INTERVIEW WITH TAMER MALKI
This interview was conducted before Tamer Malki formed Bedouin with Rami Abousabe. The Brooklyn duo went on to become synonymous with desert-inspired house music, with Burning Man's Robot Heart stage as their launchpad, and releases on Crosstown Rebels and All Day I Dream. Their tribal drums and Eastern melodies, often packaged into hypnotic eight-minute arrangements, found a global audience that no one, perhaps not even Tamer, could have fully predicted at the time of this conversation. Read it as the before.
Tamer Malki is originally from Jordan, based in Boston, and has established himself as a major player in the city's house scene. His fusion of deep, groovy, vocal tech house, laced with jazz, funk, and classics, stems from a personal musical background that refuses to stay in one lane. He is restless. It has been said. He agrees.
Resident DJ at Rumor in Boston, Tamer also headlines at Rise, Underbar, Venu, and The Foundation Lounge. He co-created Sunday Groove, the city's most innovative underground weekly party, and then teamed up with DJ and producer Sergio Santos to create WeNo, their party brand and future imprint. His sets have graced dance floors in Miami, New York, DC, Madrid, Marbella, London, Munich, and Mexico. He performs regularly with Guy Gerber, Seth Troxler, Tiefschwarz, Martin Buttrich, Nic Fanciulli, and Paco Osuna.
Tamer Malki Some of the best events I have ever taken part in were probably in the Caribbean during my December visit to Port-au-Prince. I had no idea what to expect, but it was totally insane. I performed in three shows and all of them were sold out. The crowd had tremendous levels of energy, and everyone partied till sunrise. Food was great, weather was amazing, and I fell in love with their beaches. It was a totally different experience.
"I could be influenced and inspired by so many different things. It depends on what I'm surrounded with and on what I'm doing at the moment."
Tamer Malki Jazz, independent films, modern art, originality, nice city views, people I live around, different cultures, and Wally's Cafe can definitely be the first things that come to mind.
Tamer Malki These days it's so hard to keep up with the overwhelming amount of records coming out every day from different areas in the world. Some are great, some shouldn't have seen the light of day. But since I started getting deeper and deeper into music, Dennis Ferrer, Laurent Garnier, Gotan Project, Sasha and Erick Morillo were always the superheroes that took the top spots on my list.
Each one is in a different continent and each has its own unique vibe that is just unforgettable.
- Carl Craig · At Les
- Dennis Ferrer · Sandcastles
- Laurent Garnier · Man with the Red Face (original mix)
Bedouin is the Brooklyn-based duo of Tamer Malki and Rami Abousabe. They have come to embody the deeper, desert-inspired shades of house music, tribal drums and Eastern melodies often packaged into hypnotic, eight-minute arrangements. Their first major break came in 2013, when they were asked to perform a sunrise set on Burning Man's legendary Robot Heart art car stage. The set later served as their first public release, a fitting one in hindsight, as they have since become synonymous with the hazy, sunrise sounds of Burning Man's Black Rock City. Their original music found its primary home on two of the underground's most cherished deep house imprints: Crosstown Rebels and All Day I Dream.
