Ernesto Chahoud

Ernesto Chahoud is an internationally renowned DJ, compiler and music researcher from Beirut who aims to bring the rarest and sometimes strangest records to people’s ears. He co-founded the Beirut Groove Collective, a decade-old vinyl DJ collective that runs one of Beirut’s hippest weekly parties, the BGC All-Nighter, where obscure 1960s and 1970s clubbing records from around the world can be heard. A serious record collector, Chahoud has one of the largest vinyl collections in the Middle East. Specialising in Arabic and Ethiopian music, his taste for little-known gems and obscure dancefloor stompers for his DJ box has taken him on digging trips around the world, from Addis Ababa to Cairo. He also owns Darsko, a record shop in Lebanon stocking rare vinyl cuts from disco bellydance and tarab to jazz, funk, soul and afrobeat.

In 2018, UK label BBE released Chahoud’s compilation ‘Taitu’, a 24-track collection of songs from the dancefloors of Addis Ababa in the 1970s by artists like Mulatu Astatke, Alemayehu Eshete and Birkineh Wurga. The DJ has also curated and produced Middle Eastern Heavens, a reissue series of progressive records from the Arab World’s 1970s and 1980s golden age for experimentation in music. The first two releases ‘Belly Dance Disco’ and ‘Sonatina for Maria’ by Ihsan Al-Munzer, a Lebanese composer and arranger, came out on BBE in 2020 and 2021. Future projects in the works for 2022 include a compilation of Lebanese music with US label Now Again and releases with the label We Want Sounds.

Chahoud hosts monthly radio shows on NTS and Totally Wired Radio, where he showcases music from his far-ranging collection. In 2017, he played a set on Beirut’s first ever Boiler Room session, alongside Habibi Funk, held in the loft of legendary Beirut record store Chico Records. He’s also done numerous eclectic DJ mixes for magazines and record labels like Jakarta and BBE. His long-standing series of DJ mixes under the name ‘Middle Eastern Heavens’ showcases groundbreaking records from the Arab World, one of which was selected by The Guardian as their ‘Best Mix of 2015’.

A DJ for over 20 years, Chahoud’s influence on Beirut nightlife scene is unparalleled. He single-handedly introduced funk and soul to the city, spreading vinyl culture and offering a non-commercial alternative to the mainstream through his parties. Over the last decade, Chahoud has toured the world, filling dancefloors from Dubai to Dortmund with rare funk and soul records, raw Ethiopian grooves and his own Lebanese funk, ‘60s garage and soul discoveries. He has been featured on BBC World Service, VICE Magazine, ARTE, Monocle Radio, CNN and many more.

https://www.nts.live/shows/ernesto-chahoud

https://boilerroom.tv/recording/ernesto-chahoud

https://www.bbemusic.com/artist/ernesto-chahoud/