In Conversation With… Sabb

A name that will strike a chord with you if you have been a religious crate digger or treasure hunter over the last few years, Sabb. With releases on some of the industry’s most renowned labels such as Saved Records, Moon Harbour, Noir Music, Circus only being the tip of the iceberg, Sabb has recently launched his own label ‘Radiant.’ which is already causing quite a positive stir.

There have been a select few artists in recent years that have influenced an entire genre with their sonic signature, Sabb has been one of that handful who has waived their flag into the wind and stood firm.

Now after two releases on his label (including an amazing LP first release from himself, featuring some masterful collaborations), we talk to Sabb about Radiant, his own journey and plans for the future…

DT – Firstly, congratulations on the launch of Radiant. We’re sure we won’t be the first to say it has been a breath of fresh air, inspiring and organic creativity throughout and you’re only two releases in. What was the inspiration behind the label and what are the future releases shaping up like?

Sabb – Many thanks for the invite and the kind words! I’m humbled to say that the first releases of the label have been doing great overall with Jeopardized still after 3 months of its release being on the #3 on Beatport Afro House Charts. Not only this but the feedback has been incredible. The inspiration behind all this is actually my album which is the very first release of the label. I had these tracks and I didn’t know where to release them, somehow they didn’t fit anywhere fully. That’s how RADIANT. was born.

DT – What would you say sets the label aside from other imprints within the industry at the moment? (we could answer that question ourselves but we would love to hear your take on it)

Sabb – Firstly spamming the market with 20 releases per month is not our intention, we only will be releasing music we think stands out in some way.

Organic, fresh, something that still will be playing our iPods and iPhones in 5 or 10 years maybe and not just for a week or two.

DT – What has your promo feedback been like from other artists? Being a well-respected figure yourself, no doubt the releases have been reaching some big names in the game.

Sabb – The feedback on the label so far has been incredible, the first releases were and are still being played by key players in the market as Amê, Joris Voorn, Lee Burridge, Bedouin, Super Flu, Audiofly and Matthias Tanzmann just to name a few.

DT – Tell us a little about your musical journey over the years. It’s no secret that you have a very distinct and refined sound, where has it transpired from and what influences have you had along the way?

Sabb – Back in the days I was an admirer of Stephan Bodzin, Marc Romboy and Huntemann (and still am of Bodzin ofc), I’ve also always been a huge fan of Trentemøller and his music still inspires me now I have to say! These guys must have awakened something inside of me, and that’s the sound you are getting from my studio works, where I express myself the best.

DT – If you remove the element of how successful some of your releases have been, what would you say is either your best or most personally favoured release so far?

Sabb – My favourite release so far must be the new Album, Radiant. I can say that it’s way more mature than what I used to do before that.

DT – Tell us about your favourite moment during your music career? Given your sound, you must have played some amazing gigs in some really special settings.

Sabb – One of the most amazing moments was in the deep Jungle of Brasil, I was playing a few tracks already since I got on and all of a sudden the amazing weather turned into a crazy tropical rain. I was playing my “one of us” release and people were just singing along and loosing it in the rain. I get goosebumps when I think back to this 2000-3000 people raving in the rain.

DT – As you know, finding your own sound in an industry with an endless supply of artists can be really difficult. What advice would you give people that are still trying to find themselves, so to speak?

Sabb – I can just say one rule I follow myself; Get inspired but never follow trends. Don’t make something everyone is making, be the change and be different.

DT – Talk us through your creative process a little, you use a lot of inspired sampling and create some unbelievable character within your music. Some of the tracks on your Radiant LP have insane levels of personality, how do you arrive at that kind of end product?

Sabb – I don’t limit myself, I use anything I can in my surroundings to get to sounds that I have in my head.
In the album, for example, I have my 1-year-old daughter Leana playing with a water can in our garden, she was enjoying it so much and the rhythm was so good that I took out my phone and recorded my little percussionist. I used the sounds then and chopped it up and warped it properly to use it in our track I named “leanas play”, that’s a track you can also hear her ‘singing’ and chanting.

DT – Time for a little brain teaser, we like to throw one or two of these into every interview for fun… If you were on an island and could only bring three things, what would you bring and why?

Sabb – Headphones, Laptop, – because with these 2 things I could produce and could get some solid sounding tracks together and aaa… Hammock lol.

DT – Tell us a little bit about what you’ve got lined up for the rest of this year, any big shows or releases that you’re really looking forward to at all?

Sabb – Really looking forward to the label night we have with RADIANT. some residencies set up in Paris, Zürich, Mykonos, Athens and more. Release wise I can’t wait to present you the remixes of my Album coming from Super Flu, Audiofly, Blondish, Roy Rosenfeld and more! Stay tuned.

DT – Last but not least, we will end on another fun one… If there was a movie produced about your life, who would play you and why?

Sabb – Haha difficult, Leonardo di Caprio maybe (not because I am as good looking as he is though lol). Just love him as an Actor.

So, there you have it. An insight into the world of Sabri Kastrati AKA Sabb, one of the industry’s most influential and creative artists. The next release on his label ‘Radiant.’ comes out on 08/06/2018 and is available to pre-order on Beatport now: