DJs

DJ Saya

Somebody Saya oh yeah

by Kalani Wilhelm | Jan 13, 2010

DJ Saya / Drum ‘n’ bass in Honolulu city has evolved by leaps and bounds thanks to the efforts of DJ Saya.

Always with the scene’s best intentions in mind and closest to heart, the queen of Hawaii drum ‘n’ bass has a way of dialing in and delivering infectious grooves by the earfuls. Whether it’s wrecking shop with a throwdown set or one of her belated DJ comrades, it’s all for one and one for all as far as she’s concerned.

“The Hawaii d ‘n’ b scene here is my baby, for sure. I love watching it grow,” she said.

Sanctuary can be found, every First Friday at her widely popular “Subphonix” monthly at Mercury Bar, the longest running drum ‘n’ bass event; four years and counting. More solace can be found every third Saturday of the month at Bar 35 for her “Broken Liquid” get-down.

“I’ve seen a lot of people come through the door that have no idea what d ‘n’ b is and then they end up on the dance floor rocking out. It’s always refreshing to see,” she said.

“What keeps my fascination with d ‘n’ b going now-a-days, is its ability to encompass and incorporate so many different elements and influences. There are so many “sub-genres” now it is amazing,”

The level of respectability is there for the drum and bass genre already but Saya believes that in order for the culture to sustain and grow in even further, all facets of the scene, both new and old need to unify. When that occurs the best is surely yet to come.

“I’d love to see more togetherness with the EDM scene as a whole. I feel like d ‘n’ b used to not be accepted as much as other genres, but I think that may be changing,” she said. “I would like to try to reach out as much as possible to other parts of the scene this year.”

First Fridays, Mercury Bar, 1154 Fort St. Mall , 10pm–2am, $5, 21+; Third Saturdays, Bar 35, 35 N. Hotel St., 21+, 10pm–2am, free, [myspace.com]

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