Catch Bachir Salloum at Blue Marlin Ibiza on April 6 as he plays on the roster Jamie Jones’ launch of ‘Paradise.’
Bachir Salloum an enterprising Lebanese DJ, Producer, and Event Organiser in Dubai tells us about his beginnings in electronic dance music, and his slots at hot ticket internationally branded gigs coming to our scene.
Looking back in your biography it says your older brother was a hip hop R&B DJ. What was your deciding factor to get into another quite different genre and not follow his lead?
My older brother had a lot of influence on me. He was my door to this beautiful universe, I will be forever grateful to him. Yes, he was an R&B and Hip Hop DJ, and at that age, I liked that genre of music. But then I moved to heavy metal and rock, where I started playing the electric bass and attended lots of musical concerts.
Throughout my teenage years, I was inspired by big rock bands, such as Pink Floyd and Queen.
Later on, I started going to our famous Lebanese clubs B018, Orange Mechanic, and Strange Fruits. It was then that I started feeling something amazing, goosebumps that I never felt before, a whole new universe opened for me; a universe with unlimited exploration of new feelings.
For those who aren’t familiar, how would you explain your sound and genre you operate in?
Well, my sound is groovy, emotional and melodic vibes with progressive elements. Add to this some percussion and there you go, you have my sound.
Are you responsible for bringing the electronic dance music event and international record label ‘All Day I Dream‘ (created by infamous electronic music personality Lee Burridge and Grammy nominated artist Matthew Dekay) to the UAE?
I am not solely responsible for bringing the brand to the UAE. My partner in life, Abeer and I, first attended ‘ADID’ in Berlin at a club called Else. We were blown away by vibes and ambience we felt that day. It was magical. We then realised the Dubai scene was not offering anything quite the same and we felt it was the perfect opportunity for us to introduce such dreamy vibes to the city.
Through Pureink a company formed to promote these events, we have been able to offer something new and much needed.
You mention your genre as “Dreaming.” Explain?
(For me) Dreaming is when no inhibitions exist, when you drift away, when you can’t stop smiling.
In the UAE ‘All Day I Dream Of Cities In The Clouds’ has also appeared at Dubai venues Arabian Ranches and Dubai Design District. Tell us some memorable moments or comments you’d like to make about those venues?
Arabian Ranches was the perfect venue for our Season 1 opening. It had such a magical feel to it, the sunset was mesmerizing complimented with music by Lee Burridge, Lost Desert and local hero hoolz…we just couldn’t go wrong.
Dubai Design District was very different but special nonetheless. It had a more industrial feel to it. The closing was absolutely epic. We hosted Lee Burridge, YokoO, and Viken Arman (Live). A lot of people still talk about it.
But you know…the beauty about ‘All Day I Dream’ is that we can transform any venue. Over and over again, it’s been proven that the magic follows and continues wherever we go.
Tell us about a few of the other standout residents who have been on various lineups around the world with ‘All Day I Dream’?
One of the ‘ADID’ residents who really stands out for me is Bahraini Zone+ (aka Zeyad Mohsen) and I’m not saying this because he’s a close friend of mine but truly because of his amazing talent as both a producer and a DJ. He inspires me immensely and I was very happy for him when he achieved his dream and signed on the ADID Label @AllDayIDream.
Here’s a story about Zone+. Last year he and I traveled to Romania for Sunwaves @SunwavesFest and during the festival, we were talking about how amazing it would be if he or we were to play as part of the festival’s line up.
Low and behold, a few months later, one of his tracks gets signed by ‘ADID’ and he gets an invitation from Lee Burridge to play as part of the ADID stage at Sunwaves! How amazing is that?
You recently played with the local DJs on the bill for Blue Marlin Ibiza UAE on support lineup, playing in a line before duo Ame DJ and Stephan Bodzin. Tell us your thoughts about these two headlining artists and what you did with your set on the day?
I don’t think there’s much to say about these two legends right there. Ame is one of my all time favorites, especially when he goes b2b with Dixon. Stephan Bodzin is a live act guru. I really enjoyed playing for the first time at Blue Marlin Ibiza UAE.
I started my set slow with a dreamy twist, so the crowd can enjoy a drink or two while chit chatting and catching up.
When sun sets, I got more into the groovier sounds with a melodic twist to warm up the dance floor for the coming acts after me.
You’ve put out an EP with another artist that launched 15th March. Tell us a little bit about your music?
My EP “Odin” with my friend Zone+ was released on a great label, ‘Earthly Delights’ @delightsearthly compromising of 3 tracks.
This was actually the first EP we produced together, Zone+ and I. One day we said let’s sit together in the studio and see what happens. We did, and the chemistry was there, we know each other well which is very important in a collaboration of two producers. We actually sat for almost two weeks in the studio on daily basis. We produced 6 great tracks. All got released.
First EP was on Belgian label ‘Sound Avenue’ @soundavenue. We are also working on a few projects that will be released later this year.
I also have a solo EP called “reebA”. Its three originals and three remixes from great producers coming out on Dream Culture @DreamCultureTO label later on this year.
Get your tickets to Bachir’s gig here.