The title بكرة (bukra), the Egyptian Arabic colloquial word for “tomorrow”, introduces a new single from Marwa Morgan, produced by El Ärkitekt. Built around Morgan’s voice with violin, accordion and hand percussion, the recording uses instrumentation associated with the Arabic ensemble tradition she grew up hearing in Cairo. Written by lyricist Montasser Hegazy and composed by Ahmed Bahr, “Bukra” is now available on major streaming platforms.

Hegazy and Bahr wrote the song with Morgan’s vocal line as the primary instrument, and the ensemble around her reflects that. Ayman Asfour plays violin, Georges Chedid plays accordion and Ghassan Sawalhi plays hand percussion as well as taking care of mixing and mastering, with El Ärkitekt producing the session. Accordion and violin have been constants in Egyptian classical and popular ensemble recording since the mid-twentieth century, and both appear here alongside Sawalhi’s hand percussion as the entirety of the arrangement behind Morgan’s voice.

Morgan grew up in Cairo with classical Egyptian and wider Arabic music as a constant point of reference and began singing at twelve. Since moving to New York City in 2015, she has performed with ensembles in the United States and appeared on stages including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, carrying that background into work with Arabic music projects and orchestras.

Listen to “Bukra” by Marwa Morgan on the major streaming platforms