DJ Bei Ru: Crate-digging and vintage vinyl sampling, Armenian style

Xeni Jardin 3:30 pm Wed Feb 23, 2011

Liz Ohanesian of the LA Weekly (a onetime Boing Boing guestblogger) emailed me recently about a hip-hop DJ/producer in LA named Bei Ru. Liz did a story a few weeks ago about him and his new album, Little Armenia (L.A.).

"It's the best thing I've heard in a long time," Liz says, "If you're into stuff like DJ Shadow, you should check out his work."

"Bei Ru's album is based on samples from vintage Armenian albums, particularly obscure funk and soul releases from the '60s and '70s," Liz explains. "He spent a long time seeking out vinyl in LA and on his travels to Lebanon and Armenia. I think he perfectly captured Armenian-American culture in L.A."

Here is her story for the LA Weekly, and here is the website and MySpace page where you can hear the tunes. Buy Bei Ru's "Little Armenia (L.A.)" album on Amazon.

Vimeo: The "Little Armenia (L.A.) trailer."

YouTube: "The Maiden," by Bei Ru.

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