 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | Click here to see Oojami Promo Video Click here to hear the samples from the new album |
|
Oojami is the brainchild of Necmi Cavli, originally a native of Bodrum - a popular Turkish holiday resort nestling on the banks of Aegean Sea. He moved to London in the nineties and started DJ'ing his own music in a small basement club in the Turkish quarter of North London. At the time nobody, including himself, predicted the exciting journey that he has was about to undertake. Over the last 6 years Oojami has produced 3 albums (internationally released on Miles Copland's (ex-manager of Sting and the Police) label), played hundreds of gigs in over 15 countries, including a tour of the US/Canada, and featured on more than 30 compilations around the world. Recently he's begun writing soundtracks for major Hollywood movies, and his music has been licensed to EMI Arabia - the biggest label in the Middle East.
The success of the Oojami's album Bellydancing Breakbeats established Oojami in the international bellydancing scene, particularly in the US. He contributed to a new style of fusion for bellydancers, as exemplified by The Bellydance Superstars. As if life couldn't get any better, sexy French actress Audrey Tatou was seen gyrating her hips to Oojami's song "Fantasy" in the cult film Dirty Pretty Things. Oojami's next release Urban Dervish upped the musical stakes considerably, taking Calvi's sound into a variety of multicultural directions. His latest release Boom Shinga Ling keeps the freshness and childlike enthusiasm alive, but production quality and composition has improved tenfold, leaving no doubt that Necmi Cavli is of the most exciting, innovative and groundbreaking producers in today's vibrant global beat scene. "I've been lucky to have experience of many cultures and certain elements of these cultures have become part of my emotional history." He says. "For the last 20 years I have been based in London, which is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. But I don't like just observing and analysing things; I like to take part in society. I'm never one to sit on the fence. "It is risky as an artist to isolate yourself, " he continues, "but you cannot please everybody. You cannot make an omelette without breaking an egg. For me song writing is like this. I don't approach song writing as a project in which ideas are put together, without having any direct experience of the culture, as is commonly done in the fusion music. Different cultures should fuse in your heart first to make it personal. Calvi always wanted to write songs that weren't just fashionable, or faceless, pieces of background music. "Even though some of them work, at least commercially, I find it difficult to relate to that approach. If it is not evolving from and reflecting my personal experience, then I am not learning and growing as an artist." "I want to take my music beyond this niche and patronising "exotic sound and culture from other countries" ghetto, and be accepted first and foremost as a credible artist that can cross cultures." In its live incarnation Oojami combines belly dancers with mesmerising Sufi dancing, providing a vivid musical experience for the eyes. Therefore it is no wonder that the band is building up a strong fan base of open-minded music fans eager to appreciate new and exciting global sounds. "Oojami's music is groove orientated, but I like to use melodic parts to make it different," he explains. "Although the major element is Turkish - because that's what I'm most familiar with - I aim to be more global. A global band with Turkish influences, rather than a Turkish or Anglo-Turkish band. However it is not very easy to identify what Turkish music is. It's really very difficult to tell where they originated from, whether from the Middle East or North Africa. For example, some of the most famous songs in Turkey are in fact of Arabic origin." Cavli moved to Britain 20 years ago to learn English but got seriously distracted and converted by the UK dance scene. His Turkish qualification as a teacher were not recognised in the UK, so he studied economics and became a teacher again, working with refugee children from several countries. At the same time he found himself drawn to the capital's thriving rave scene. He was excited by the emerging crossover culture, whose eclectic spirit he would emulate at his own Hubble Bubble Club at a church in North London. There the traditional sounds of oud and darbuka would mix with electronica from UK dance culture. So he decided to do something different - to try and break into the English market with Turkish influenced breakbeats. "That's the perspective I started with when I opened the Hubble Bubble Club, which is where Miles Copeland first saw us." With bellydancing, a sufi dancer, and trapeze artists augmenting the mix of traditional instruments and modern beats, the club developed a flavour all of its own, and soon attracted a substantial audience, drawn from a wide spectrum of music fans. With the BBC broadcasting live from the club, and CNN, MTV and Japanese television spreading the word further abroad, the Hubble Bubble Club has quickly carved its own niche in the London scene, with Oojami at the helm of this burgeoning new scene. |