I say, ‘I am one in seven billion.’'Įach fleeting broadcast of “You are listening to AraabMuzik” on Dream World-delivered by that same impassive, robotic female voice from previous efforts-feels substantial, particularly because many, including Araab himself, hypothesized that the long-delayed album may wind up squashed. 'I say, ‘I am one in seven billion.’' I like to just do me and not follow the traditional format of other producers. “I like to just do me and not follow the traditional format of other producers. Honing a skill like the ability to navigate with pinpoint accuracy the 16 square rubber pads of an MPC 2500-Araab’s admitted mid-range model of choice in the studio-no doubt brings with it the belief that boundaries are for shit.

Raiche - Chasing Pirates (Official Video)īoth the track and video play perfectly to the producer’s sometimes enigmatic air, his straight-billed cap tipped down to shield an icy gaze as he works the MPC with the nonchalant confidence of someone who feels he’s redefining the product of electronic music (make note of the man’s opulent white-gold MPC necklace, for one). I’m always looking and always scouting spots like Soundcloud.” Indeed, the record’s lead single, “Chasing Pirates”-essentially a simmering remix of a Norah Jones track from the 2009 album The Fall-features little-known vocalist Raiche fluttering her celestial vocals over an Araab blend of billowing synths, subtle organ, and bass-tipped rhythms that are calculated and sparse in attack compared to the get-downs that populate more than half of his catalog.ĪraabMuzik ft. “Go the route of discovery versus pulling into the commercial artists.

“For I wanted to work with new talent, produce new artists,” Araab notes. There’s little doubt that Araab, at least in part, believes, “That’s where the money is.” But musicality-wise, the self-proclaimed “MVP of the MPC” is so efficient at building tension via accelerating rhythms-tempered by his knack for creating space by letting samples breathe-that he very often plays into the genre’s sometimes ham-fisted bent for euphoric releases.

Grander and more multitiered than anything he’s done, Dream World percolates with EDM. “In the studio and on album, that’s the time when I get into my Kanye West and Just Blaze side, using live instruments, bringing in people.” Case in point: Dream World (Empire), the new album that has been a long time coming for the 27-year-old producer.įirst slated for release last year, the follow-up to 2011’s Electronic Dream was delayed as Araab dropped a pair of 2015 EPs, King and Goon Loops (and underwent surgery after being shot during an attempted robbery this past February in Harlem). The live side is definitely my musician, drummer, Travis Barker side,” he explains. That way, when you get home later, you’re impelled to track down YouTube clips to get more detailed understandings of his prowess (his ridiculous freestyle of “A Millie” recently pushed over two million views) Living in a Dream Worldīut understanding AraabMuzik live, as well as in full-on improvising form, is very different than dissecting AraabMuzik on record-a distinction the producer is happy to acknowledge. Mega-name DJs performing pre-recorded sets are there to hype and be seen however, Araab’s sets-though certainly not without flash-at least play in part like “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” occasions. Perched in front of a pair of the mutated, decked-out drum machines-each about as big as a bulky, oversized Trapper Keeper-Araab, like so many DJs and producers, obscures his tricks, allowing tinny rapid-fire rhythms and splicing sample flourishes to provide the thrill rather than the techniques with which they’re produced. To study AraabMuzik (aka Abraham Orellana) on stage, either outdoors during a maze-like music festival or within the crypt of a hot-mess club, is to only vaguely comprehend the producer’s ability to manipulate and guide his Music Production Controller the venerable Akai MPC.

Araabmuzik samples from beat battles