What is your favorite Summer Club?

It all started 4 (or 3) years ago, when James Zabiela made his Lebanese debut in the B018 parking. I had never heard of the British DJ and my better half back then surprised me with a pair of tickets. Much to my surprise, and hers, JZ’s set was absolutely mind blowing. The ultra sexy breakbeat elements he easily morphed into elegant tech-house instantly made Zabiela one of my favorite people in electronic music.

Zabiela is a man who can twist technology beyond its limits and create sounds that his machines were not built or designed to do. So much so, that the world’s most prominent DJ equipment company, Pioneer, have enlisted his help in designing their top-of-the-line turntables, the CDJ-2000s. The CDJ-2000s are used in every single respectable club or event worldwide. Yes, that’s how influential James Zabiela is in the EDM world, he literally helped build it.

Another element that makes Zabiela sets unique, is the energy and passion he portrays to his fans. In all four performances I have been lucky to be part of, he’s always come early, stayed much later than he should’ve and even stuck around to jam and experiment with the afterhours DJs! His golden locks never stay still as he jumps around and bobs his head to every single one of the 128 beats per minute in his music.

Saturday was no different. The blonde head captivated everyone’s attention, making the massive LED screens pale in comparison. But before getting to Zabiela’s set, we gotta stop and respect Hong Kong’s EDM pioneer: Lee Burridge. This was the second time I see the diverse DJ perform and what was notable this time around is that he steered away from breakbeat, Zabiela’s trademark, and instead focused on steady tech-house building it up slowly and surely for the multiple climaxes Zabiela would later induce.

Zabiela is notorious for employing several controllers in his sets. The sexiest and most well-known is of course the iPad. Zabiela links up his TouchOSC app on the iPad to AbletonLive on his Mac, which is hooked up to his mixer, CDJ2000s and of course several other controllers and effects machines. Combined, they are the best humanity can offer in terms of twisting and creating sound waves. On Saturday, Zabiela created music live with his iPad, walking around the set as the touch input on the tablet was wirelessly relayed to the rest of his decks.

His custom keyboard was also on hand, with the tiny piece of technology with a few extra buttons and faders making a huge impact on the music. Scratches, breaks and delays brought every track to a major, sustained climax, created mainly by his tiny controllers and iPad. The combination, which seemed haphazard and as-you-go created the excitement and unpredictability that make every JZ set different from the one before it. In other words, I was on my toes all throughout his set, jumping up and down at every peak.

To complete the night, my dear friends Ronin and Nesta kicked things off and Gunther and Stamina wrapped them up after the sun had risen from behind Lebanon’s mountains.

James Zabiela said his 2010 gig in Beirut was his favorite. It was also my favorite! And I’m sure this year will be his favorite as well! And I MET HIM! He is such a kind and humble person, and I love him even more after his acknowledgment of his Lebanese fans, myself included!

Images courtesy of MixFM

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