COURTESY OF SIX DEGREES
DJ Cheb i Sabbah spins an eclectic sound of "Triple A."
Whereas pop performers often embellish modern musical forms with ethnic sounds from the Middle, Near and Far East (i.e., Madonna, Eric B. & Rakim, etc.), Cheb i Sabbah prefers to reverse the trend by integrating minute elements of electronica to a principally organic sound he calls "Triple A" the folk music of Africa, Arabia and Asia. Deejay mixes
‘Triple A’ soundCheb i Sabbah kicks off
a multi-island tourBy Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.com
As the story goes, Cheb i Sabbah's father, wary of the political and social climate a newly independent Algeria would bring, moved his family in 1960 to France where, years later, Cheb i Sabbah landed his first gig as a deejay, spinning old soul 45s at Paris discotheques. Soon, the young deejay would be introduced to the music of Hindustani performers in and around Paris, which to his ears shared a commonness with the Berber-influenced Malouf music of his homeland.
Cheb i Sabbah
>> 10 p.m. today at the Hawaiian Hut, 410 Atkinson Drive, also featuring Willow and the Daughters of the Nile Dance Theater and DJ G-Spot. $12, 21 and over; $15, 18-20. Call 955-4811.
>> 10 p.m. Monday at Wave Waikiki, 1877 Kalakaua Ave., also featuring BhavaHari. $8, 21 and over; $10, 18-20. Call 941-0424.
For a time, Cheb i Sabbah worked as a sound collagist for the Living Theatre, the acclaimed theatrical touring company whose advocacy for social change, while innovative during its inception in 1947, continued to break new ground in the 1960s. His experiences with theater brought him to America, where he eventually found a home base in San Francisco as a respected fixture in that city's club scene.
His two dates in Honolulu kick off a small tour of the islands, which will also include Maui and the Big Island.
COURTESY OF SHAWN FORD
Willow and the Daughters of the Nile Dance Theater will perform with Cheb i Sabbah.
AMONG Los Angeles native Marques Wyatt's claims to fame is his vital role as one of the West Coast's house music pioneers. As co-owner of now-legendary nightclub Mac's Garage, Wyatt introduced many L.A. night-lifers to house in the late 1980s, inviting such early house music vocalists as Adeva, Liz Torres and CeCe Rogers to perform for the first time ever in Los Angeles.
COURTESY OF OM RECORDS
Marques Wyatt begins Om Records' series of monthly parties at the W.
In the early '90s, his Brass events brought cutting-edge acid jazz/rare groove artists like the Brand New Heavies, Young Disciples and Jamiroquai out to the Left Coast, and on the strength of his reputation as both a deejay and promoter, Wyatt took up residency at several nightspots in Los Angeles and San Francisco through the remainder of that decade. He has recently made the jump to producer and remixer, working with artists like Eddie Amador, DJ Garth and Kim English.
Wyatt's performance tonight at the W Honolulu Hotel marks the first in a series of monthly parties at the hotel for visionary San Francisco label Om Records.
>> 9 p.m. today at W Honolulu Hotel, 2885 Kalakaua Ave. Call 922-1700. Marques Wyatt
Inspired by record sales and positive response to Om's Soulstice show at the W this past June, the label has promised to add Honolulu to its slate of monthlies, an honor granted to only a handful of cities nationwide.
Click for online
calendars and events.
