

In the book presentation, it was noted that the cassette tape, which today seems like a piece of the past, was in the last quarter of the twentieth century a significant cultural, political, artistic, and economic activity that provided wide alternatives in singing, thought, and public discourse, from Umm Kulthum and The Beatles to Ahmed Adaweya, Sheikh Imam, and Sheikh Kishk. The book, through six chapters, documents how cassette technology contributed to dismantling the monopoly of official media before the era of satellite TV and the internet, transforming from a means of entertainment to what can rightly be called "mass media."