Worldly, North America’s largest World Music electronica event, truly lived up to its name with last week’s all-star line-up of globally renowned DJs and musicians. Organized by the same team responsible for Dhamaal at Club Six, the third Worldly night showcased 18 acts across five rooms performing for more than 1,400 enthralled attendees at the cavernous 1015 Folsom.

The main room kicked off with Bay Area mainstay DJ Cheb i Sabbah, who got the crowd grooving with his signature uptempo mix of the latest Asian electronica, world fusion and bhangra beats. Sabbah’s set flowed seamlessly into an entirely different universe as State of Bengal took to the ones and twos. With a dynamic set featuring cutting edge sounds that took the crowd on a journey through moody electronica abstractions to propulsive techno beats to chaotic world music collages, he confirmed his reputation as one of the Asian Underground’s most innovative and adventurous artists. The British audiovisual collective Visionary Underground was up next, featuring DJ Feelfree’s feverish drum and bass explorations that worked the audience into a sweaty frenzy.

Fresh off recent gigs with Bill Laswell and Sussan Deyhim, Karsh Kale next hit the stage for a live set that saw him merge his tabla mastery with a wide variety of atmospheres and breakbeats. Then, with MC Colonel in tow, Dhamaal co-founder Janaka Selekta took the flow into the wee hours with his unique hybrid of sparse textures, influences spanning the history of electronica and unpredictable mad beats. The main room was also notable for its gorgeous backdrop of South Asian tapestries and fine art by NyoMI, and swirling psychedelic projections from Skip Intro and El Diablo.

Dhamaal co-founder Maneesh the Twister performed in the adjoining Kollektiv room with his masterful dancehall-meets-dub-meets-hip-hop take on South Asian electronica. The room also featured DJ sets from Kale, Mutiny NYC's Zakhm and Sabbah who used the room to explore deeper atmospheres and grooves for those seeking a respite from the four-to-the-floor main room.

Over in the Shabaz live lounge, Sukhawat Ali Khan and Riffat Sultana’s unique east-meets-west live Qawwali performance took center stage. Together and separately, the their soaring vocals combined with Ferhan Qureshi and Shabi Farooq on tablas, and Shiraz Ali Khan on guitar to inspire many a whirling dervish to do their thing. Other local DJs including Soulsalaam, DJ Dragonfly, Zakhm and Ameet added to Worldly’s already expansive and festive vibe.

With Worldly and Dhamaal getting major props from global South Asian tastemakers like Bobby Friction and Nihal, Adil Ray and members of Asian Dub Foundation, I’m told we can look forward to even more amazing line-ups in the future on both fronts. Personally, I can’t wait.

Sandra Drake
DrakeReviews@hotmail.com