Sabrout | Soundcloud | Instagram | Resident Advisor

After seven incredible mixes, we conclude the first season of Truancy Sessions with a DJ who perfectly embodies the ethos we envisioned when starting this series. Our goal was to build community and provide a platform for exceptional DJs we’ve met during our travels and connected with online as global friends. Raised in Cairo but based in New York for the past decade, Sabrout has been quietly emerging as a rising star with his distinctive approach to musical eclecticism. A former member of the music platform Delayed,, Sabrout crafts sets that are both deeply personal and versatile, showcasing his extensive knowledge of dance music. His mixes for Palestine Forever —a collective dedicated to supporting humanitarian aid and raising awareness for Palestine—and for the NYC-based Salsabil, of which he is one third, exemplify his ability to seamlessly blend acid house, techno, breakbeat, ambient, R&B, and hip hop, all infused with genuine emotion. Sabrout describes his Truancy Sessions mix as a product of a breakthrough approach, focusing on intuition rather than overthinking. The result is a beautifully curated journey of rolling grooves, with a standout moment at 20 minutes when Dreamrdreamr’s “Zone 4 Booty Call” elevates the mix to new heights.

Could you describe the process of creating this mix? Was there a specific message or feeling you wanted to convey? “Recording this mix kicked my ass to be honest. I obviously wanted to flex because it’s Truants but more importantly I wanted to showcase my sound and the latter always ends up being impossible when deciding what direction to go. Being too eclectic is so hard ughhhh. I was overpreparing and overthinking a lot and after trying to record a few times, my friend asked me “what would you play right now if you were in a club?” and a few days later I made a new playlist, decided that I would open with Summer Walker – White Tee, and just played music that I felt sounded like me.

The message I wanted to convey is BOOK ME 😎”

Where did you grow up? How did that shape your sound or the way you relate with music? “I lived in Cairo and I moved to the US when I was 17. I’ve only lived in Cairo for 2 years as an adult. I listen to a lot of Arabic music but I don’t really play it other than occasional samples and loops (anyone who has ever seen me DJ at a house party has seen me layer Wala Ala Balo). 

Recently I have been trying to discover more Egyptian artists and play more music by them. One producer I highly recommend is QOW, whose album “El Mosameh Sherine” is one of the most conceptually interesting albums I have ever heard, and is executed so beautifully. It’s a perfect album for me because it lies at the rare intersection (within ambient) of four phenomena I love in music: channeling heartbreak, intricate samples (chopped and otherwise), moving synth work, Sherine Abdelwahab. 

I don’t think I would have the same sound if I wasn’t Egyptian. Before I moved to New York I didn’t have friends in the US who were into electronic music, so most of the people I shared music with were friends from home. Not really having friends who were into my music live near me meant that I was exploring genres I liked on my own, going to see the DJs I liked on my own. I think this made me, until now, appreciate being alone on dancefloors. It’s one of my favorite forms of alone time.”

What was the first dance music experience that really stuck with you? “Waking Life 2018. I had been going out for five years by then but I would say the first experience that I would still want to go to now was Waking Life. I saw Vlada play without even knowing her beforehand and she blew my mind. I saw DJ Masda there after wanting to see him for quite a bit. Being exposed to so much amazing music over the course of one week was really beautiful. It was my first time going to a festival too, and I went with one of my best friends. Still one of the best weeks of my life, even as it came at the end of a terrible summer.”

Can you tell us about three albums that a) define you getting into electronic music in general, b) maybe a midway album when you were fully invested in DJing and and c) a recent album that you’ve especially enjoyed? And what made these albums so special at the time.

a) Tale of Us – Endless (Deutsche Grammaphon)

The albums I “should” be using for this question would all be albums like “A Search for Sunrise” by Tiesto (someone gave me this CD for my 11th birthday so it was probably the first electronic album I listened to in full), and then “Psychic” by DARKSIDE which was much later though. These are two albums I strongly associate with getting into electronic music in general.

“Endless” was way after I got into electronic music but I wanted to use it as the answer for this question because it was incredibly impactful for me. This is the album that got me into ambient / ambient adjacent music. Had never really gotten into any kickless electronic music before this. Ominous from front to back, terrifying, daunting and tense. Ricordi, Dilemma, Notte Senza Fine are the highlights for me.

No, I will not even acknowledge that this is a Tale of Us album.

b) DJ Metatron – Loops Of Infinity (A Rave Loveletter) (All Possible Worlds)

My favorite album from one of my favorite producers ever (the amount of aliases they have…) and one of the most influential producers to me as a DJ. So many subgenres were introduced to me by digging through their different aliases. “A Rave Loveletter” is a 90-minute album that consists of almost 30 tracks, an album that for the most part lays at the intersection of techno and trance which is usually not really my thing. Bonsai is the standout track for me, the high hats are perfect. A Rave Loveletter serves as a gorgeous interlude, and the Loop tracks are really useful and interesting DJ tools, there’s a few really good extended edits of them too. As usual, a masterclass in sampling vocals, a masterclass in simple sound design, and another legendary deep dive into Traumprinz’ taste/lore/influences. “This is not a perfect party, and we are not the perfect people” ☺

c) Ojerime – B4 I Breakdown (Fang)

I will never pass on an opportunity to potentially put someone onto Ojerime. Unreal artist, every single one of her releases is so special, all of them are stunning. In October she released a four track EP, “The Interludes”, which ended up being my most listened to release last year (by far). Her album “B4 I Breakdown” is one of my favorite albums ever, it came out in March 2020 — incredible timing of course. The transition from Mansur’s Interlude into SWV over the same instrumental, the Sade interpolation in SWV, the reversed opening loop in Jaffna, everything is just unbelievable. I know all 28 minutes of it by heart. Albumazo.”

What do you think the dance music world needs right now? “In no particular order here are some things I think the dance music world could benefit from:

–  A spinal implant + more clubs and collectives to sign The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)

– More 4–8-hour sets

– More crossovers between R&B and dance music (e.g. Kelela’s Rave:N album + tour)

– Less arbitrary identity politics related parties (I would love to never read the term SWANA ever again)

– More DIY events so the industry doesn’t need to rely on and revolve around clubs with shitty politics

– More booking DJs who are mainly known as experts in certain genres to play different genres (e.g., DJ Nobu’s house set at Bassiani)

– More festivals with less names on the lineup but having the same artists play different sets at different stages (Freerotation the woman that you are…)

– ABOLISH VINYL ONLY RELEASES – shipping to the US is so expensive!!!!”

What was the last thing to put a big smile on your face and when was the last time you had a proper dance? “At the airport a few minutes ago, I saw a mom pushing her baby’s stroller with one hand and holding her really, really tiny baby with the other hand. Definitely made me show some teeth. On the Sunday of my last weekend in New York before going home in June, I went to Recess which is an incredible DIY party that happens a few times a year. It was my second time going. Entire lineup was lovely but Succubass’ closing set was the hardest I had danced in a while.”

You can download Truancy Sessions S01 E08: Sabrout in 320 kbps and view the full tracklist on Patreon here. Your support helps cover all our costs and allows Truants to continue running as a non-profit and ad-free platform. Members will receive exclusive access to mixes, tracklists, and discounts off future merchandise. If money is tight however and you’re desperately after any ID, please leave us a comment over on the Soundcloud link and either us or Sabrout will get back to you :)

Artwork by Kushagra