Philadelphia’s DJ Haram takes a deep dive into cross-genre club sounds with this fiery mix.
When she was a teen, DJ Haram came across a Sonic Youth CD in a local store in New Jersey and it grabbed her attention. She already had a diverse musical education, listening to pop and rap on the radio and music from the Middle Eastern diaspora with her parents, but was suddenly introduced a world of noise and improv that allowed access without rigorous classical training.
After experimenting tirelessly with synthesizers and sound design, Haram began to DJ in 2014, toying with edits along the way. Soon, she had taught herself how to produce, arrange, record and mix music and before long was working with New York-based collective Discwoman, performing regularly in Philadelphia and beyond.
Her cross-genre style of DJing, blending elements of local US dance styles like Jersey Club with Middle Eastern sounds, rap and pop, immediately centered her in a growing scene of likeminded artists. In Philadelphia, she began collaborating with Moor Mother, initially as a DJ and eventually as a collaborator in the 700 Bliss project, releasing the acclaimed Spa 700 EP on Halcyon Veil in 2018.
Last year, Haram released the astonishing Grace EP on the legendary Hyperdub imprint, cementing her unique and personal sound. The EP was written after a family tragedy, and she built a mythological world using Darbuka drums and eerie synthesizers that melted Jersey Club rhythms with sci-fi cinematics masterfully; it was among FACT’s favorite releases of 2019.
Haram’s FACT mix is a perfect illustration of her ability to crumble stuffy borders between sounds as she blends DJ Plead with Moor Mother, or Thoom’s avant schranz with Silvestre’s break-heavy rave. It’s a fizzy celebration of some of the world’s most exciting club music from a producer and DJ that’s going from strength to strength and refuses to tread water.
Tracklist:
Azu Tiwaline – ‘Itrik’
clipping. – ‘The Show’
DJ Spider – ‘Rage Clash’
DJ Plead – ‘Ya Baba’
Moor Mother – ‘After Images’
Scratchclart – ‘Storm’
Silvestre – ‘After Da Party’
Thoom – ‘Left Hand Crane’
Hi$to – ‘Oh Yeah!’
Deena Abdelwahed – ‘Lila Fi Tounes’
Ase Manual – ‘Strobe Light’
Selim X – ‘Club’
Confidence Man – ‘Does it Make You Feel’
Quest?onmarc – ‘Phoenix’
Islam Chipsy & Eek – ‘El Dynasor’
Constantine – ‘Pop It 2k19’
Snow – ‘Clash Ting’
Carmen Villian – ‘I Trust You (DJ Python Remix)’
Nazal – ‘Pigment Liner’
Roddy Rich – The Box (DJ Taj Remix)
DJ Swisha x Kanyon – ‘Luv Track’
O.M.A.A.R – ‘King Lemur’
Traxman – ‘Lil Booty on Duty’ (ft. DJ Fred)
DJ Haram – ‘Gemini Rising (Bassbear!! remix)’
8ulentina – ‘Adana’
Tayhana – ‘Petrolera’
