India’s first and most respected House & World Beats record label Wind Horse Records to host their first label showcase in Kolkata this February. Event will be held in Phoenix Bar/ Club at Astor Hotel. This edition of Showcase will feature Kali. G from Morocco and the Wind Horse Records label boss Hamza.
Event will be executed in association with Little i
Artist details
Khalil Belamallem, widely known as Kali.G, is flourishing as one of Morocco’s fastest rising star DJs. Born in Rabat, Morocco; Kali.G’s started his career more than a decade ago as the Resident DJ in Catedral Club Sevilla where he played alongside some of the world’s finest DJs: Michel Cleis, Chus, Behrouz, Satoshie Tomie, David Penn to name a few.
Their influence helped him build his own style that can’t be easily defined: spiritual waves incorporating unique grooves and deep bass lines to Moroccan folklore samples and ethnic sounds. After several years in Sevilla, Khalil decided to move to Barcelona where he made his dream come true by studying at one of the most prestigious audio engineering schools (SAE institute). He then moved to Ibiza where he lived and enjoyed regularly playing on the white island for almost 3 years. Since beginning his career, Kali.G was given the opportunity to play in legendary music venues in Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, EAU, Germany, Romania, France, Barcelona, Andalucía, and Morocco. Watching Kali.G playing is a pure show. Kali.G refuses to play a prepared playlist, he is a real artist who deeply enjoys taking risks during his always improvised sets by looping on his Cdjs and creating a magical atmosphere that takes the party to a whole other level. This is the reason behind his “The King of the loops” nickname.
In the past few years, The King of the loops shared his sets with some of the most talented artists in the underground scene such as Subb-an , NITIN, Daniel Stefanik, Dana Ruh , Eddie Richards, Mathew Dekay, Davide Squillace , David Mayer, Andrew Grant and Villanova among others. After his first release with Desertica records in 2013, Kali.G developed an absolute bastion of goodness and positivity when it comes to releasing true electronic underground sound. Much of it is inspired by his upbringing, his roots, his travels and his personal experience.
Hailing from New Delhi, Hamza has attained a reputation as a pioneer of the house scene in India and one of the more innovative and exciting producers today. Hamza’s diverse international sound is influenced from his strong musical background as well as growing up in India and traveling the world, living in Paris, Boston, and New York. Early in his journey, exposure to renowned house DJs such as Terry Francis, Dave Mothersole, DJ Heather, and Danny Teneglia inspired Hamza to create his own electronic dance productions. Soon he found a unique style of house music combining deep, tribal, and funky sounds with strong world music influences.
Hamza set up his own label Wind Horse Records to further nourish this growing production repertoire. While in New York, Hamza did his Masters in Music Business at New York University, which gave him a very strong foundation and insight into how to creatively promote his own music. Wind Horse Records, the first Indian house music label, is a major part of that vision. From its first release Wind Horse quickly earned the notice and accolades of many notable fans including Dubfire (Deep Dish), Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister), Richie Hawtin, Quentin Harris, and Tom Findlay (Groove Armada). Hamza has used the label to work with some of the biggest names in world music, including Punjabi icon Jasbir Jassi, Tibetan singer-songwriter Yungchen Lhamo, and David Hykes, the only western vocalist specializing in sacred Mongolian chants. After additional EPs and albums from Indian artists like Vipul, Audio Units, Vinayak^A, and international artists Mink and Gion, the label recently celebrated its twentieth release: Hamza’s debut artist album, Gitano.
Hamza is also a top notch DJ, bringing his fresh sound to dance floors from New York to Portugal, Boston to Hyderabad, Paris to Pune. His sets typically start with his signature deep house sound, heavily influenced by Latin / Afro / world flavors, before developing into powerful tribal and deep, tech-house influenced beats perfect for the peak time. Hamza’s unmistakable style, combined with many of his own productions, create memorable DJ sets that turn clubbers into instant fans and followers. Also, this combination of potent DJ sets and a renowned production style has gathered the interest of prominent labels outside of Wind Horse, and Hamza’s releases have found homes on the likes of Kompakt, King Street Sounds, Nitegrooves, and Monique Speciale.
Currently Hamza is working on expanding his base in New Delhi to include regular stays in Europe and North America to allow for global partnerships and yearly DJ tours in different parts of the world. Hamza recently completed a tour of the USA, taking him from New York to San Francisco, as well as European dates in Berlin and Porto. Hamza continues to push the envelope, experimenting as a DJ through collaborations with the talented Mr. Bista, a jazz vocalist providing improvised performances using voice processors and effects over the deep house sets. Well-received at the label’s Indian sunset parties and gigs, Mr. Bista also appears on two of Hamza’s album tracks, with more collaborations yet to come. Besides Mr. Bista, Hamza has been furthering developing his stage collaborations with Latif and Jaisa khan (Gypsy Percussionists from Rajasthan, India) and Manu Idhra (Percussionist form Portugal).
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