Mariam Nihal

Saudi Gazette

The evolving music scene realizes the impact art and fashion bring to the streets, let alone the media industry. Art and fashion have long been synonymous with Hip Hop, RnB and now the beloved electronic music scene. From Kanye West to Pharrell, the relevance of mainstream art has subsided into an explosion of creative powerhouses all across the world.



Musicians in the Middle East have used branding and sponsors to convey their interests or perhaps push their public identity to further establish their art. The contemporary breed plays special attention to the conscious state of fashion and sound.



One of UAE’s popular DJs spoke about the trending market scene, his love for Nike (his 200 kind) and the sound that carries him through every night. Kareem Elsawy, aka DJ Brooklyn, said the fashion scene is growing drastically in the Middle East. “I think there are so many creative designers out there that are already establishing their identity and are known. By that I mean genuine, creative, original people that have their own sense of style. Then again there are a lot of fillers out there who don’t know what they are doing and are in it just for the hype I guess.”



Still a student, Brooklyn told Saudi Gazette while he tries to complete his graduation, he spends most of his time performing at different venues. Namely Boudoir, Tabla, XL Beach Club, Vanity, and Ndulge. “I am also working on a new Radio show concept and hopefully it will go through. Quality time with the missus is a must after work and stress. Also my personal hobbies and activities include Muay Thai, biking, and finally chilling with close friends.”



Brooklyn is also the brand representative for Sennheiser HD8 DJ On Ear Headphones.



Fashion, Sneakers, Repeat



I can say that fashion plays an important role in my life, I don’t know why but I am always constantly checking new collections from local fashion brands alongside known brands, checking the recent trends, and other creative things people come up with day by day. I personally take fashion as a statement, more like a self-statement. The successful fashion brands are always the ones to come up with a unique identity, not an added to, but an original idea. It’s related to music in so many ways. The keyword I think is self-presentation and both fashion and music come from self-expression.



Brand Yourself



Ideally Brooklyn walks out with his G-Shock, jeans, T-shirt, Jordans or Nikes, a hat and his engagement ring. It is hard to ignore the sneaker-lover hiding behind the decks. “Wow I knew you were going to ask that question. I like being discreet about my sneakers but I’ll answer your question. Besides all the new Jordan releases, the most recent would be the whole Independence Day air max pack. Actually I take that back. The most recent was the liquid Gold air max, I might be wrong. I honestly don’t remember what was the most recent. What’s next? What’s not next? I’m honestly waiting on Kanye’s Adidas line, I want to know if it will be worth the hype. His favorite brands include Adyn, Carre, Asstclothing, G-Shock, Nike, Rick Owens, Maison Levier.



Social Media



Let’s be very honest, social media is becoming very important to not just someone like me, but to big companies and corporations as well. If it wasn’t that important they wouldn’t have actually came up with university courses on how to get hold of the science around social media. By that I mean reaching the ultimate goal, which is social awareness. DJ’s are supposed to be active on social media, not just by sharing their mixes, pictures from last night during their set, or advertising about their nights. What most important is to how to get people to interact with you, so sharing your interests in other things such as fashion, cars, sports, art, and everything else away from the industry life is very important. If you are going to sit down rant and whine about how right or wrong the industry is you will get people talking about that or even dissing you for certain things you have said, directly or indirectly.



Sound



Let me start by saying that the HD8 has an amazing build. I personally look for light headphones given that they would typically be used for more than 3 hours at a stretch. The HD8 has a very unique combination of light metal and very strong fiber plastic that is almost unbreakable which is great if the headphones are being tossed around or placed on and off your head.



Just like the rest of the Sennheiser’s headphones, the HD8 sound quality is right on point. With this model however, I personally think that the quality beats any other Sennheiser product for DJs. Besides the perfect combination of frequencies, they are pretty loud and I personally don’t go beyond the 40% percent mark on the levels. The bass is not too rough on your eardrums regardless of the genre of music you are playing. The mids are very tight and do not over throw the highs making them perfect and very versatile for all genres.



It’s also worth mentioning that this exceptional sound quality really stands out when you play the corrupted or distorted files that every DJ inevitably comes across in their crate. Listening through the HD8 can tell you what is wrong with the track spot on. I personally think they can be used in production and vocal recordings.