maDJam @ Le Baroque

[DIONYSOS]

[align=justify]It was about time that we as ravers took a break from all the international DJs invading Lebanon, and it's about time that our local DJs get the exposure that they merit. Last night combined both these necessities, and when it's all about maDJam you know it's all about House music!

Just when I heard that Le Baroque is in Sursok street, I assumed it would be quite a classy place to spend the night. The moment we set foot there, my assumption was validated through just a look at the cars being handed to the valet and the people stepping down from them. e-sam, SamEr, AMADEUS, Johnny, Dolphina, and myself walked in with the man of the night, maDJam, just as our very own Moudy was warming up the stone walls of the place. We ran into some good friends like Cardiac, Marquis, and JayCM who were already in before setting our coordinates for the rest of the night, right next to the DJ booth of course.

I went up the booth to say hello to Moudy, only to be surprised at hearing no monitor inside the booth. To add insult to injury, the booth itself is a cave-like structure, so not only was the music arriving to the booth with delay, but it was also echoing, which is not quite the healthiest scenario for a DJ to beatmatch. Luckily, a monitor was brought in towards the end of Moudy's set, and the volume level was pushed up a notch. Moudy kept delivering one Electro House tune after the other as the place was getting more and more full of not quite your typical raver crowd but a lot of beautiful people. Vibrating basslines and dirty beats

maDJam took over the lead in no time, mixing in his first track of the night over Moudy's last, which is a sign of respect as opposed to fading the music out and slamming in an intro. I'm not too educated in the sub-genres of House, but I believe maDJam managed to deliver a careful blend of Electro and Funky House with the occasional Minimal exception. Regardless of where each track fits on the House spectrum, the music was as good as House could possibly get, and we were just digging it! maDJam pulled out a very diverse and rich set, as if he was showcasing the different sounds that today's House music has to offer, proving to the doubters that House isn't necessarily about monotony and stale formulas, but still is about innovation and creativity.

His crowd interaction needs no introduction really, as most of you have already witnessed his performances in the warmup sessions he was handed. Funny, sociable, interactive, crazy at times, but above all he knows his music, and that could be as indispensable to a DJ as knowing his gear is. Alas, the crowd itself was disappointing. Just as I was expecting (but hoping I'd be mistaken in my speculation), Le Baroque was filled with a high-class clientel whose sole concern appeared to lie in ordering champagne bottles and checking their makeup every other minute. A DJ of maDJam's calibre deserves a better, much better crowd than last night's turnout. Nevertheless, this did not prevent him from giving out his best performance, and those who were there for the music sure received what they came for.

Technically, maDJam is wizard, period. Be it listening to his effects and transitions from the dancefloor, or observing his tweaks in the booth, one cannot but be impressed, very impressed, at what these magic fingers are capable of, especially if one is a DJ and has a better understanding of the technical dimension of the DJ craft. maDJam's transitions are never just about tight beatmatching and delicate EQ work; they're about effects, filters, loops, and calculated improvisations. I've always been highly impressed with maDJam's technicalities whenever I heard him out live at an event, but it wasn't until fixating my head above the Pioneers that I was in awe. Before last time, I used to consider him "the region's best House DJ", but after getting an eyes-on taste of his skills, I'd have to reformulate that to "the region's best DJ", end of discussion. Truly, chapeau-bas Ahmad, nothing could possibly be added to that.

All in all, it was quite a fun night with great music and a few good friends. I personally enjoy these local DJ parties a lot as they offer a different experience than attending a massive event with a global DJ, and maDJam was the right pick for the night. I'm looking forward for more of such nights, as our local clubbing scene isn't quite as healthy as some would think, which is precisely what Marquis and I were discussing last night. Promotion and organization of EDM events has grown to become a dog-eat-dog business, and local DJs are not given the credit they deserve. Nonetheless, I do hope to see maDJam again very soon in a different venue and with a different crowd, as I hope that this summer will feature more and more of these local DJ nights. Onto the next![/align]

[Tala]

[align=justify]We, Dio, Sam, Isam, Jhonny, AMADEUS and maDJam arrived at "Le Baroque" at around 11:20 where Moudy was already spninning.
As Dio already said, the place is for people who just care about their bottle of champagne and fixing their make-up. It's so true!
I was so disappointed when i first entered and saw the crowd. Neither Moudy nor maDJam deserve such a crowd. They gave a lot despite everything and didn't stop expressing their passion for the music they were playing.

I felt more at ease when i saw Marquis, Dj Cardiac (nice to meet you by the way), and JayCm being part of the crowd. I honestly enjoyed Moudy's set, despite the problem he was facing with the monitore thing. The tracklist was nice and man you got a nice taste. (I just remembered Da Da Da LOL).

As for maDJam, the guy who got us used to his superb technical skills in most of the warm up(s) of big Djs, didn't disappoint me either this time but on the contrary, he impressed me one more time since we were much closer to him; i love your crazy moves! You should have seen his amazing interaction with "his" crowd (though it wasn't up to the level).
Great tracklist for a great Dj. RESPECT Ahmad.

DIONYSOS and I had to leave early due to exams obligations.
It was nice over all. keep it up Guys and see you soon [/align]

[Moudy]

Dio ... u always catch the right moments of the night ..

i arrived around 10:45 ... the place was a bit full ... my biggest shock was the DJ booth .. it was a cave .. so u only hear echooo sound coming from it .. plus the thing which i hate and many other DJs do that .. to find out there is no monitor .. so how the hell i should mix .. anyways i managed without hearing nothing of the sound coming out ... i started my set with minimal tracks with a touch of bass lines to get the people in the mood for crazy tunes .. my music started to climb to reach the level of electro beats to give the people something to go crazy on .. but as DIO the quality were all about the CHAMPAGNE competition between each other and who is the sexiest babe on his side ... TALA/SALEEM u know what i mean the stripper who was next ot us lol ... anyways with tooo much technical problems in the DJ booth i managed to give a clean warm up set .. for the one and only maDJam ... thank god a monitor was brought on my last track .. lucky me lol .. ahmad started with one hell of a track that promised of a one hell of a set .. ahmad transitions and effects amazed me all the time .. and yes he deserve to be one of the best house DJs in the region ... as i said b4 the people werent the type of maDJam music .. but nevertheless he gave them what he is known abt ... the night was perfect to me and to the people who understand the music .. i really enjoyed it with my dearest friends ... Dio - Dolphina - Johnny - DJ Cardiac - esam .. and samer who i didnt see much just for a hello .. he had to leave early due to work + nice seeing Marquis and JayCm ... anyways thnx for THERAPY Productions for giving me this chance ..

yet more to come ... c u on the dancefloor

and as Tala mentioned ... DA DA DA

[JayCM]

Thanx for this great review Dio!!

I guess that we all enjoyed the music that was being played yesterday! hoping we're gonna have lots of these nights and more and more clubs playing EDM this summer (hopefully, Trance will be part of their EDM definition).

Moudy, it was my 1st time seeing u live! I enjoyed a lot the first part of your warmup, some really good tracks u played (wish i knew their name! tracklist?)!

And MadJam... Aaah... i was projected to Pepermint last night! Only it was in a way smaller place, with a less 'edm oriented' crowd
I was with a couple of friends, not really involved in EDM music, but i can tell you, whether it was Moudy playing or MadJam, they enjoyed the music. One of them was even like "shit, why don't u tell me they play this kind of music in events?? I would have gone!!" -- i was like DUUUH!!!! My point is that these night can only be good for the scene: they bring exposure to people who have not. And who know's, maybe one of those make-up girls liked the music and will actually drag her benz boyfriend to couple of events this summer, and actually enjoy it!!

Anyways, i'm eager to seeing more and more of these nights this summer. Gonna be checking out Tribeca this weekend hopefully, so i'll lte you know about it!

Cheers! and Rave on...

[Tala]

For maDJam: i love "Deep Throat"
For Moudy: need that track you said you're gonna look out for it!

[Path;)s !]

[shhhoff]

[Nino]

[pTq]

[Icepick]

Thanks for the great review DIO! Most importantly thanks to maDJam that played "Deep Throat" amazing tune !!!!

Peace

[maDJam]

Hey guys!

Happy you enjoyed the tunes- I wish I got a chance to see the venue earlier to CLEAR THOSE TABLES... haram I noticed Dio and Dolphina shaking in their positions but not able to dance as there was barely any space.

It was that group of TH'ers that were the focal point from the DJ booth.. it was a fun night- but could be improved with the removal of the large tables to create some kind of dancefloor.. so we can exchange the energy

Thanks for coming guys.. and HAPPY B-DAY again Sam..

see you tonight at Dave Seaman (who ROCKED here in Dubai last night!!!) or tomorow at One Big Sunday


if you gonna come to crystal tongiht- dave starts at 2:30... but he has to leave by 5:30...

it's all good!

thankx again!

[samer]

[Gladius]

[shhhoff]

[Trancelvania]