Satori Drops “Djelem, Djelem” ft. Esma Redžepova

Out now with his newest single, DJ/Producer Satori has released “Djelem, Djelem” which marks the launch of his very own label Maktub Records. The song features Esma Redžepov who passed away in 2016. Serbian festival EXIT contacted him during the Corona pandemic with a recording of legendary Roma singer Esma Redžepova, who died in 2016. After her son gave permission, Satori set out to work with her music to create the soundtrack for the rebirth of the festival. The result is “Djelem, Djelem.”

“The song performed by Esma Redžepova is about the release of spring. EXIT wanted to carry that symbolism through to the reopening of the festival world post-Corona…For me, being able to work with Esma’s original recordings was very special. NPR voted her as one of the 50 Best Voices Ever a few years back and no one else has ever had the chance to work with her voice. For his part, her son felt it was a huge honour that we were able to preserve the essence of her work and have his mother involved in the reopening of EXIT through ‘Djelem, Djelem’.” – Satori

With EXIT Festival beginning July 7 and going until July 10, it’s amazing to see this collaboration exist in the music world and beyond. The song itself is a beautiful record, built up with delicate instrumentals in the beginning, gorgeous rhythms, and an atmospherical tone that will easily captivate listeners.

In addition to the new release, we had a chance to talk with Satori about his new album and more. Read on in the exclusive interview below.

The Nocturnal Times: You recorded the album over the course of lockdown. From what we understand, you were about to start recording the album before the global pandemic happened, so did you have a very different plan for the album originally? How much did the pandemic reshape and redirect your musical vision? 

Satori: Well the album is made in the lockdown by people who wanted to connect. I didn’t wanted to sit at home and feel sad about what happen. I wanted to go out, do the opposite what the government impose on us. That’s being with musicians in one room and expressing what we felt during this pandemic. I had the most beautiful music sessions of my life.

The Nocturnal Times: The sound of the album is very unique compared to the vast majority of music being consumed right now. Do you find it hard to stay true to who you are as an artist and still keep yourself visible in the mainstream, particular in the electronic music market? 

Satori: Well I’ve always tried to not look too much around me but to just focus on what feels good to me. You really need to be your own audience and just make the thing that feels and sounds good to me. Just be yourself, the rest is taken – that’s really what drives me. And I think most important is the realisation: “If everyone likes what you do, that’s a bad sign, because it means you do something mediocre” So I really don’t think too much about what the mainstream would think of my music. I am blessed to have so many fans around the world who connects with what I do.

The Nocturnal Times: You worked with a variety of vocalists on the album. Who was your favourite to work with, and why? 

Satori: This is a hard one! I really have a unique feel and love for each one of them and they all came together in a different way.

The Nocturnal Times: We understand there’s a really crazy story about how you and Stefan (the vocalist from ‘Moj Dilbre’) met and came to record the song together, can you share that with us? 

Satori: Yes! This was one of the only times I believed in divine intervention. I travelled to Serbia to go and find old recordings of the Balkan song ‘Moj Dilbre’, however the night before I was going to go to record shops, I was having dinner and a local street musician started singing this exact song! But in the most beautiful way, I was gobsmacked. So I approached him and asked him to the studio that I rented and he was amazing. I still can’t believe this happened!

The Nocturnal Times: You recorded the album at the Sonic Vista studios in Ibiza – was there a particular reason why you recorded it there? 

Satori: Yes. It currently is a place where I feel most inspired. Henry Sarmiento who runs it knows me and my music really well and constantly pushes me to go deeper. Besides that I really love that it’s surrounded by nature so when I want to zone out and listen to what I just created it’s the best setting. 

The Nocturnal Times: You came up with an unusual recording process that involved re-recording everything via a speaker. Can you explain a bit more about what you did, and also why you did it? Was there a particular sound that you were aiming for? 

Satori: Yes this was inspired by some of David Bowie’s albums where the focus is on one particular room in which it’s recorded. At Sonic Vista there is a room with a 400 year old well in it, this room creates this beautiful reverb and natural sound. So we decided that all sounds and parts for this album should be re-recorded in this particular room. 

The Nocturnal Times: You have some big tour dates coming up, some of which are ‘Satori’ and some which are ‘Maktub’. What’s the difference? 

Satori: Maktub is my audiovisual concept where we bring a fully visual curated show and I perform my live set as kind of a live soundtrack. We have the last dates with that tour coming up now in Barcelona on April 30th and Stockholm on May 27th. After that i’m focusing on my solo performance and my tour with the Band from Space in the Fall.