Sobek’s positive house vibes
The story of the DJ, who named himself after the Egyptian crocodile god, does not fit into any typical scheme. Socialised by Drum’n’Bass in the early 2000s, he continued to move in a variety of styles including Hip-Hop, Electro, House, Drum’n’Bass, Breakbeat and Easy Listening. In the years that followed, however, it became increasingly clear that for his DJ ambitions, he has to forget mixing several sounds and narrow his musical spectrum, so he got rid of the abundant styles that were out of breath.
Then Sobek finally found his passion and destiny: House music and its early roots. He loves positive house vibes, especially when they are touched by different cultures and folk elements, but Sobek is very open to anything new that represents a value. Currently, he releases his EP “Modest Is Hottest” on the label of the worldwide celebrated Super Flu, Monaberry. We had a little chat with Sobek.
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Sobek talks about his latest release and things related to being an artist
The year is drawing to an end – how was it for you in 2018?
2018 is an absolute highlight so far. A lot of good things happened to me. I had the chance to explore and play in Kenya & Uganda early this year, had my debut at Heart Ibiza in the summer, later on, joined the Monaberry team. I also had very successful projects such as “Jewel Of The Nile” on Blond:ish’s fresh label Abracadabra, or the remix for Djuma Soundsystem which’s been played at almost every show of Black Coffee this year. Not to miss the first proper EP “Modest Is Hottest” which is recently out on Super Flu’s Monaberry.
Tell us about how you ended up with playing and producing electronic music please.
As a young clubber I got curious what’s going on- and behind the stage, so started to buy my first vinyl records. I’ve collected many different genres from drum’n’bass to hip-hop, dancehall, breakbeat, house, and always searched for the story in music. I’ve started to mix on belt drive turntables without the pitch, then bought my first 1210, later on, the second one, whilst started to play at small events, house parties. As my preference moved to mostly house rhythms, I got better opportunities to show up. The production part came in later as a natural follow up step by the years.
How has your music evolved over the years and how was/is it influenced by external factors?
The most important driver and the key of the musical evolution is consciousness in all aspects.
What were the first types of music you tried to make?
Edits of African songs!
What do you want for the electronic music scene? What development would do it good?
I think the best is being in the right place at the right time. I feel lucky so far and hope this series will stay the same.
What are currently your main challenges? What is it about DJing, compared to, say, producing your own music that makes it interesting for you?
My main challenge is scheduling releases right, and of course, catching the deadlines. DJing was the very first influence and it’s not so “dry” like studio job, so I prefer that part.
Congrats with the new release on Monaberry – can you remember producing it in the studio?
Thanks, I am happy that you like it. Oriental vibes are catchy these days, so the concept was to implement some folk elements with the right balance and avoid ending up as a snake-charmer. “Stoned Romance” was the first track finished earlier this year, then the two others done through the summer. “Emotional Chastity” reflects a little bit to my first hit, “True Anomaly”. The title track “Modest Is Hottest” is a peak time tune which is a must when you have the chance to release an EP on a label like Monaberry.
What’s it that you’ve got planned for 2019? Any new music or collaborations you want to talk about?
We’ll drop a collab EP with Palmfood on Connected Frontline early next year, and we’re also working on joint tunes with Mulya these days. Two nice remix projects are also under development, so it’s getting busy now.
New Year resolutions by the way?
Modest Is Hottest. It’s not just a life motto.
Thank you.
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