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Soulico

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Location: Tel-Aviv, Israel

Website: http://myspace.com/soulicocrew

Bio: Circa 2000, the four members of Soulico were just friends that loved records, liked to party and had stockpiled massive collections of rare and unique ... (more) Middle Eastern vinyl. DJs Sabbo, Rob, Shimmy Sonic and Wido would sometimes spin together, but mostly alone, rocking beats that masterfully fused hip hop, reggae and dancehall to Israeli folk and disco from the 1970's. The excitement surrounding their eclectic sound was more akin to that of the underground club scene budding in Europe than anything the Middle East had experienced prior. They decided to throw a party as a group, pooling the genius of four radical DJs into one red-hot set. But what to call it?

Soulico.

It was the party to end all parties in Tel Aviv, but the DJs already had other plans. Sabbo traveled to Jaimaca to work with Stephen and Damien Marley while Wido joined the staff of VP Records in NYC. Meanwhile, Rob and Shimmy Sonic spun as a duo, perfecting the base for what would eventually solidify the group as a whole. Sabbo and Wido's return brought weekly parties, fresh new tracks and the very first Masabacha mixtape—all united under the Soulico moniker. 

A handful of madcap mixtapes and countless parties later, Soulico was awarded Israel's top DJ prize, driving their breakout radio hit and ringtone favorite “Lo Tzipiti” (a version of Tanya Stevens' “It's a Pity”) to the top of the charts. By 2004 Soulico was a household name, with the guys handling production for Israel's biggest stars. The group was throwing the wildest parties around.

But it wasn't enough.

“I was digging through the bins at Tel Aviv's Hatav Hashmini record store and I found the first mixtape, Masabacha,” says JDub founder and CEO Aaron Bisman. “The sound and the attitude were exactly what I look for in a group—authentically Jewish and musically unique. They flip a 500 year old folk song into a hip hop beat and that's not an easy task. Neither is putting Kelis, Sean Paul and Israeli rap group Hadag Nachash back to back, but Soulico does it seamlessly. It took a lot of work to find them, but the day they put up their US Myspace page I was the first to message them. We signed them immediately.”

Soulico's deal with JDub was a perfect opportunity. From there, the crew began to tour the USA, rocking parties in New York, Los Angeles, SXSW, San Francisco, Boston, DC and Seattle. They've performed alongside Del the Funkee Homosapien, Buju Banton, Kid Koala, Nightmares on Wax, Devin the Dude, Balkan Beat Box, Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars and Hadag Nachash. In 2008 they released a mixtape podcast through Diplo's Mad Decent label.

Now their debut album Exotic on the Speaker, will be released September 29th 2009, featuring guest appearances by Ghostface Killah (Wu Tang), Del the Funkee Homosapien, MIA's protege Rye Rye, Pigeon John, MC Zulu, Ceci Bastida and Middle Eastern MCs Tomer Yosef (of Balkan Beat Box), Onili, Saz and more.

The first single “Put 'em Up” featuring Lyrics Born and Israeli MCs Axum is out now.


ABOUT THE DJS:

DJing since 1998, Eyal Rob (DJ Rob) founded Israel’s most popular music website and blog, mooma.co.il, as well as Israel’s music channel, Channel24. An accomplished writer on music and culture, Rob edited 2003's Ain’t What it Used to Be: Stories of Israeli Club Culture and currently contributes to several Israeli publications.

Ido Saar (DJ Wido) has written and produced songs for such Israeli luminaries as Zahava Ben, and produced the top selling Israeli Now That’s What I Call Hip Hop volumes I and II for Helicon. With an artist visa secured in 2002, Saar spent a year working on staff at VP Records in NYC.

Ronen Sabbo (DJ Sabbo) has been awarded numerous Gold records as a song-writer and producer for HaDag Nachash, Asaf Amdursky, and Mookie. Sabbo has worked with Stephen and Damien Marley and produces alongside “Thru You” DJ/Producer Kutiman. He also acts as Mad Decent's Tel Aviv correspondent.

Michael Emmeth (DJ Shimmy Sonic) has taught sound design at Jerusalem’s renowned Bezalel Academy of Art and Design since 2002. He was nominated for the Best Sound Design award in 2000 by the Israeli Film Academy (akin to the Oscars) for his work on Mars Turkey and won the Best Sound Design award from the prestigious Jerusalem Film Festival in 2006 for his work on No Exit.

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