An interview with Bachir Salloum

Lebanese-born Bachir Salloum dabbles in frequencies ranging from deep to progressive house filled with irresistible grooves and lush melodies. It’s a style that has drawn attention globally through signings for the likes of Guy Mantzur and Hernan Cattaneo. Here he makes his Balance debut with three hypnotic tracks that are minimal in scope yet maximal in impact. It is a perfect introduction to the deep world of Bachir Salloum.

The lose-yourself deep house vibes are real on ‘Foggy Morning’. The drums might be unfussy, but there is a familiarity here that feels like home. It could be that skippy tone sitting right in the pocket of the two-finger bassline? But it’s probably the gentle introduction of shimmering keys that hangs across the drums like a fog that tells the whole story. 

 ’SIDEK’ is a thick slice of proper deep prog that sucks you in from the first kick drum drop. The climbing bassline is super infectious, working in perfect harmony with the percussion’s impressive compression. A constantly moving melody turns this into a go-to track that feels like it never stops building. Rest assured, this will receive repeated plays. 

The rhythm feels more upbeat on ‘Random Glitch’ with its fun percussive elements and offbeat driving bass. It builds smoothly towards a breakdown where we are introduced to fluid synth stabs. There is an aura around the whole production that is undeniable, a call-to-arms that will fill any dancefloor. 

We have had the pleasure of interviewing the producer, and this has been the result. Enjoy it!

Hey Bachir! Can you tell us a little about your background for our readers? Where are you from / how did you get into music?

Hello guys, thank you for having me, a pleasure to be here. I’m from Beirut, Lebanon but have been living in Dubai for the past 8 years. I found my love for music when I was a young kid listening to my older brother, he was a DJ at a local radio station.  Every time I watched or heard him play, I would be fascinated, completely engrossed in the process and sounds.

Who have been your main inspirations (both musical and in “life”)? And how have they affected your sound?

Apart from the greats in the industry, I try and draw inspiration from everyone and everything around me.  I especially draw inspiration when I travel, being in new environments, meeting new people; I always come back with fresh ideas and sounds in my head that I take into the studio with me.

How would you define your sound? And how has it evolved?

When I started the music production journey, one artist that I respect and admire, Hernan Cattaneo, told me that it will take around 2 years for me to find my sound.  At the time, I didn’t quite understand what he meant, but now I totally get it – he was absolutely right.  Today, my sound is more defined, it is very representative of me, if you listen to my tracks you can immediately identify that it’s my sound.   

Your releases have been charting so well and hitting No1 spots haven’t they, congrats!! Can you tell us your top music achievements in the last few months? 

In the past year, my sole focus has been producing music; really putting my head down and spending all my time in the studio.  Having two back to back number 1s was a huge testament that my hard work is paying off.  It’s very humbling to receive this kind of support and love, it’s such a motivator to continue doing what I love. So to everyone supporting me and being part of my journey, thank you!

You’ve got a special Balance EP out this week havent you? How did that come about?

I received an invitation to curate a Balance Selection Series Mix, which of course I recognised to be a huge opportunity to really showcase my music and sounds – I had to make sure that the mix was truly special.  And so, I began to produce music especially for the set. It was a time when I felt numb from the pandemic, a lot of things felt like they were on a standstill, and I drew inspiration and creativity from that as much as I could. To my biggest surprise, the label was eager to release the tracks and here we are… I can’t wait for this release, a career milestone for me. A huge thanks and acknowledgement for everyone who supports my music, I really hope you enjoy this EP.

You’ve just dropped a release on Stripped Recordings, ‘Escape To Reality’. Can you tell us a little about each song that makes up this latest EP?

Stripped Recordings is one of the great labels in the progressive house genre, they have had stellar releases and I am honoured to have my music signed on such a label. The ‘Escape To Reality’ EP consists of 3 original tracks, which I produced at the start of the pandemic.  I think this EP is a good representation of the variety of my sounds, from groovy to melodic to peak time.

You’ve joined the NFT train too with a new release, can you tell us more about that?

Yes! I released the track “Days That Belong” as a one-off product. I’m excited to see what the future holds in this new direction, it’s perhaps too early to call it right now but it will be interesting to see how this format develops.

How are you living in the current situation because of COVID? Has it affected your music a lot in Dubai? Do you think there is hope? I feel like the underground scene will continue to persist.

Personally, COVID has been quite the blessing for me; it really allowed me to focus on my music and during the process I came to the realization that music is all I want to do – so I said goodbye to the corporate world and have been 100% invested in my music career since last year.  The pandemic of course has been quite harsh for the nightlife industry, with bans and restrictions but things are opening very slowly.  We are hopeful that the scene will be back in full force by September/October.  And oh man, I can’t wait!

What projects are you working on right now?

I have a super exciting project which will be launched in the coming months, a music school “SAWT Music Academy”.  A group of music professionals and myself have been working on this for almost a year now and it will finally come to life.  The academy will allow in-person classes, teaching music production with lessons in Arabic and English.  But seeing as the pandemic is still limiting us, we will start off with online live teaching, during which we wish to create a community for like-minded music enthusiasts, give them a platform to grow their passion for music and be able to take it to a professional level.  Honestly, I’m counting the days till we launch and can’t wait to it come to life.

‘Foggy Morning’ is out now, stream/get it here: 

https://snd.click/BSFoggyMorning