Boddhi Satva was my number one producer for the year that passed. In a previous post, I wrote about Manoo being the one but it really was an impossible job to choose between the two because both producers are dope but I could not choose one over another.

It’s as if someone asked me to choose between BlackBerry and iPhone (I have both…)

I like Satva’s raw style. Polished, clean mixes are not his prescription. His productions are wild, loud and enchanting. Voodoo I say! LOL

He has this knack of producing beats that are “in reverse” making it programming his music an art in itself. He hails from Banguin in Central African Republic (Google it… it’s not a region, it’s a country ) so he has African influences in his blood.

I met Boddhi in 2008 when he made a quick pit stop in Montreal and we invited him to come jam with us. He dropped good house music which was kinda expected. But he turned the place into a riot when he effortlessly and out of the blue bombarded us with Coupe Decale and Soukouss. I will never forget that night lol People were coming from the streets and rushing into the bar and dancing their butts off. Weeks after the visit, people were still asking about him.

At first when I heard Boddhi’s music I did not even think that it was House music because while it had a house beat everything else sounded different from your average 4/4. Very few people can produce a track that has a BPM of 123 and still sound as intense as 134 Techno track.

Here’s a track of his that I have probably played at every single gig I have done since it was released:

Circles 2009 (Boddhi Satva Ancestral Soul Remix) by Mustafa Feat. Natalia   (18583 KB)
Listen on posterous

Needless to say, Boddhi Satva is friendly and funny chap. The fact that we both are from Africa and grew up in countries away from home made it that we had some jokes that only us could get.

Did I mention that unlike most DJs or producer he is quite a good dancer? I was amused when I saw him play and he was on the dancefloor grooving with everyone. How amazing is that?

Okay, enough jabber. I am sounding like a follower of a cult leader who is brainwashed lol

I will let his music do the talking.

Satva’s production schedule is mind blowing… when does he sleep? He has so many tracks out at any given time!

In 2009, the Louie Vega camp took notice of him which means that the world finally recognize his talent. He has started touring the world and everywhere he goes people realise that he’s is equally a good DJ who knows how to charm a dancefloor and leave you longing for more.

And by the way… the mere fact that he produced a track with Oumou Sangaré (google her up or check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oumou_Sangaré) puts him in a super league that not many producers will ever come close too.
(Check out the vid below with Sangaré where you can see some of trademark dance moves)

And what about his name? Ah…. you will have to ask him for yourself. While you are at it, try to get him to tell you his age*…. he refused to disclose it to me but he forgot that his fame would eventually lead me to meet his high school mates who were in the same class and I simply asked them how old they were and made some simple deductions lol

About Boddhi Satva:

http://www.boddhi-satva.com
http://www.myspace.com/boddhisatvavarti
http://www.myspace.com/offeringrecordings

* and his legal first name

Posted via email from JaBig’s JaBBer

The producer that really did it for me in 2009 is Manoo.

Manoo is an assuming DJ turned producer from Lyon, France who makes some of the best deep house and afro-fueled house music I have heard in my life.

He reminds me of DJ Rasoul from San Francisco in the early 2000 (whatever happened to him???). Manoo’s deep house production is the ultimate illustration of what deep house is. His beats are bouncey and his grooves are, well, groovy.

I was lucky enough to meet Manoo in Lyon when I did a 14-day visit of Lyon, London, Dubai, NYC in 2007. He was playing an early set at Ambassade in Lyon I was taken aback because he played his music the way I would play it. And I really liked the fact that he played his House really, really slow making the basslines more accentuated and his long smooth mixes gave the music a new life.

And a person, he is very low key and very humble. He just keeps to himself and unlike me who just jabbers to much, he is short on words but when he says something, it’s potent. I kept telling him how talented he was and how people loved his music and it was news to him!

That’s really someone who lets his talent do all the talking!

Good DJs seldom make good producers and vice versa. (I am a terrible producer )

Manoo excels at both.

One track is so very deep house that even Ron Trent would say “Correct!” while his afro-flavoured house takes me straight back to my continent of origin. And, let me not forget about the technoey stuff that make the minimal techno folks scratch their heads in über amazement.

You think that I am full of crap and sound like a used car salesman? How about, you listen to three of his 2009 productions that really blew my mind?

The man is so manoo-fique it’s mezmerizing!
The Deep House Side of Manoo:

Club Z by Manoo   (5111 KB)
Listen on posterous

The Afro-Flava House Side of Manoo:

Da Na Ma (Manoo Remix) by Yacoub   (6085 KB)
Listen on posterous

The Twisted-Techno side of Manoo:

Don’t Laugh (Manoo Remixes) (Manoo’s Laugh Remix) by Winx   (5120 KB)
Listen on posterous

(You can buy all these tracks at Traxsource.com, where I got them from)

In July (2009), I was performing at an open-air party when I decided to play a Manoo Medley. What was supposed to last 5 tracks went into two hours. The crowd was going nuts and I was in heaven!

If I were ever to be a producer, I would wish to have Manoo’s Midas touch. Alas, I am not. So I am going to stick to playing his music.

Manoo is my producer of 2009 (alongside Boddhi Satva – read why in the next post). Something tells me that I should just remove him from my top list because he went straight to the hall of fame. I hope that when I embark on my Big Journey (I am the first DJ to attempt a Round-The-World Tour By Car to set a few Guinness World Records and raise awareness about and funds for the one billion worldwide who are going to bed hungry tonight. Find out more at http://www.facebook.com/JaBig or http://twitter.com/JaBig or view the announcement at: http://www.jabig.com/2009/12/16/at-last-jabigs-biggest-announcement-ever/)

About Manoo:
http://www.myspace.com/myspacecommanoo
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manoo/162103407848

Posted via email from JaBig’s JaBBer