Initially catching a break as an opening DJ for progressive figurehead Sasha, U.K. DJ/producer James Zabiela funneled an interest in acid house's tightly pitched trills and the instant editing potential of the Pioneer CDJ decks into a blissfully slick sound that's both sci-fi and hi-fi. Digitally assisted by MIDI controllers, samplers, and a laptop, Zabiela's tightly edited sets are like electromagnetic conversations between funky aliens and precise androids, their cosmically reverberating melodies carried by tech-scored house and aroused breakbeats.
Sat., June 20, 2009