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 ...Behrouz (Nazari) is a very busy man...
Five continents in five weeks – pretty impressive by any standards. Constantly touring, and when he´s not, he´s in the studio producing and remixing. When he isn’t in the studio, he´s working on compilation mix CD’s!

I guess I was surprised to meet such a laid back, happy kinda guy. The 30 mins overran into 2 hours as we sat comfortably chatting at Pacha el Hotel about life in general and his Yoshitoshi summer residency in particular, here in Ibiza. Behrouz feels privileged to DJ, and everyday says a special thank you for his luck, a man who openly admits if the crowd goes crazy when he is playing, he often cries with passion for what he is doing...

Hi Behrouz, you are constantly touring the world. How do different continents compare with each other on a DJing and clubbing scale?
Behrouz: I am touring all the time, and the one thing I feel you have to do before you go anywhere is research. Spain, Portugal, San Francisco, Miami, London, and Dubai – they are all different. They all have there own vibe. You have to do your research, electro may work one place, deep house another, funky house elsewhere. You gotta know your crowd to be able to work them. You gotta give them something special. You have to do your homework. Anyone can download music these days; anyone can learn to mix tunes. But it takes a lot more to actually be a DJ, and for me that’s where the groundwork comes in.

Today DJing is definitely a more professional business, compared to 5 years ago. How has that affected the scene?
Your right, but you have to be so professional now. Last year I flew 240,000 miles with American Alone!! I have my residencies in San Francisco, Paris, Ibiza, Switzerland and New York. Plus all the tour bookings, and my Pure Behrouz night, where I DJ for 10, 11 hours. So you have to be on it all the time! You are almost like an athlete – you gotta take care of your body, not go crazy with drink or drugs if you have an early flight to the next gig, watch you don’t eat any dodgy food – you have to be disciplined. When I am on flights I am constantly working on my laptop, making special edit CD’s, thinking about the gigs, etc. DJing for me is like a race. I gotta know the layout of the track, what the surface is like; I gotta know how to win that race. Because if I feel I have won, it reflects in my set. Market is much more competitive these days, simply cause it´s more professional, which is good for the global scene, healtier...

So the age old debate, Vinyl or CD’s?
I still play vinyl; I play CD’s, and always keep my laptop at hand with all my tunes on as a back up in case my box goes missing. I love vinyl, I love the feel of it, you can actually see the breaks and builds by looking at it, its more tangible than a CD. Saying that I have embraced CD’s and use them a lot as well. I use a mixture, vinyl and CD’s. I am always prepared though. Sometimes the deck setup may be real shitty making vinyl jump, so I will use all CD’s. Some venues may not have CDJ’s or similar, so I use all vinyl. I just come prepared for anything and go with the flow.

What about Final Scratch, or DJ programs where you have all your tunes in the laptop and you mix using it?
No. Not for me!!  Its great and the DJ’s that have embraced it still lay amazing sets. But I like to feel the vinyl, I can tell a track by its sleeve. I don’t want to have to label all my tracks up in a program, and spend time looking at a screen trying to find the name of the next track to mix in. I want to spend more time watching the crowd than watching the screen! The more time I stare at a computer screen is less time I am interacting with the crowd. It dis-associates me from my surrounding. I like to DJ booth to be like a Cockpit. Laid out well. Everything in place, I am the controller and I want to take the crowd on a journey. 

For me playing vinyl is like magic, I play from the heart.
I never plan my sets. And when it comes together it is an amazing thing.  2 turntables and mixer = magic!!!!!

So why Ibiza? What’s so special?
It’s a special place. And there are not many special places left in the world! Ibiza is constant; there are always great DJ’s, a great crowd. It’s a beautiful place filled with spirituality and beautiful people. It’s a great place to come! This summer I am here every other Thursday, (that’s a 14-hour flight from San Francisco!!) as I have my residency here at Pacha, staffs are great and super professional. Ibiza has a very cool, down to earth vibe. There is no class system. You are not judged, and that’s what I love about it. Everyone is here for the music. I often play a 6-hour set, and then go on to DJ a villa party. Not for money, for love, for that special feeling.

How did you get into DJing? Where did it all start for you?
I grew up in Santa Cruz, which is kinda hippy – like Ibiza. I used to hit up the Thrift stores Flea markets and buy old vinyl. I got myself a Radio Shack 2 channel mixer and 2 decks. 1 of them didn’t even have pitch control!!! I used to play at home, mixing in all sorts of records. My cousin used to have a lot of friends and they would throw house parties and ask me to provide the music. Then they ask to play at a fashion show for them and I played to like 1500 people!!  I guess that was the start of it all! I was 17, 18 at the time. After those small parties, and then I started my residency at DV8, I was there for 7 years. For me that residency was my training ground. I played Thursday, Friday and Saturday, each night for different guest DJ’s – so a different style of music. The resident DJ is very important; he is the guy (or girl) who sets the mood for the rest of the night. He screws up and it doesn’t matter how good your guest DJ is. So I used to play every night as if it was my last, put everything into it, make it better than the previous set. Those days moulded me now, because now I play different styles, and I can tell what kind of set I should play just by asking the promoter a few questions, and deliver that set. I never play cheesy, but I play for the crowd.  I did my time as the Rookie!! When I first started out, I was poor – so poor!! I downgraded my whole life, and worked my ass off. You have to be passionate and believe. I come from a family full of love, and that reflects in my music.

How would you describe a Behrouz set?
You know, I think of the sound system as a weapon. It can destroy the crowd or if it is used correctly, take them on a journey like never before. Sometimes when I spin, and I see the crowd going off – I cry – it is such a moving thing. I feel like screaming out “Thank you God for giving me this gift!!!”. I am one of those DJ’s who will kiss that piece of vinyl when it comes off the deck! I tease people, I move them, take them in one direction, and then switch to another. For me there are two types of DJ, 1 who will play records and the other who will play from the heart. I play from the heart. When people say to me what style of music do you play – I reply “Behrouz Style!!” I don’t play one particular style; I play what the crowd demands. It may be deep house here, a little tougher there. It all comes back to the research. I am doing something I really enjoy doing, and I get paid for it!!

Lets say, DJing and clubbing gets banned, what you gonna do?
Ha Ha!! I would go to my room. Get out my portable deck, CD player and Laptop, lock my self away and become a closet DJ!!

And what do you have planned, or would you like to do next?
Well, in no particular order, I want to get the Renaissance CD finished with Yousef, I’m doing a mix CD for a well known club in Italy, I want to find a proper manager, put more time into my studio and production, maybe move to the east coast – Miami perhaps, Take everything to the next level, and enjoy life!!! Whatever I do I will do it with love and passion.

As long as the love is there I have something to offer. If I die tonight, I will die with a smile of contentment and happiness on my face!!

And the interview was over, Behrouz  left me with a lot to think about...


Behrouz: Hey! I’m playing at L’Elephant tonight, a little private thing – you should come along!!
So midnight saw me hanging out with the main man again, this time I just sat back, with my Scotch, enjoying the view of Ibiza from L’Elephants roof, and was indeed taken in a musical journey by a DJ called Behrouz. If you´re in town when he´s spinning check him out...