Borrowed Light

– Yara Mekawei and Amir Rezk, inspired by the writings of the Desert Fathers

*Borrowed Light* is an electroacoustic composition by Yara Mekawei and Amir Rezk that explores the ontological connection between human flesh and the lunar cycles. The sonic performance weaves a multi-layered landscape of sounds: deep, earth-bound basses and organic drums capture the weight of physical bodies, whilst swirling guitar tones and electronic textures rise like shimmering moonlight. Woven into the composition is a spoken voice reciting Coptic liturgical texts such as the Midnight Praise (Tasbeha), drawing on a living Egyptian tradition that conceives of the moon as a celestial figure for the restoration of earthly flesh. By translating ancient notions of cosmological interconnectedness into an immersive contemporary soundscape, Mekawei and Rezk present an ever-changing sonic experience that functions as a typological blueprint of the realm of night. It views the night not as an empty expanse, but as a sacred ecosystem – a place of cyclical transformation and accumulated memories.