COURTESY OF DEREK SNAPE Afro-Mystik members Omega (woman pictured) and Chris "DJ Fluid" Smith (far right) will be at the W tonight.

Sammy looks at the past

DJ gets new quality from old hits

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Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.com

DJ Sammy Where: Mist, 1936 S. King St. When: 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. tomorrow Tickets: $15, all ages Call: 591-3500 Afro-Mystik Where: W Honolulu Diamond Head, 2885 Kalakaua Ave. When: 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. today Admission: $20, 21 and over Call: 922-3734

With its shimmering chorus of synthesizers, insistent four-on-the-floor rhythms and sprightly vocals of singer Do, DJ Sammy's remake of Bryan Adams' 1985 rock ballad, "Heaven," was the hottest dance floor hit of last summer. Depending on your point of view, the Spanish-born DJ's remarkable aptitude for siphoning the catchiest grooves from pop hits of eras past, makes him either a shrewd producer or the pop-trance equivalent of a Jawaiian cover band.

After all, for his 2002 album (also titled "Heaven"), DJ Sammy re-worked Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer" and "California Dreaming" by The Mamas and The Papas, which should tell you how desperately he'd like to break into the American market. But there's something strangely engaging about Sammy's regenerated tunes; beneath the glossy sheen and syrupy sentiments, there is an undeniable infectious quality to each song. The album's tracks are danceable and cheery, and linger in the mind long after the disc is over.

DJ Sammy's head-bobbing, foot-shuffling repertoire will be on display this weekend as the Ministry of Sound mixmaster makes his first-ever appearance in the islands as the headliner for tomorrow night's multi-DJ throwdown at Mist, which also features a long list of local DJs.

COURTESY PHOTO DJ Sammy: Re-worked Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer" and The Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreaming"

Those who'd rather not wait a full day to get their weekend started would do well to show up at the W Honolulu Diamond Head hotel tonight for a streamlined version of Afro-Mystik, the San Francisco-based ensemble recently voted "Best Live Act" by the weekly San Francisco Bay Guardian. Incorporating a dizzying array of musical elements from soul to samba, jazz to jungle, Afro-Mystik exhibits the kind of eclecticism one might expect from a visionary "future music" label such as Om Records.

Normally consisting of DJ Fluid (a k a Chris Smith, Om's president and founder), vocalist Omega (who also doubles as singer for Oakland hip-hop troupe Blackalicious), drummer Simone White and a flexible cast of contributors, Afro-Mystik will be pared down to a DJ-vocalist arrangement for tonight's show, the seventh in a series of Om monthlies at the W.

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