SABO

Mention the name Sabo to anyone familiar with the tropical end of Electronic Music and the response will be unanimous: deep, unquestioning respect, tinged with a healthy measure of awe. For the past 15 years, the globetrotting DJ and producer, now based in Los Angeles after moving from his native New York, has set the benchmark for his peers, thanks to his unmistakable signature style: 'Funky music to make you feel good', as he describes it - an irresistible, resonant, Balearic fusion that draws upon house, tropical bass, Latin, Brazilian, Afrobeat, disco, reggae, Cumbia, Dub, Miami bass, hip hop, funk, soul, and Moombahton. In a glowsticks era when the word 'uplifting' has lost much of its meaning, Sabo's productions, many released via his own Sol*Selectas label, are every bit uplifting as they are finely crafted and timeless. It's led him to performing alongside the likes of Sting, Erykah Badu, Brazilian Girls, Dj Craze, Osunlade, Doc Martin, and Aloe Blacc, while publications such as Rolling Stone, Spin, Mixmag and The Fader, through to tastemaker sites like XLR8R, Generation Bass, and MTV Iggy have all queued up to acknowledge his talents. It has also led him to become a pivotal part of the fast-growing moombahton scene, with the sound's creator, Dave Nada, openly crediting Sabo's experiments with traditional latin cumbia and modern beats for Bersa Discos as a key influence on his Dutch house-reggaeton derived sound. Not only was he a major factor in its inception, Sabo remains one of the biggest influences on its ascent. He's responsible behind many of the genre's key tracks, he's a driving force behind the already legendary Moombahton Massive parties at Washington DC's U Street Music Hall and LA's Vibrate monthly, and as the compiler of the seminal Moombahton Massive EPs, has set the tone for a legion of producers. Influential record labels such as Diplo's Mad Decent and MAN Recordings out of Berlin have commissioned him to remix their artists. He's had great success as a recording artist for a number of other respected labels, including his own, Sol*Selectas, T & A Records, Wonderwheel Recordings, nu-cumbia label Bersa Discos, Chusma Records, and on Irma Records with partner Zeb. In that time he's remixed and collaborated with such artists as Dennis Ferrer, Gregor Salto, Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Jackson, Nadastrom, and Amadou & Miriam to name just a few. As a DJ his career has included residencies at U-Street Music Hall, Cielo, Output Club, Submercer, and Bembe. He currently produces and hosts the online monthly radio show Moombah Fiesta on Electric Sound Stage (a sub divison of iHeartRadio.com), and had a long-term spell managing NYC's legendary record store, Turntable Lab. Add all this up and you begin to see why Sabo is held in awe by everyone who's heard him in action. "Nobody has that groove like Sabo does – he’s the funkiest dude on the planet. He just has a natural funk that DJs and producers strive for their entire careers," Dave Nada, moombahton originator