Situated at the epicenter of Europe’s club mecca, Ibiza born Djamal D. Fateh AKA O-Be garnered a unique feel for electronic music having had early exposure to the prolific luminaries headlining the party island’s most renowned events.
Close to a year before the first decade of the second millennium, Djamal immersed himself in some of Ibiza’s most prolific hotspots including Amnesia, Privilege, DC10 and Space, subsequently seizing the moment and progressively distending an extensive music collection to headline a debut gig at the opulently themed venue ‘Bazaar’ on Ibiza at the tender age of 15.
Since then Djamal has been an active DJ and music producer in the Psychedelic Trance scene under his alias ‘DJamal’. Simultaneously, he developed a esoteric fluency and natural proficiency for underground Tech House, Deep House & Techno, which prompted him to launch a new project in late 2014 under the fresh pseudonym of ‘O-BE’.
The intention of this project is to take the audience on a musical journey with underground deep and tech sounds inducing an ‘Out of Body Experience,’ leading people to ‘BE’ in a state of pure consciousness – feeling their complete presence. O-BE’s music should be experienced at it’s fullest potential by neglecting the mind, while focusing entirely on the heart and soul.
Read our chat below where Djamal speaks about his early influences, plus gives us personal insights when it comes to DJing.
Akshay – When did you start DJing?
O-Be – I started DJing at the age of 16.
Akshay – What were the influences that got you interested in DJing?
O-Be – My main influences were actually the DJs whose parties I went to, for example when I attended Amnesia Ibiza etc.
Akshay – Any particular names you would like to highlight?
O-Be – Yeah! A big influence was Ricardo Villalobos or Carl Cox when it comes to Techno. Also, Sven Vath is one of my techno heroes.
Akshay – How do you select the first track to start your set?
O-Be – It depends, if I am the opening act, then I try and select a nice track with a nice intro for the festival so I can build it up from there. If a DJ has been playing before me, then I try to select the track that suits his style so that the transition is smooth.
Akshay – Do you feel the crowd is able to appreciate the skills a DJ showcases while DJing?
O-Be – Yes, a crowd is always able to appreciate the skills. But it also depends in what country you are playing at and what musical background, the crowd has had.
Akshay – Any examples you have to support this statement?
O-Be – For example, in India especially, a lot of crowd has had exposure to commercial dance music so sometimes, I feel that the understanding of underground dance music is not there.
Akshay – According to me, a DJ’s relationship with the crowd is very important. So how do you balance between giving the crowd what they want, or introducing them to new music?
O-Be – yeah! You always have to give the crowd a platform to hear new music. Whenever I play, I feel that I am a teacher, educating the crowd in new forms of music. I also try and maintain eye-contact with the crowd, so that they feel involved. That’s my main focus always.
