ABOUT
A Parisian club kid in the early 2000s, Djebali has grown into one of the most accomplished house producers from the city’s new generation of talent. Driven by his own self-titled imprint in 2011 and several sub-labels, together with a constant flow of gigs at high-profile clubs around the globe and a back catalogue full of classic house grooves, he is one of Paris’ shining stars…
Djebali was first backed by long-serving Paris head Terence:Terry: at the legendary ‘After Party Is Not A Crime’ nights, before making numerous appearances at Rex Club and holding down a residency at the Freak N’ Chic Batofar parties between 2008 and 2010. Since then, it’s been a steady rise up the ranks, with Djebali’s hard work and ingenuity taking him around the world.
2019 was a prolific year for Djebali, producing a series of singles and EPs in his Paris studio, along with an album ‘Almost Finished’ with his friend Guti, which was released in 2020. The album is aimed straight at the dance floor, with a selection of cuts that merge both artists’ unique sonic identity to create a diverse yet cohesive LP. Produced during an intensive few days at Djebali’s studio, ‘Almost Finished’ represents two artists in the midst of a highly creative purple patch.
Elsewhere, he teamed up with Chris Stussy on a series of EPs – ‘Shades Of Grey’ and ‘Part 1’ & ‘Part 2’ among them. Plus he’s collaborated with a variety of his peers, including Fuse resident Rossko, Stephan Bazbaz and Reda Dare. Djebali has also released original material with Politics Of Dancing, Organic. He has also injected his knowledge and skill into a series of remixes for artists such as Rhadow, Barem, Marco Faraone, Gel Abril and Manuel de Lorenzi, Archie Hamilton’s Moscow label. The consistent flow of music continues into 2020 as he pours his energy into collaborations with Jorge Savoretti for Infuse and remix work for SASH in Sydney, for whom he produced two remixes for the debut of the party’s label wing.
On the road he’s toured Australia, appeared at Epizode Festival in Vietnam and played high-profile gigs at globally-renowned clubs like fabric, Thuishaven, Octan (for Planet Claire with Apollonia) and the amazing Five Island Festival in Lebanon, making 2019 a hugely successful one for the Parisian selector.
Pushing the scene forward in his hometown, Djebali has brought a glittering array of talents to his own self-curated, bi-monthly party at Rex Club called Ideal Juice. The party has also been held at locations outside of Paris, hitting Ibiza Underground, Iboat in Bordeaux, Special Case in St Petersburg, The Basement in Tunisia, as well as the UK, hitting London and Liverpool. Meanwhile, at DC10 in Ibiza, Djebali makes regular appearances as a resident in the infamous red Terrace room, where he holds court several times each summer at the spot which is widely recognised as of the world’s most influential clubs. In 2015, Djebali embarked on a US tour hitting some of the USA’s best-known clubs; Verboten, Space and Output in New York plus Stereo in Montreal, as well as venues in Toronto, Los Angeles, Miami and the birthplace of house music, Chicago. Around the world he has played everywhere from Womb (Tokyo) to Kazantip (Ukraine), Sonus (Croatia), Modernity Cruise and Caprices Festival (Switzerland) and Movement (Turin) plus a residency at Amnesia’s brand new Monday night Ibiza party Pyramid.
On the production front, Djebali’s break came via Jay Haze, who signed his first EP ‘Fanfare’ for Tuning Spork in 2008. He dropped the follow up ‘LAX EP’ to widespread critical acclaim in 2009 and dropped ‘Sorry, I Missed The Sky’ the following year on Dan Ghenacia’s Freak N’ Chic – a label which led the way in supporting quality Parisian house talent. As a prolific remixer Djebali has used his magic touch to rework a long list of high-profile names such as Inland Knights and one of his idols, Chez Damier, who signed a remix to his Balance label. More recently he has created composed remixes for Sebo K’s Scenario label, Enzo Siragusa & Nima Gorji’s track ‘Foreal’ on Fuse, a rework of ‘Fall’ by the legendary DJ Pierre from his album on Get Physical plus a remix for the mighty Guti, taken from his LP on The Martinez Brothers’ label Cuttin’ Headz.
2011 saw the launch of ( djebali ), a limited vinyl-only series, which Djebali used to explore his sound in greater depth, releasing music straight from the studio on to wax – each release selling out within days of hitting the streets. In 2013 came two offshoots; ( djebali ) presents – a platform for developing artists which debuted with a top selling EP by Mr KS – and ( djebali ) reworks, which features established artists and friends remixing the ( djebali ) back catalogue, the debut edition featuring Christian Burkhardt and Hreno & the Mole. Other artists who have remixed on the label include Mandar, Livio & Roby, Hold Youth and John Dimas with Cab Drivers and Alci, plus Fuse resident Rossko and Audio Werner, Jorge Savoretti, Sebo K, Okain and Cuartero among the additions to the ( djebali ) team. +A standout moment came when Djebali had his classic track ‘Reputation’ remixed by French house legend POINT G for a one-off special repress on ( djebali ) extra, the fourth member of his family of labels. A killer single from Premiesku (remixed by Djebali), a collaboration with long-time friend, Tuccillo can also be found on the label and NTFO have also been remixed by Djebali himself for the offshoot label. In total there have been over 30 releases across Djebali’s numerous projects and the collection continues to grow with Project OAM.
OAM (Once A Month) was launched at the beginning of 2018, to give fans of digital releases, or those who have difficulty picking up vinyl, an opportunity to own something exclusive. Each release is available for free download but limited to 1,000 downloads, and each one is special in its own right, whether it be a fresh new remix, a one-off or an ambient experiment… Djebali has collaborated with visual artist Maku Lopez to create bespoke artwork for each release, making each download even more collectable.
Prior to that, the ( djebali ) label itself went digital for the very first time with edits of tracks from the label’s back catalogue and previously unreleased tracks made available for the first time since its inception. The venture allowed fans to purchase special digital versions of Djebali’s work, opening him up to a whole new audience of music lovers with Djebali digital exclusives including an EP from Chris Stussy. Though vinyl is still where his heart lies, and will always be the priority.
2017 marked a milestone in Djebali’s career when he release his debut album ‘5’. An important moment in any artist’s life, the album showcased his penchant for deep groove-driven house music that draws on classic motifs, with a contemporary sheen. To support the LP Djebali embarked on a world tour, clocking up the air miles and playing sets across the globe from Peru and Argentina to Italy, Montreal, Australia and many more territories. The release of ‘5’ was followed that same year by an exclusive remix package which included contributions from a lineup of electronic music luminaries such as Andrés, Satoshi Tomiie and Terence:Terry:, and young talents such as Romanian maestro Arapu.
Humble, hardworking and naturally gifted, Djebali is a house music diehard who continues to bring his unique energy and magic to the dancefloor…
