This is ‘The Spotlight.’ Many artists pass through D.C. on a weekly basis, but this column highlights one specific artist who happens to be playing in the district during the week so that you may join their journey in influencing the house music landscape.Â
James Zabiela is a DJ who not only defies genre expectations, but he plays with them like it’s a game of chess. Having shared bills with contemporary legends such as Eats Everything, Paul Woolford, Carl Craig, and Huxley in addition to playing some of the world’s premiere clubs like the UK’s XOYO, Ministry of Sound, and Space in Ibiza, Zabiela is a force to be reckoned with. Having mastered the art of experimentation, no one DJ set is the same as he noodles with loops and beatmashing – oftentimes implementing homemade beats on the go – further solidifying his status as one of the most gifted technical DJs in house music. These facets, combined with his spectacular energy and love for rave culture, makes James Zabiela an unstoppable machine.
With influences that range from Chicago house to breakbeat and liquid drum & bass to tech house, this Southampton DJ/Producer, as a self-proclaimed “weirdo,” has never been the one to shy away from geeking out over really deep cuts or new, fusion styles. And with his nerdy obsession with new toys, whether it’s a new sampler from Pioneer or Ableton updates, James Zabiela oftentimes finds himself pushing the boundaries of the tools at his disposal. This wealth of musical knowledge has presented him with quite the mental databank to draw from which has led to credits on labels like Renaissance, Wall of Sound, and the legendary Global Underground.
More recently, Zabiela launched his own label, Born Electric, leading to the release of his track “The Healing,” a trance-infused, harmonious epic that saw love from Sasha, 3LAU, and remix treatments from Hot Chip and Doc Daneeka among others.
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Tonight, you can catch James Zabiela in D.C. at U Street Music Hall with support from DJ Lisa Frank and Sumner. For more information, please visit U Hall’s official website.