Event details ///

Following on from our DJ Mag Top 50 party featuring some of Dubai's best DJs, we've turned our attention to Lebanon and more specifically to Beirut and one of their most talented DJs, Jade. Known for being the driving force behind The Basement - the city's most forward-thinking club which plays host to exhilarating tech-house nights, as well as live dubstep, socially conscious hip hop and straight out party tunes, he's also one of their best exports, regularly playing across Europe with his brand of disco-influenced deep and tech house.

More than that though, Jade was in the first major rock band to be signed to a major label (Blend, signed to EMI), he creates soundtracks to the region's biggest adverts and is heavily involved in charity work in Beirut. He's also one of the best DJs we've heard in the Middle East and will be taking control of 360's Funktion 1 soundsystem for a top night of nu-disco, deep and tech house. Support on the night comes from Da:Funct and 360's quite brilliant resident Tristan Bain. And as always, this is a free event and we'll be running from 8pm-2am at one of the city's best venues.

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Thursday April 22 360, Jumeirah Beach Hotel 8pm-2am Entry: Free all night Tables and booking: 04 406 8769 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jade (The Basement, Beirut) biography ‘If you live in Beirut, you probably know Jade as the DJ from The Basement, or one of the most respected DJs in town, or the dude from Blend, the first signed Rock Band in the region (EMI), or that guy at the music store downtown who always recommended great music. Jade plays vinyl in a country where no 12’’ is being sold...’ (Excerpts from TRAX + REMIX, 2005) A rocker since high school, he moved to Montreal in 1999 where he experienced his first techno parties and found himself dragged into the world of electronic sounds.

In 2002, he returns home to record his first album as a major act with his band Blend (EMI – www.blendband.net). One year later Jade gets into DJ‘ing, and not long after that, he gathers 400 people in unique locations where he throws underground parties (spoon events) He starts distributing his mixes on CD, a habit that he keeps till now in his club, The Basement. Active since June 2005, The Basement gained a huge reputation for its particular style and its crazy atmosphere. For the first time in Beirut, the European Zeitgeist Electro / Minimal & Tech-House sound was offered to a wider audience: Jennifer Cardini, Abe Duque, Chloe, M.A.N.D.Y, D’Julz and many others played there.

Supported by The French Cultural Center & The Goethe Institute, The Basement hosts workshops with international artists regularly, in order to push local talent, and is also a home for emerging local artists & bands. That and also the charity events that Jade organizes regularly, has given The Basement a different imagine and established it as a club with a humane touch and a cultural vision.

The war in 2006 did not stop him… he went organizing fundraisers in town (www.minimalresistance.org) and around the world (www.tobeirut.org) in coordination with The Lebanese Red Cross and with the help and support of P-Toile (Clique Bookings, Berlin), where Famous DJs and live acts like DJ Hell, Craig Richards, MANDY, Stewart Walker, Patrick Chardronnet, Dirt Crew, Kiki, Fafa Monteco, Jef K, Jennifer Cardini, Chloe, Yvan Smagghe, Ewan Pearson and many more offered their participation. He started his weekly radio show ‘Sounds from the Basement’ early 2006 on the local radio station Mix fm and moved the show to NRJ in 2008 (Saturdays 11pm).

Currently, Jade’s getting more requests to play abroad while keeping his successful weekly residency ‘Electro is Dead’ at The Basement. Jade is currently producing with his mate Diamond Setter and releasing on different labels (Presslab Records, Fantasize, etc.)