The EDWIN Music Channel has been an incubator for thrilling, genre-blurring mixes fashioned by world-renowned DJs, producers and tastemakers. To celebrate a new era and decade of EDWIN, specially-curated mixes by the likes of Phillip Jondo and Low Bat were previously released.
Next up on the conveyor belt is Parisian DJ Hadj Sameer with mix No. 103. Sameer is a true archivist raiding the vaults of obscure world music rhythms, hip hop samples and psychedelic-funk gems; traversing the introspective realm of Melbourne's Allysha Joy to the future jazz of Otakee, he conjures up an experience that is fresh yet referential, raw yet full of verve.
Tune into the mix now and read an excerpt of EDWIN Music Channel's interview with Hadj Sameer below…
– – –
– – –
What was your musical intake when you were younger? How did you become a "top-tier musical digger"?
Long story short, my parents had their own small and humble record collection. They gathered different genres: middle eastern music, American jazz, French disco, psych rock but also chart music from the 70s. In fact, being originally from Algeria and Turkey, born and raised partly in the western Parisian suburbs, spending a few years abroad mostly in the UK, my musical landscape is diverse.
The next step was when I started recording hip hop FM radio shows on tapes with my sister when I was in middle school. Then I dived into my parents' collection again during my high school years. Finally, I started buying records and discovering new genres on my own thanks to the internet. I love digging and for me, music is comparable to the cosmos, a vortex of genres, styles, grooves, coming from everywhere. I can give you tips in French jazz and then recommend some niche West Indian invisible records or jungle 12".
What are your favourite places to dig for new music and why?
Before answering your question, I would first like to share with you what I call digging. Digging for me is the process by which we discover a musical project, be it vinyl, cd or cassette, and how we derive substance from it. Unfortunately, this definition today is biased by the speculative vinyl market, with an extraordinary rating system based on hype and other irrational factors, forgetting the essential music itself and what it can bring us.
My favourite places to dig are flea markets, especially the one in Porte de Clignancourt. Then for worldwide jazz and hip hop, my favourite spot is Superfly Records. For electronic music, my best spots in town are clearly Heartbeat and Syncrophone Records. I have so much respect for our elders and the previous collectors' generations – every single interaction with them is a blessing.
You have a residency with Rinse France. What are you trying to accomplish with your radio show? You play B2B sets with guests like Meftah and Butterbandz from Detroit and JR Chaparro or Ko Saito from Tokyo.
I've been running my monthly radio show on my own for more than five years now. It's such an amazing and familiar platform where I have the opportunity to express widely and freely my art without any constraints. Shoutout to the whole crew! I'm doing vinyl-only shows simply because I'm way more comfortable with vinyl decks in terms of sensations and especially in the way I build up a vibe as a journey for the listeners.
I feel fortunate enough to have my own musical space and time slot where I'm able to share my own music and projects with my friends. Most of my friends in the scene come from a natural interactions we had during gigs, or through social networks. Therefore, hosting some of them on my radio show for me is a way to materialize and give relief to the fellowship, in a sense.
Your Rinse show also features a wide array of styles from Zouk to hip hip, to fourth world grooves to house rhythms. Can you tell us about your diversified taste?
I would define me as a UK-like DJ and selector. I have a very curious mind and I can put my attention simultaneously on distinct and diametrically-opposed genres. But to give you a brief idea, the backbone of my musical curiosity is a generic term called "Black Music" from soul to jazz to Detroit techno, Chicago house, broken beat and so forth. I really miss London, I haven't been there for almost two years and I nostalgically got back into jungle lately, reminding me of the years I spent there when I was younger.
As a digger and DJ, what qualities do you look for in music?
One word: Energy! I'm looking for songs that can make my soul and other people vibrate. Music is one of the best vectors to share emotions. Without emotions, music is pointless according to me.
What records from the past coined your life?
A. Lunatic – Mauvais Oeil, Hiroshi Yoshimura – Soundscape 1: Surround, Ahmed Malek – Musiques originales de films, Moodymann – The Silent Introduction, Ali Mohamed Birra – Ali Mohammed Birra with the Adu Band.
Finish this sentence: 'The world would be a batter place if only…?"
…racism didn't exist (or at least ignorance).
If somebody gives you a million quid and you have 24 hours to rinse it, what would you do?
I would buy a big house by the seaside with my parents, who would travel with me and invest most of the money in the construction of wells and infrastructures such as schools for people in need in Africa. I'm not really attached to the value of money; I'm just looking for a comfortable but not wealthy standard of living.
– – –
Discover a host of recent mixes over on the EDWIN Music Channel HERE.
