Satellite Voices

Dubai

The Beirut Groove Collective

February 14, 2012

Sweat-on-the-dancefloor party vibes with the funk and groove DJ combo

• Text by Simone Sebastian

The Beirut Groove Collective is a Lebanese DJ collective founded by Ernesto Chahoud (aka DJ Spindle) and Rami Obeid (aka DJ Stickfiiggr), and later joined by music journalist Jackson Allers (aka Brother Jackson) and filmmaker Ghayyan Amine (aka Heavy G). Known for their unabashed, sweat-on-the-dancefloor party vibes, Obeid and Chahoud of the BGC will be performing this Friday night at "The Music Room," as part of a new series of nights headed by local party crew "DUST". Here we speak to Obeid ahead of the performance, which is sure to include all manner of drums, breaks and vinyl rarities. 

Satellite Voices : The BGC are an institution in Beirut, flying the flag for jazz, soul, funk and rare groove. What's the party scene like there?
Rami Obied : The party scene in Beirut has always been happening. You can go out every night of the week and mingle with people in different bars and venues. Clubbing, if we are going to call it that, is left for the weekends. The one thing we feel the party scene lacks, is variety in music and soul. Our parties are definitely dance floor fillers.

SV: Tell us about the craziest, funniest, silliest thing that's ever happened at a gig?
Rami Obeid : It was at the peak of the second ever party we threw in 2009, the venue was small, the sound system was shit, people were dancing, sweating, smiling, sound levels were stuck in the red zone and smoke started rising. I remember saying to Ernesto: "I smell smoke, where is it coming from?" Ernesto: "I don't know, let's open a window or something!" And then: BOOM! The amp exploded! Party over...

SV: And the worst?
Rami Obeid : The worst was when we had set up for a party, years later with a proper sound system. Suddenly the electricity cut, which happens a lot here in Beirut, then it came back with a surge! A $9000 amp explodes just two hours before the party. We sorted it out and the show went on.

SV: Friday the 17th is going to be a mini-Beirut fest. Lazzy Lung are also scheduled to perform at another venue. Do you know the guys from the band?
Rami Obeid : Mini Beirut fest indeed. We found out the Lazzy Lung boys were playing the same night a few days ago. We know the guys very well and they are some of our biggest supporters here in Beirut. We can't wait to see all of them on Friday, it's going to be wild!

The Beirut Collective at The Music Room on February 17th @

Majestic Hotel
Ground Floor
Al Mankhool Road
Bur Dubai United Arab Emirates 04 351 8518