If ever there was a country that needed something like crowdfunding, it's Egypt. It's become a cliche, but the January 25th Revolution triggered a new wave of musicians, filmmakers, artist and entrepreneurs finding their voices, with websites such as Kickstarter, indiegogo and Zoomal proving to be invaluable in proverbially oiling the proverbial wheel.

The latest to do so is one Ramy Essam - remember him? Essam was one of many musicians that came to prominence during Jan25, after his song, Irhal, gained huge popularity among protesters. But while many had the tag 'Voice of the Revolution' thrust upon them, few - if any - deserve the title more than Essam, who was arrested and tortured in March 2011, with the photo showing his torture marks after his release coming to be one of the first defining images of the revolution.

Now living in Sweden after being given safe city residence in 2014, Essam has taken to Kickstarter in order to finish his newest album. Fusing the sounds of the east and west in a mashup of oriental beats and modern rock riffs, Essam has been recording in Stockholm and Paris with several established European producers and artists and hopes to reach his goal of 50,000kr ($5,885 or 4,6078LE) in time for an April 2016 international release.

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By Kalam El Qahaira