Les Nubians' homage toSade, Tabou (playing now). Click the  button to hear Bebela. |
A professional DJ picks out the music, mixes it together seamlessly and adds any number of effects to the mix. If I were to critique myself, I would say that my proficiency runs in that order — I’m a little better than average at picking out the music, good enough at the mix and I don’t worry about effects too much.
That’s not a bad order of ability. After all, you could know every scratch in the book, but if the audience doesn’t like the song or the beat, the party’s going nowhere. Likewise, I’ve never heard a party patron suggest that, although the music is good, it would be better with more scratching. Scratching and other effects — that may be where DJs show off, but the party is in the music.
It is especially gratifying when patrons hear new music and want to learn more about the artist. In my past few appearances, such has been the case with Les Nubians.
Les Nubians, also known as sisters Helene and Celia Faussart, come from Bordeaux, France. They sing a style of music that can be described as soulful and jazzy, with a great beat. There’s a bit of Afro-pop evident in some of their songs, which may be a relic of living in Chad during their formative years. As an aside, is it just me or does Chad sound like a country that walks around carrying a tennis racket with the arms of a sweater tied around its neck?The Les Nubians sisters are commonly compared to Sade. Both have mixed-race parents, African roots, European upbringing and awesome voices. Les Nubians seem to pay homage to Sade as they cover Sweetest Taboo in their 1998 debut, Princesses Nubian.
Princesses Nubian is, quite simply, brilliant. For most readers, it’s the best album that you’ve never heard. That is, unless you’ve seen one of my DJ performances. I carry no fewer than 13 cuts from it in my crate, and depend heavily on those perfect voices and groovin’ beats.The follow-up to Princesses Nubian is 2003’s One Step Forward. It’s a little more daring than Princesses Nubian, complete with electronica, reggae and a little bossa nova. It’s a very good listen, and might be the second-best album that you’ve never heard.
So now you know the secret to my gigs — play a bunch of Les Nubians. Now all you need is a 500-watt P.A. system and really cool-looking mixer.
