Karim Sahraoui

New man, new life, new music.

“It’s like a mission for me now, it’s like a calling, I would say, to bring light into the darkness. I don’t make music anymore just to please people, or just to play, I just try to understand who I am exactly…”

Says Karim Sahraoui, the man previously operating under Djinxx, Soul Monkey and Electronic Resistance. Karim returned under his own name with the ‘Eternal Life EP’ that put not only him but also Derrick May’s iconic Transmat label back on track after two years of silence from the label.

This is a true renaissance for the Frenchman who had put his career on hold to pursue new horizons in Asia. However, it was during this time that two elements intertwined to change the course of his life.

The first was spiritual. Away from his normal environment and western habits, Karim embarked on a spiritual journey that has profoundly affected his music. The DJ and producer finally found answers to questions he had long initiated about his faith, the nature of his music and the electronic music scene.

The second was musical and the landmark encounters he had with Derrick May. They met in Singapore in 2010 where the author of Strings of Life enquired about Karim’s ‘journey’. And again two years later - just as Karim was at the point of giving up – Derrick got back in touch, full of admiration for his new tracks and keen to sign him to his label.

“Derrick understood that I had to travel from far to create these new pieces. The result is that my music is much more free and I worry less about it because I feel as if I have less to prove”

The French DJ and producer has created a dizzying discography including releases on Cocoon, Ovum, Delsin and Bedrock and has helped to discover musicians such as Chymera and ‘Skudge’. 2018 will see yet another huge milestone in the career of Sahraoui with his first ever release on one of the planet’s most revered labels: R&S.

Karim Sahraoui has a new momentum, fed by the same dynamism for which he is known and using the know-how and inspiration which has singled out such epic works as Stella or Nightflow.

Karim Sahraoui’s tracks

• Substance pres. Karim Sahraoui at Elysium Box by Karim Sahraoui