In his early days, Fadi Alturk played from clubs to festivals in Europe, North Africa and Asia, playing a range of tech house, tribal, progressive to even psy trance. When he first came to Bali in 2002, the island greeted him with open arms in places like 66 Club and he has lead the way in some of the best clubs since. Recently he started a record label with some of his best friends that goes by the name of Bali Praia
So Fadi tell us a bit about your background? How did you come to be a DJ?
I used to work in a restaurant in my hometown in Sweden called Golden Bar and every weekend they used to have DJs perform there. So I just asked how to use the equipment, and I learned myself, and two month later I started to be the resident DJ playing there.. That time I was using Denon 2000.
So what kind of music were you playing back then?
Hehe, that time I was only 16 years old, so I was into TOP 40, in other words, radio music.
So how did you first come to Bali?
I owned a candy store in Sweden when I was 18 years old, and two times a year we had a market in our little town called Lycksele . It was the winter market and outside my candy store there was someone selling carvings from Bali. His name was Budha Sutedja. So we became best friends, he was even my mentor.. and Budha ended up being a resident DJ at 66. So he finally brought me to Bali with him in 2002.
What was the music scene like back then when you arrived?
I must say it was the golden time … Specially Doublesix Club. It didn’t matter who you were, what you had or how you looked, everyone was partying together as one.. So much positive energy .. The music style at that time was funky house, tribal, progressive and psy trance was big too..
So what do you think about the music and nightlife scene in Bali now? What do you think about the direction it’s going?
The scene in Bali has become so much bigger and more spread out. There are so many more clubs, bar etc .. And Bali has tourists coming from all around the world. That means the music scene in Bali has become way more diverse. Bali have become one of the most famous music destination’s in the world and it’s not just electronic music, in Ubud there is a lot of ethnic and world music festivals too. The difference today, same as the rest of the world, beach clubs and day parties are what most people look for.
So what would be the busiest resident DJ gigs you have at the moment?
I play mostly at Finns Beach Club, and 707.
Where else do you spin regularly?
I play sometimes at Jenja, and Arboon for their fullmoon parties.
So how is it being a resident DJ? What are the highs and lows?
The highs are that you have a regular schedule, and it becomes your homebase where you feel more comfortable and confident of what to play … The lows would be that sometimes you can get bit monotone and boring as they aren’t as big a challenge as guest gigs .. and it’s hard to spread our music to other places…
Do you often get the chance to play off-shore, overseas as a guest DJ?
Oh yes, I just got back from two festivals in Thailand, one in Phuket and played for Wonderfruit Festival in Pattaya. I’m hoping for more offshore gigs this year.
What kind of music do you like to play out most nowadays? Do you see a change lately?
I love all sorts of music, genres are really hard today to tell what is what. Today’s music is very mixed up. We even started our own genre called ISLANDTECH. It all depends on where I play. At Finns I would mostly play house or future house. At 707 some tribal, melodic techno. But mostly what I love to play is still progressive and tech house…
The real progressive.. And that brings us onto your other projects. What are the latest projects for DJ Fadi?
Well, I guess it’s not so new anymore, but our latest project is Bali Praia. I am so excited to finally follow my passion and work with music as a business. My partners and I in Bali Praia have started a record label/music studio/ Lounge and an upcoming cafe that is the first ever artist and DJ co-working space and hub where people in the region could meet, make music, collaborate and make an impact, while supporting local and international communities and raise the bar of Bali to the world. We are very excited about this …
That sounds very exciting indeed and we’ll get back to Praia soon, but for now, where can the people out there get to hear your tunes this week on the island?
Friday and Sunday I will be playing at Finns Beach Club and Saturday at 707 Beach Berm, Batu Belig .. you are all welcome!
Cheers Fadi. Thanks for joining us live on Facebook. Hope you enjoyed it, folks. Any last words Fadi Alturk?
Please follow our journey at @balipraia Instagram and Facebook. And remember… MUSIC IS THE KEY
Check out Fadi’s soundcloud right here https://soundcloud.com/djfadibali
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