A Product of Your Environment

Yousefs second complete artist album A Product of Your Environment sets out to paint a technicolour picture of a DJ long player, achieving the goal and in the process easily becoming Yousef's finest work to date. It moves away from the usual process of a beat led project that has become so familiar among DJs, the album is designed to be listened to from start to finish, a complete work. Each track escalates beyond club use and into as a composition in its own right, dripping with its own unique element of identity and personality. With full songs, complete instrumentation and a focus on melody the album equally takes time for a sophisticated selection of serious club workouts. While reflecting Yousef s standing as a global dj A Product of Your Environment is Influenced by Yousefs personal history and global travelling exploits yet nodding to melancholic Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Prince as much as wild moments on the floors and booths of Cocoon, Circo Loco and Space. Already the dancefloor workouts have received heavy support from DJ elite, with Loco Dice, Magda, Carl Cox, Guti, Uner and Nic Fanciulli already wearing thin the promo copies. The project has allowed Yousef to open up his collaborative instincts too, inviting some unknown but extremely talented musicians to perform. Each track has been produced, played on, arranged and mixed by Yousef, with collaborations coming from Mercury Prize nominee Gwilyam Simcock on the open and fresh sounding album finale Dissolve. In fear of dusk features Neil Campbell, one of the UKs finest classical guitar players, creating an evocative masterpiece that is arguably Yousef s strongest (and most complicated) club offering yet. The rest of the talent includes songstress Candie Payne and Charli Taft, with male vocals put forward by relative unknowns David Williams and Tom Crew along with Chicago House legend Alexander East on Think Twice. Only one track, Had no Sleep, doesn't feature lyrics written by Yousef, adding to the directorial approach he has taken. A product of your environment also features the talents of Binary Cell Studios Stefan Kazassglou and Mark Brocklesby who helped record the vocals and live piano and skilfully play some of the extra live instrumentation on the assignment. The title gives way to the true meaning of Yousefs work, where he has been influenced not just by the clubs he works in but the world around him as well. Yousefs new album is an expression of someone for whom dance music has been a career, yet he looks to the outside world for focus. In a year where his personal life has reached an all time high the project reflects experiences he has been through as well as the worldwide clubs he continues to rock - a true product of his environment...