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August 8, 2011

PRESS KIT | WIKIPEDIA PAGE

Booking:
Sarah Weiss
booking@shemspeed.com

Press:
SHEMSPEED
info@shemspeed.com

Based in the stereophonic heart of Brooklyn, world music maestro Diwon (aka Erez Safar) is one of the most innovative and versatile Producers and DJs performing and recording music today. Diwon blends Yemenite music with electro hip-hop and cinematic psychadelia, and draws inspiration from the Middle Eastern musical canon. A prolific producer, Diwon releases a clutch of albums every year. The last twelve months has seen Serene Poetic, a soaring, cinematic album with guitarist Dugans, as Dreams in Static, Sabra Sessions Vol. 1, a high energy Israeli dance club hip hop mix, The Beat Guide to Yiddish, and Shir Ha Shirim (The Song of Songs), mixing heartfelt Moroccan song with hypnotic hip-hop, rock, and Middle Eastern beats. Diwon is currently completing the revolutionary hip hop record This is Unity with acclaimed multilingual MC Y-Love, as well as working on his own records, Diwon Riddim and Others, which will feature vocalists and rappers from across the globe, including the white-hot Sizzla. The prolific Producer/DJ has remixed everyone from Akon and Idan Raichel to Snoop and Stevie Wonder.

Diwon’s music brings to mind a Brooklyn-based hybrid of the best elements of Diplo and Cheb i Sabbah. URB magazine listed him amongst their NEXT 1000 and wrote that “Diwon is something else…in a profound kind of way”, calling his sound titillating and ‘juicy for the ears’, while The Village Voice described his producing as ‘adventurous and banging’. CBS featured Diwon as part of their Faith, Music and Culture series and he has made appearances on NPR, PBS, and BBC World. His slamming live sets include a diverse mix of singers and live musicians, creating an unrivalled festival vibe with an explosive blend of world music, hip hop, and jazz.

* Erez Safar (Diwon) is the founder and director of Shemspeed, Hip Hop Sulha, and The Sephardic Music Festival.

“Diwon is something else …in a profound kind of way. The New Yorker gets crafty when it comes to beats by extracting world music—mainly traditional Yemenite music– and fusing it with electro hip hop; creating a titillating sound that’s juicy and for the ears.” – URB Magazine