Try and imagine yourself on a tropical beach, under the starry sky, or in a forest, surrounded by nature, or even in the desert, waiting for the sun to rise once again. Concentrate on the music now, and let yourself carried away by winding melodies, warm bass and tribal vocals which evoke far ethnic lands. If you’ve heard Sabo at least once, you know that this is what his music is all about. Burning Man, Coachella, Shambhala, Fusion are just a few of the places where the American DJ has played. Boss of Sol*Selectas Records, the deep tribal label which defines his innovative approach towards music, on the decks as well as in the productions. Traditional styles mixed with modern electronic music sounds.
How did you get close to the music genre you play? Tell us how it all started.
I started buying records in 1993, and at that time I was into many different styles – hip hop, house, acid, breakbeats, reggae, jazz, funk, Latin, African and more, so I basically would just buy any record I liked. And then later I’d try to figure out how to mix them together. I have been DJing for almost 25 years now, so the sound has evolved over time, but in general, I’ve always been drawn towards tribal sounds and organic drums.
Your bio reports that your “sound is influenced by a multitude of cultures around the world”. To which culture do you feel closer?
I’d say I feel closest to wherever I am at the moment, and where I feel the most “soul”. Morocco, for example, was a place I had never been, but felt instantly connected to when I arrived there two years ago, and I still do. I made a track there, “Tiniri”, with my Moroccan friend Amine K and we went to Marrakech to record local Gnawa musicians. Last year, we ended up doing a mini 5-day festival experience in the Sahara Desert called SOLSAHARA… It was incredible. I still feel a genuine connection with Morocco and its amazing people. But even more so, I am engaged to a lovely woman from Iran, who was born and raised there. So, every day I feel very connected to her, and her Persian culture. I’m learning so much about the music from that region too, and am definitely influenced by that sound.
You recently put together a compilation called Global Entry, could you explain the concept, and how it links to your love of world culture?
The name Global Entry refers to how I feel like we as humans are all connected, and each of us can go through the same door of consciousness to awaken our higher self. Music is the vehicle or “ticket” for entering that new dimension, and Global Entry is a compilation that features artists from all around the Globe, as we can all take that journey together.
I met many of the artists of the release during my travels, and others I connected with online, after hearing their music. While our Summer compilation series focuses on those happy beach and poolside vibes, I wanted to have a new outlet for the more leftfield trippy sounds, more hypnotic and psychedelic. I’m grateful to receive so many amazing demos for Sol Selectas, but doing full EP’s doesn’t always make sense, so I like having Global Entry as a new platform to expose new talented artists and their music.
What do you want to communicate with your music? What’s the most important thing to you?
We are trying to communicate that as people we are all one race, and we should enjoy life making connections, because we should all be happy together, regardless of what language we speak or the colour of our skin. Dancing in unity is the best way to achieve this, as music is a universal language that we can all use to celebrate and express ourselves. The most important thing for me is making the dance floor feel good with the music, so I rarely play anything dark in my sets.
Seeing your spiritual background, if you hadn’t been a DJ and musician, who would you have liked to be?
I’ve been a skateboarder my entire life… much longer than I have been a DJ. Had DJing not come into my life I almost certainly would have pursued a professional career in skateboarding. I’d argue that now more than ever, skateboarding is “spiritual” for me because it’s my ultimate form of meditation. I can clear my mind entirely from thoughts, stress, or emotions while simply focusing on landing a trick.
The music genre you play is getting to be more known nowadays, yet it still remains quite a niche, where quality is more important than quantity. What do you think would happen if this genre got to a wider audience? Would it be a positive or a negative thing?
Well, it certainly would be positive, because it would help the artists to create and play this music thrive even more. This is positive music, not really meant for dark warehouses, but rather for outdoor locations where you can connect with the earth and nature, while still enjoying the music and dancing. I think it is reaching a wider audience, and a big part of that is because a lot of this music is either samples or directly influenced by indigenous music from our ancestors. We are connecting our history to the present and, hopefully, people will dig a little deeper to try and understand our past through the music.
You often jump on Burning Man’s Robot Heart bus. What do you like the most when you go to Burning Man?
Robot Heart is not only an incredible vessel for sharing music at Burning Man, but there is also a beautiful community behind it. For me the best thing about Burning Man is the selflessness, people are genuinely giving so much for absolutely zero in return, apart from the joy they receive from others. At its heart, is totally anti-capitalist, it’s about giving without expecting to receive. The people who attend Burning Man are so incredibly open-minded. So as a DJ I feel much less pressure to play the “hottest new un-released” song, and instead, I can really dig deep into my musical past and play the songs that defined me. There are no bouncers, agents, promoters, or bottle service goons, it’s just people dancing on the dust, and having the time of their lives.
Do you believe that it has changed over the years, becoming maybe too mainstream? Is the real essence of the festival still there in your opinion?
I’ve only been going for 8 years now… I imagine that before social media and internet it was very different than it is now. But of course, it has changed, as everything evolves over time. Although, I think the core values still exist and still resonate with many attendees. Sure, the media has made it a “cool thing to check off your bucket list”, but there are still thousands of people who religiously go there year after year, to share art and connect with others in a very beautiful and human way. Like in any city, you sort of know which neighborhoods to avoid, and you find your tribe.
Talking of which, you also played at Coachella. How was this experience?
Coachella was epic, such a huge festival and so many classic bands mixed with modern music. I mean, where else could I play my set at Do Lab stage to 3,000 kids going mental, then walk across the field and hear AC/DC perform on the main stage? I grew up listening to AC/DC… they rocked it live and sounded better than the cassette tapes I had at age 10! I then walked across another field, and listened to a new band I never heard before, and got completely immersed in music, which is always such an amazing thing to experience! That year it was Jungle… incredible performance. Anyway, for me that is just awesome, and I cannot imagine a music lover not enjoying that event. Performing there was incredible, but also more challenging because there is definitely a younger, more mainstream crowd… often those type of crowds have a shorter attention span. So, it’s much harder to pull off long, deep, journey sets like the one I would usually try and play at a festival.
It’s something completely different from Burning Man, we suppose. Honestly, which do you prefer and why?
I prefer Burning Man for several reasons, but mostly because Burning Man is so much more than just a music festival, it’s art, its culture, it’s connection, it’s life. Coachella is amazing, but it’s just a music festival, so you have a set list of performances, and you go there only to hear fantastic music. At Burning Man, you could literally spend a week there and never hear a DJ or band perform, but still have the best week of your life.
Being so close to nature, you must have heard about “Bye Bye Plastic”, the green-project of Blond:ish. What do you think about it? What are your opinions in regards of the plastic consumption in the music industry?
It’s great and I’m fully supporting the movement. I already have it on my rider to not have any plastic bottles or cups in the booth. I think every aspect of our lives needs to shift away from plastic as it’s creating so much trash. Every little bit helps and I think we as the music industry can help lead the change.
Talking of the music industry in general, at the end of 2019 you thanked your fans for having listened to your music, but you didn’t share your Spotify stats because “I think it’s kind of corny to make music so competitive”. What is your opinion in regards?
Spotify is not paying underground artists enough… none of the streaming platforms are! It’s just that simple. Musicians need to constantly tour to make a living, yet as I sit here and type this, NO ONE can tour any longer due to the COVID-19 crisis. The World is on lockdown for the unforeseeable future, so making a living off music is next to impossible right now. That’s why I’m not promoting Spotify. They created this meme generator to get artists to advertise them, to continue selling our music at devalued rates, which produce un-livable wages. It doesn’t promote the musicians, but the platform. By posting stats and data regarding play counts and followers, it just re-enforces this belief that music is for profit, and it creates competition between artists, which I think is very unhealthy and ego-driven. That being said, it’s probably the best streaming platform out there, and I’m grateful so many people are listening to my music, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to advertise a multi-million-dollar company that is paying me pennies for my content.
What are the future steps in your career? After the crisis is over, where around the world are we going to see you?
Right now, the focus is creating music, and pushing that music through my label Sol*Selectas, which I run with my lovely fiancé Helia. The next 2, 3 months of touring have all been cancelled, and currently in Los Angeles you cannot even leave your home. It’s a surreal time, but all I can do to stay sane, keep working on my music trying to evolve my sound. It’s a good time to hone skills and practice to become a better producer. I’m also spending a lot of time DJing at home, and I’m really enjoying the time off from constantly travelling. Spending more quality time with my fiancé and refining my cooking skills as well. I believe there is a silver lining in this whole situation, and those who choose to find the value in that will grow and prosper long after this lockdown ends.
(Cover Image © Sabo)
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