NOWADAYS EVERYONE IS SPINNING, BUT NOT EVERYONE IS AN ARTIST: OMAR BASAAD
Omar Basaad is coming to the UAE! City Times spoke to the first official EDM producer to represent Saudi Arabia about his influences growing up, what it takes to be a real DJ and the importance of social media
DUBAI IS A city of DJ loving, concert-going folks. Not only do we support our local DJs but we love to welcome them from all over the world. All the more reason why we suggest you check out UNITE with Tomorr beatport owland at Du Forum, Abu Dhabi on July 28.
As you probably know, the artist and DJ line-up for the festival is often or not mind boggling. This year, you can expect to party with Dutch powerhouse duo Lucas & Steve, Dutch/ Turkish star Ummet Ozcan, Belgian house producer DJ Licious as well as a personal favourite of ours Omar Basaad.
Basaad is a Saudi Arabian-Turkish DJ, music producer, record producer and record label owner of Coexist Records. Born in Jeddah, he spent a lot of his youth producing music in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and England with his first official remix releasing in 2008 with Turkisk pop singer Tarkan. More impressively, Basaad is the first Arab to release the world’s first Arabic Dubstep track on Beatport and become the first official Saudi EDM producer to represent Saudi Arabia internationally.
We caught up with Basaad to discuss his favourite hot spots to perform at, if awards are important to him as a DJ and his journey from Saudi to the stage.
What are your thoughts on the UAE?
UAE is such a great country with amazing hospitality and diverse cultures. The audience in the UAE is different than anywhere in the world, you have almost every nation in the world as part of the crowd and that’s such a great thing – seeing people uniting under one roof.
Where is your favourite place to perform in the world and why?
Ibiza, the island has its own magical vibe.
When did you first know that you wanted to be a Dj?
When I was 15 I had a beat machine on which I was learning how to produce music. I found out that I want to perform my own songs and remixes in front of a crowd and that’s when I realised what I wanted to do.
Who were your musical influences growing up?
I grew up in a multi-cultural family and hence I’ve been influenced in a wide spectrum of musical styles. Daft Punk was one of my major inspiration.
How important are awards to you as an artist?
Awards keep creativity up and ahead in the industry by supporting diverse entertainment content. However, an audience and the crowd engagement with an artist has always been the final say. They are always the biggest award to an artist.
Which contemporary DJs or musicians do you like?
I’m loving Ta-KU and Mura Masa lately and I’ve been listening to 6lack and Moy Baun and Gesaffelstien.
As a successful DJ what percentage of what you do goes beyond music and more into the business/marketing side of things?
Marketing and the business aspect of music is almost my daily thing that I deal with. I deal with all the releases on my label Coexist. I work with the crew on handling different deals that we want to collaborate from brands to projects. I also have a music business degree.
What is the biggest misconception people have about being a DJ?
The amount of fun that they witness from an artist on stage is actually a celebration of hard work.
How important is social media in what you do? How have you utilised this platform?
Social media is a crucial thing. Social media nowadays is your gateway to success. A lot of artists made it either through Instagram by posting a clip of their song and obviously the sound cloud generation we live in has been important for discovering artists.
These days it seems that anyone who thinks they can turn tables, or download a few programs to mix a few songs are calling themselves a DJ. What do you think makes a “real” DJ?
The artistry of aesthetics is what differentiates a performer from an artist. Everyone can DJ but not everyone can create, produce or entertain the crowd. Nowadays everyone is spinning, but not everyone is an artist.
It’s really important to stay relevant these days as an artist in the music industry. A lot of musicians
and celebrities stay relevant by being on everyone’s newsfeed and in the media for good, bad and personal reasons.
What’s your take on that? How do you try and stay relevant?
Content is king these days. That’s why we see everyone is working on their content posts to stay relevant. I stay relevant with my music and my music is forever.
What advice do you have for young DJs out there trying to make it in the region?
Work on your vision, learn how to produce music, play the music you like, be patient and consistency is the key.
Do you have a ritual before you jump on stage and perform?
Not really.
What can audiences expect from you at UNITE with Tomorrowland?
Heavy bass with an island vibe.