As Far As a DJ Mix

DJ Cheb I Sabbah | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 17, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Six Degrees
• ASIN: B00009PJR7
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,986 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #19 in Music > World Music > India & Pakistan > General
  • #21 in Music > World Music > Middle East > General
  • #21 in Music > World Music > Middle East > General AAS

Track Listings

1. Solace: Saptak, The Samaya Mix ReMixed by dj Cheb i Sabbah

2. Najma: Miskatonic

3. Asian Dub Foundation: Colour Line

4. Paul Horn: Agra, The Emerald Mix ReMixed by dj Cheb i Sabbah

5. dj Cheb i Sabbah: Pour Matoub

6. Toires: Layoun Lokdhor

7. Natacha Atlas: Soleil d'Egypte

8. Makale: Salla

9. Gnawa Impulse: Lahillah Express ReMixed by Jan Rase

10. Trilok Gurtu: Have We Lost Our Dream?

11. Sekouba Bambino: Sinikan

12. Sangoma, Suzan Hendricks and the Traditional Healers: Ngihawukele Thonga Lami

13. Don Cherry: Neti-Neti, The Hear and Now Mix ReMixed by dj Cheb i Sabbah

14. dj Cheb i Sabbah: Hari Om Narayan

Editorial Reviews

The first word that comes to mind when contemplating DJ Cheb I Sabbah's first official mix album is "eclectic." It's not often that a DJ finds a way to segue from energetic drum'n'bass tunes from artists like Asian Dub Foundation and Najma to a deeply meditative, beat-free piece from Paul Horn, as with As Far As, and actually pull it off. DJ Cheb I Sabbah does this and more, as he explores the colors of the world over the course of fourteen continuously mixed tracks on As Far As. Expect a dose of African percussion and tribal chant on a few tracks, the exotic ambiance of the Middle East (including a track from Egyptian chanteuse Natacha Atlas), an offering of Indian devotion and much more during this adventurous hour of music on As Far As.- Master DJ Chad I Sabbah has put together a fabulous CD in As Far As - along with his talented musician buddies. As Far As is one you won't want to miss!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a smooth mix, February 5, 2005

By 

Ian Mccausland "Photographer" (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: As Far As a DJ Mix (Audio CD)

If your looking for an Asian flavoured Downtempo mix to keep everying groovin while in the background, this isn't it. There are a couple of tracks in the middle that veer into ambient. Don't get me wrong, these are quite nice but they break the groove up.

I'd still recomend this album as a great journey unto ito itself, but as one of 5 downtempo CD's in the changer, you'll find it sticks out.

I have all this guy's releases and I think he is doing some great work, I can't wait to see what he does next

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Eastern Odyssey, August 27, 2006

By 

Zekeriyah (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: As Far As a DJ Mix (Audio CD)

Let me start off by saying I'm a huge fan of DJ Cheb-i-Sabbah. I love his work, and I own his Indian triology (Sri Durga, Maha Maya & Krishna Lila) and La Kahena. Needless to say, I rushed out to buy this CD when I found out about it, and I wasn't disappointed. It is different from his other CDs in that it's more like a compilation, a collection of different tracks he picked out for this CD. For the most part, he lets the artists stand on their own merits, though he does remix a couple of tracks.

This CD is right up my alley, and if your a fan of DJ Cheb-i-Sabbah, Natacha Atlas, Asian Dub Foundation, Toires, Najma Akhtar and such, you'll probably enjoy it too. It's mostly Asian and Middle Eastern dance music, with a bit of Afro-pop thrown in for good measure. The beautiful vocals of Natacha Atlas and Najma Akhtar stand beside the Turkish hiphop of Makale, techno-sufi music from Gnawa Impulse and the mellow New Age sounds of Trilok Gurtu and Paul Horn. Asian Underground beats from Asian Dub Foundation sit comfortably next to the Maghrebi techno of Toires and Afro-pop from Sekouba Bamino and Sangoma, Suzan Hendricks and the Traditional Healers. And of course a couple tracks from the master himself, DJ Cheb-i-Sabbah. As others have said, its like taking an odyssey across India, the Middle East and Africa.

If your a fan of this sort of music, then this CD is well worth the buy. Over an hour of music, covering a variety of moods and tastes. Your bound to like at least some of the songs, and exploring new music is always a good thing. I often find myself including this CD in my iPod for long car trips because it just puts me in a good mood. If you appreciate this CD, then I suggest you check out Cheb-i-Sabbah's other works. His great triology (Sri Durga, Maha Maya and Krishna Lila) comprises subtle, organic remixes of classical Indian music, both Hinudstani and Carnatic. La Kahena (and the recently released remix album) focuses on his own Maghrebi roots in Algeria and Morroco, and stands out as one of the best CDs I've ever heard. Very impressive stuff, at least in my opinion. So do yourself a favor and check out this CD.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sabbah's Mosaic, February 19, 2005

By 

spiral_mind (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: As Far As a DJ Mix (Audio CD)

A wondrously mind-expanding journey, this DJ mix. As the title suggests, As Far As isn't a proper Sabbah album - it's a compilation containing two of his own tracks, three of other people's songs that he remixed, and nine others added to the jambalaya. Covering nine languages and three continents, this is one fascinatingly eclectic experience. There's almost a geographical progression to the disc, as we go from India to central Asia to Egypt to Turkey, then down to South Africa and back to India at the close.

The variety is really the main strength and the main weakness of this disc. The overall range is much wider than on DJ Cheb's own albums, but in the process it inevitably loses some of the cohesion that he pulls off so well. Part of what makes his own work so special is his way of blending so many elements into a unified whole that goes beyond the individual traditions it touches on. Here, each piece is its own entity and they're all different.

Much of the disc is still world-beat-techno, if you need some kind of label (inadequate though it is), livened up with some fascinating detours. "Colour Line" is club-dance applied to a political statement. "Have We Lost Our Dream?" crosses beautiful atmospherics with some of the most passionate singing to be heard in the course of this hour-long trip. "Pour Matoub" is transcendental ambience as Sabbah's done it so well elsewhere. "Salla" is African hip-hop (the only one I really don't like); "Neti-Neti" has an almost free-jazz touch courtesy of Don Cherry's flavorful trumpet; "Sinikan" is based around a tribal chant with a sunny tropical bent. And so on, and so on, a new surprise around every corner.

Even though I don't think As Far As is quite as strong as Cheb's other offerings, it complements them extremely well. It's a different way of looking at the same larger picture.. and of course expanding vision & boundaries is what this music's about in the first place. Recommended, but preferably after you've discovered Shri Durga and Krishna Lila first.