It was with great sadness this afternoon, I heard of the tragic passing of DJ Mehdi.
I first met Mehdi in room 3 at Fabric Live, Halloween 2006, which finished at 5am with him and my brother on the mic singing Queen’s ‘Dont Stop Me Now’. I’d just been asked to programme my first ever Snowbombing, and off the back of that somewhat unconventional, but ridiculously enjoyable evening, I decided to make Mehdi (along with Justice, Feadz and Uffie) my first ever Snowbombing booking.
True to form, it was a pretty special night at Snowbombing in the Arena. Despite horrendous jetlag, and literally flying in and out for the show, Mehdi took to the stage with that trademark enormous smile. The floor was empty when he started. By the end its was literally jumping. With those tunes and that infectious grin, you couldn’t help but join the party. Still to this day, it’s probably my favourite ever Snowbombing set.
We booked Mehdi right at the start of his trajectory, and he went on to tour the world with the Ed Banger Crew and laterly as one half of Carte Blanche with Riton. However, all that success never changed him one bit.
Just a few weeks ago at Creamfields, I popped backstage to say hello, and was greeted as ever by a big hug, that irrepressible smile, and a cold beer from his rider. We had a chat about what he was up to, and what I was up to. He made me promise I’d book Carte Blanche for another festival i was working on, after I showed him the pictures. They were playing Creamfields, then off to Milan, Barcelona, Paris then New York. It was a hectic schedule, but he never moaned once about it – looking forward to each and every show.
I feel very lucky our paths crossed that day and I got to spend a good few very amusing hours with him and Henry. One look across twitter today will tell you how much loved and respected he was by his peers and fans- not just for his incredible talent – but also as a wonderful human being.
My thoughts, and I’m sure those of all at Snowbombing, are with his family and friends at this truly tragic time.
A bientot Cool Cat! Rest in Peace.
Marc Roberts
SB Booking Agent
DJ Mehdi – Lucky Boy (Outlines Remix) by lickshotentertainment
