Mehdi Favéris-Essadi (20 January 1977 – 13 September 2011), better known by his stage name DJ Mehdi, was a French hip hop and house music producer and DJ. He was signed to the label

Ed Banger Records Ed Banger Records (sometimes referred to as Ed Rec) is a French electronic music record label founded by Pedro Winter in 2003 as a division of Headbangers Entertainment. It focuses on house music, particularly French house, as well as alterna ...

, founded by his friend

Pedro Winter Pedro Winter (born Pierre Winter; 21 April 1975), also known by the stage name Busy P, is a French record producer, DJ, record label owner, and former artist manager. After being the manager of Daft Punk from 1996 to 2008,Tunisian background in Hauts-de-Seine, the northwestern suburbs of Paris. He was a former disc jockey of the groups Different Teep (ex-group of and Lil Jahson),

Idéal J Idéal J originally Idéal Junior was a French rap group with members from Val-de-Marne and was active in the 1990s until its dissolution in 2001. It released two albums: '' O'riginal MC's sur une mission'' in 1996 and '' Le combat continue'' in 19 ...

and former member of the collective the Mafia K'1 Fry. He was also a long time the quasi-appointed producer of the group 113 and carried out nearly all the production of the albums for Different Teep and Karlito. Amid his work, Mehdi had remixed various electronic acts and composition soundtracks for many French and international films. After having been recognized for his efforts and budding into one of the French underground hip hop music scene's premier producers, DJ Mehdi henceforth pushed boundaries by mixing hip hop and electronic music. He collaborated with such notable artists as Daft Punk, Cassius,

MC Solaar Claude M'Barali, professionally known as MC Solaar (; born 5 March 1969), is a French rapper of Senegalese and Chadian origin. He is one of France's most famous and influential hip hop artists. Some consider him the best French rapper of all ...

Futura 2000 Leonard Hilton McGurr (born November 17, 1955), known as Futura, and formerly known as Futura 2000, is an American graffiti artist. Biography He started to paint illegally on New York City's subway in the early 1970s, working with other artist ...

Asian Dub Foundation Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and guit ...

and

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has ...

among others. "Coming from a rap music background, it's always nice to collaborate within other music genres…Paris is very inspiring because a lot of people are making great stuff, music and in other arts related fields also. My music and philosophies revolve around beats and blues, that's how I would try to describe it." Signing to cross-genre label

, Mehdi and

Pedro Winter Pedro Winter (born Pierre Winter; 21 April 1975), also known by the stage name Busy P, is a French record producer, DJ, record label owner, and former artist manager. After being the manager of Daft Punk from 1996 to 2008,indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

, popularization by

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and other labels from the

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in more recent years helped to bridge the gap between dance genres. Mehdi's single "I Am Somebody" was used in a 2007 American commercial for

XM Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...

. More recently, DJ Mehdi was part of a group of friends and DJ's collectively known as "Club 75" which includes Cassius, Busy P and Xavier de Rosnay (Justice). In 2010, he launched a project in collaboration with Riton, a close friend, titled "". Mehdi, being a fan of the late

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon vari ...

, created a mixtape tribute entitled "Loukoums", which was released in 2006. The mixtape is based on the concept of J Dilla's instrumental album ''

Donuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...

'', released the same year. In regards to the mixtape's direction, theme, and concept, Mehdi stated: "Based on the DONUTS album concept, these are demos, out-takes and unreleased gems from various records I worked on before and during the making of LUCKY BOY, my next album. Stuff comes from MEGALOPOLIS, 113 DEGRES and SHEITAN soundtrack mainly, but some is older too. Hope you enjoy these rough mixes and un-polished sounds, as I pay hommage to 'one of the greatest minds to ever make beats': Mr. James Yancey, better known as JAY DEE, also known as DILLA." Since the death of DJ Mehdi in 2011, this mixtape (initially pressed in 200 copies for promotional and family framework) is now available for free on the

' Soundcloud page.

Death

Mehdi died on 13 September 2011, when the skylight of his Paris home collapsed while he was celebrating Riton's birthday with a group of friends on the roof. Mehdi was the only fatality, while three others were injured.

Discography

Albums

;Ideal J *''Original Mc's '' (1996) *' (1998) ;113 *' (1998) *' (1999) *' (2002) ;Karlito *' (2001) ;Mapei *''Cocoa Butter Diaries'' (2009) ;Solo work *''The Story Of Espion'' (2002) *' (2005) *''Loukoums'' (2006) *''Lucky Boy'' (2006) *Lucky Boy at Night (2007)

Singles

*"Wonderbra" ("", Mc Solaar) (1997) *"Classik" / "" / "" ("", Assassin) (2000) *"" / " Remix" ("", Intouchable) (2000) *"Le Ssem" / "" ("", Rohff) (2001) *"" ("Ouest Side", Booba) (2006) *"I am Somebody" ("I am Somebody", DJ Mehdi, real: So_Me) (2007) *"Signatune" (2007)

Remixes

* 1997 Koma – "Realite Rap" (DJ Mehdi RMX) * 1998 113 – "" (Remix) * 1998 Fabe – "" (DJ Mehdi Remix) * 1999 Cassius – "Feeling for You" (Cambridge Circus Mix) * 2000 Joakim Lone Octet – "Oleg Dans Les Bois" (DJ Mehdi Remix) * 2000 Manu Key – "" (Remix) * 2001

Akhenaton Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...

– "K (AKH)" (DJ Mehdi Remix/DJ Mehdi Instrumental Remix) * 2002 Next Evidence – "Dance On" (DJ Mehdi Remix/DJ Mehdi's Dub) * 2002 Etienne de Crécy – "Out of My Hands" (DJ Mehdi Remix) * 2003

– "Fortress Europe" (Techno Organisation Remix) * 2004

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Dav ...

– "Footprints" (Dub aka DJ Mehdi Remix) * 2006

Architecture in Helsinki Architecture in Helsinki were an Australian indie pop band which consisted of Cameron Bird, Gus Franklin, Jamie Mildren, Sam Perry, and Kellie Sutherland. The band released five studio albums before going on hiatus: '' Fingers Crossed'' (2003), ...

– " In Case We Die" * 2006

New Young Pony Club NYPC (also known as New Young Pony Club) are an English electronic music band from London. The band was formed by Andy Spence and Tahita Bulmer in 2004. Their influences are predominantly post-punk and new wave artists. Career Forming and sig ...

– "Ice Cream" (DJ Mehdi Remix) * 2007 Outlines- "Just a Lil' Lovin" (album) * 2008

Sam Sparro Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional c ...

– "

21st Century Life "21st Century Life" is the second single from Sam Sparro's Sam Sparro (album), eponymous debut album, released on 21 July 2008. The Song was featured on one episode of ''Britannia High'' and it is also the theme music to the BBC Three drama, '' ...

" (DJ Mehdi Secret Disco Dub) * 2009

Erol Alkan Erol Alkan (born 30 May 1974) is an English DJ and producer of Turkish Cypriot descent. He grew up in Archway in North London. Career DJ and club promoter In 1993, Erol Alkan started DJing in various indie nightclubs in London. His fir ...

Boys Noize Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a Berlin-based German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter, and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he esta ...

– "Death Suite" (DJ Mehdi's Simple Acid Edit) * 2009

Miike Snow Miike Snow (pronounced "Mike Snow") is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Bloodshy & Avant and American singer Andrew Wyatt. The band is often represented by a silhouette image of a jackalope. In their ...

– "Burial" (DJ Mehdi Remix) * 2009

– ANDY FING P. * 2009

Uffie Anna-Catherine Hartley (born December 9, 1987), known professionally as Uffie (), is an American-French singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ, and fashion designer formerly signed to French electronic music record label Ed Banger Records. Uffie's musi ...

– "

Pop the Glock "Pop the Glock" is a single by French-American recording artist Uffie. The re-released single was released as a 12" vinyl on November 30, 2009. "Pop the Glock" was Uffie's first single and an international underground hit. It was originally relea ...

" (DJ Mehdi's "Casco" Edit) * 2010 Zombie Nation – Overshoot (DJ Mehdi Remix)

Mixtapes

* ''Loukoums '' (2006)

References

External links

DJ Mehdi
on Myspace
Discogs.com: DJ Mehdi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehdi, Dj 1977 births 2011 deaths Accidental deaths in France French film score composers French male film score composers French DJs French electronic musicians French people of Tunisian descent French hip hop record producers People from Asnières-sur-Seine Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 20th-century French musicians Electronic dance music DJs 20th-century French male musicians Because Music artists