James Zabiela

Space, the final frontier. As the smartest club in Ibiza opens its doors to welcome in their shiny new resident, James Zabiela just smiles and blinks a little. See, the ride here has been kinda fast. And while its been a relatively bump-free trip to acceptance and ubiquity, it's still blinkin' quick. Two years ago, James Zabiela popped his Balearic cherry by warming up for Sasha at the place the island calls Inside At Space. Wowing the crowd - and We Love boss Darren Hughes - with two hours of snappy, synth-fixated, breakbeat action - it was a defining moment in his DJ career. Two years later, he's now the club's new bi-weekly resident. It's official. Now *that's* what I call progression.

Knowing what a great track should sound like - and the place it can be taken by warping and twisting it - is James Zabiela's forte. Layering different sounds with the aid of two Pioneer CDJ1000s, a Pioneer DJM600 and a pair of trusty Technics 1210s, his hands and ears don't let up for a second, leaving any punters feet a-moving and mouth a-gap. And his demands for such kit wherever he spins is a reminder that he's one of the scant few DJs who's pushing things forward in 03. Recorded 100 percent live, it is, at turns, trippy, bleepy and deeply - nay, downright - groovy. Oh, and watch out for a few gnarly basslines along the way. Those nasty, dirty sounds are a part of Jay-Z's signature sound now. Scratches, loops, fluttering chord changes and are all par for the course in a Zabiela set. No wonder childhood idols Depeche Mode remain his heroes - like fellow tech-house don Mathew Bushwacka!, they all understand that the best electronic music moves both heart and feet. And if the magic's there, the spirit will fly as well. And boy does this boy soar.
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