DJ Sultan 32 produces and deejays at Globesonic parties in New York and Europe and the Middle East. A native New Yorker born of an Iraqi father and a Cuban mother, he is an enthusiastic advocate for the current "World Dance" scene where electronic dance music and worldly vocal and instrumental sounds mix. Sultan 32 appeared on Afropop Worldwide's "World Dance" special in late 2000. Adam Wasserman of Afropop Worldwide interviewed him again in June 2001 to get his take on what's happening in the world dance scene today.

APWW: What have some of the highlights been in the world dance scene in the past year?

Sultan 32: Luckily we've been seeing bands starting to tour like Ex-centric Sound System, Karsh Kale, I know Sidestepper from Palm Pictures is going be out soon. Ekova is going to be touring on the Vive La World Tour. There has been so much new music coming up specifically the Asian side of things. Swan-e just put his new record out as well as Talvin Singh. Ex-Centric Sound system just finished off their new album which I know is supposed to be coming out soon. They are a group of four musicians based in Israel, two from Ghana, and two Israelis, that mix electronics and African Music. And there is also an amazing record that recently came out of Bushmen from the Kalahari: Remixed, Melt 2000 put it out, and its fantastic. Those guys went ahead and hit a record. They got a traditional album of the Bushmen and then they went and got the tracks off to a handful of remixes. And also the African Travel Record that 6 Degrees recently put out is stellar as well, that and the Six Degrees Traveler 2001 compilation. They are fantastic.

APWW: So right now do you see any emerging trends in World Dance, or World Music in general.

Sultan 32: I think the big thing that is happening right now is the Electra World thing. That's the world that I am immersed in. The interest that I see coming from record companies, what all the record companies want to sign, are either people who are modernizing the sound in a technical manner to reach this demographic of the late teens to early 30's demographic of young professionals who want to go out dance, party, go to clubs, but who are also culturally minded. And those people are out there and they're interested in this type of music because they're buying it. The other side of the coin that I see in trends, is just that people want to get more and more of this musical fusion sounds, mixing different musical cultures together. A band like Lo'Jo for instance on Harmonia Mundi, their music is kind of French Chanson, with like Berber Music and other types of world music influence. I think of those world music "bands," for lack of a better word are really just the heavy direction that things are going in. Not to take anything away from the Baaba Maals, or the Youssou N'Dours of the world, but here's an artist like Gigi, who has a record coming out with Palm Pictures in December. She's an Ethiopian artist, but her music also has that "Beastie Boys" type of thing going on, the Lee Perry, Funkadelic that is hip enough that I can play it to a 16 year old and they are going to get it, and I could play it to my parents and they are going to enjoy it. I think that just boils down to production and the way that people are making their records these days. It's not as "lets get a group of musicians in Bamako, put them in a recording studio, and then put the record out with Sterns," it's not going to work, and it's not happening anymore. People are interested more in the future of it, where is the music going, and where is the evolution heading.

APWW: Are you seeing any trends right now in which you are surprised by their acceptance and accessibility, because they might be so out there as an amalgam of two different cultures that the public might not be ready to accept it yet?

Sultan 32: I can't say that I have been surprised yet, because to me, it makes sense the direction that it is all going in, the electronification of the sound, it makes sense to put that into a live music setting. What I'm surprised about is the amount of respect the DJ has gotten and the emphasis on the DJ. It's a real stupid joke. I would much rather be going out and checking out a real great band performing than staring at a guy playing records. I'm spinning and I don't understand why people come out. I know that I'm playing good music that they've never heard before, but it's pretty damn silly, I would much rather go out and see a band.

APWW: In your last interview that you did with APWW, you said that the scenes in the U.S. were latent compared to Paris and London, how do you think that the scene has progressed just in terms of media exposure, live events and the just even the way that the music is produced?

Sultan 32: There isn't a lot of music being produced in America that I can really point at and say that "It's happening." And even for the handful of bands that are here in America that are doing good there are two that come to mind right now are Kersh, and Antibalas, here in New York, that are trying to do it and getting the respect from the industry to be able to do it. But its tough, if you're a group from an African Band, or a group of young Indians living in NY that are doing traditional music its not going to happen. Its like super tough unless you are really able to tie into a scene and make something hip happen. And that's what happened with Kersh and Antibalas, is that they were able to create their thing, they didn't rely on "Alright we're going to go and play at S.O.B.'s and try and build a following, they went the other way and said were going to rent out a room and do this regularly and make it happen for us. And that's really the way it happens in NY and that's the way it happens everywhere. Look at Talvin Singh, he started his Anoka party, and it was the launching pad for him to be able to go out and do all the other things that he accomplished. I think that there is a lot of great stuff that is going out on the road. Ex-centric sound system are still touring in America, and I'm excited about them, because I could see a band that does this electronic music and is able to pull it off live, on a stage. They're fantastic, they are able to pull it off really well. And there is everyone else that is going to be touring. The Vive La World tour is happening with Ekova, Lo'Jo and Amina and those are all world music artists. It is going on in Paris, it's also because of the people that are there. There are lots of Africans and Arabs there that have been there 10-15 years longer than Africans that live in America. And the same is true of the Arab community that lives over there. Its because Europe is closer to their homeland and they've been able to be integrated deeper into the society of that European country. And it's the same with Latin Music in America, with the Ricky Martins and Christina Aguileras and the Gloria Estefans who are doing Latin music but in a pop way that has been accepted into the mainstream. Over there you can turn on the radio and hear Koffi Olomide, it's amazing. And Khaled isn't considered world music in France, he's a pop star. And God willing that will happen ten years from now in America with the African community or what I personally think will be next is the Indian community and the Arabic community because those are the other two big demographics next to the Hispanics.

APWW: A year ago you told us that you thought the only way that World Dance would become accessible to a western audience was with the injection of English over it.

Sultan32: It's a combination of the two. Right now Afro-Celt Sound System have a single that is being played on triple A radio, its in its first week of release right now and Peter Gabriel is singing on it. Now tons of people are going to find out who Afro-Celt Soundsystem are. Yousssou N'Dour has made it big and reached an American audience, not because he is a stellar musician, but because he sung with Peter Gabriel, he's stung with Sting, he's sung with Neneh Cherry. I think the pop collaborations obviously do a lot to enhance and prolong career of a world music musician. And on the electronic fronts, it's just because we're in America. I mean look at Ricky Martin, He'll be singing in English but he'll throw in a couple of Spanish words, and the meat of music is western based pop music, decorated with Latin music.

APWW: Do you think the singing in English is going to be the bridge towards expanding it to having people sing in their indigenous languages and ultimately deliver a music that is truly original?

Sultan 32: There always has to be some western influence in there. When you give somebody something to eat that they've never eaten before you might give them some sweet-sauce because it might be too bitter for them to taste. There are people out there that can hear African music right off the bat, and they get it. They could sit down and hear a 20 minute piece by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and they get it. Then there are others that will hear Nusrat and they will think that it is a dying lamb. They will be like, "get that off the stereo." And the way they mix it up is that you give people something that is familiar. You throw that guitar solo in there, you throw that English lyric in there. You mix it up. I look at Fela I think he was singing in English, other people don't understand it. As time evolves more and more people who get hip to it will be able to understand that they will be able to get onto the radio. And its also collaborations really, there's this Fela tribute album that the Red Hot Organization is putting out, where people like Erykah Badu and Maxwell and D'Angelo and Lauryn Hill are covering Fela tracks. That's going to do a lot for Fela, and that's going to do a lot for Femi. And from Femi it will hopefully spillover to other African Musicians and people will take an interest to look a little deeper into what is out there.

APWW: Do you ever start to worry though that too many concessions are being made in World Music to an audience to make it more accessible?

Sultan 32: I think making a record is the advertisement that you put out there for people to come to your concerts. There is art and there is commerce, and I understand everyone saying, "This is my art and I want to keep it the way it is," but you've got to make a living man. And if you want to make a living you have to figure out how it works best for you, how do you play the game and make the rules work for you. And that's really the question musicians in our scene need to face, and how to do it intelligently.