Vetor Interviews: Fafi Abdel Nour
Moving between cultures and dancefloors, Fafi Abdel Nour has developed a musical language shaped by curiosity, research and a deep connection to the history of club culture. Born in Syria, raised in the Netherlands, and now based in Amsterdam, where his work as a DJ and resident at CLUB RAUM is informed by a fascination with ’90s house and the communities that gave the genre its meaning.
For Fafi, the dancefloor is less about imposing a sound than creating a shared language with the people in front of them. In this interview, we talked about growing up between different cultural references, the sense of discovery he fond in ’90s house, and how the energy of a crowd can transform basically everything.
Interview by Guilherme Higashizima
Vetor Magazine: You were born in Syria, grew up in the Netherlands, and now live in Amsterdam. How do these different cultural references shape your relationship with music and the way you understand the dancefloor?
Fafi Abdel Nour: I think growing up between different cultures naturally made me curious. I was born in Syria but grew up in the Netherlands, so there was never really just one cultural reference point for me. I think that translates to how I understand the dancefloor too: people with completely different backgrounds can come together and, for a few hours, share the same experience. I’ve always been drawn to the idea that you don’t need to come from the same place to find a common language.
VM: Your research is deeply connected to ’90s house music. What do you find in those records that you feel is missing from much of the music being produced today?
F: What keeps pulling me back is that house music was still finding its shape. There were fewer rules around what it should sound like, so different scenes and influences pushed it in completely different directions. A lot of these records were also made for a community and a dancefloor rather than around the visibility of the artist. There’s incredible music being made today, but I find that sense of discovery and necessity harder to come across.
Photography by Loes De Boer
VM: You’re a resident at CLUB RAUM in Amsterdam and have played on very different dancefloors around the world. What changes in the way you play when you move from a European dancefloor to a Brazilian one?
F: I try not to arrive with too many assumptions about how a certain country or crowd is going to respond. Every dancefloor is different, even within the same city, so it’s really about reading what’s happening in front of me. That’s what I love about playing in different places: a record I’ve played a hundred times can suddenly feel completely different in another context. I bring my own musical language, but together with the crowd we decide what accent we speak that night.
Photography by Loes De Boer
VM: You’ve been to Brazil before. What stood out to you most about the dancefloors here, and is there anything you’d like to experience or discover on this trip?
F: What I remember most is the openness and energy. People really wanted to participate rather than just observe the DJ, and that kind of exchange makes me want to take more risks. This time I’d also like to experience more outside the club. DJ travel can easily become airport–hotel–club–airport, so I’m trying to spend time in the places I visit and get a better sense of the culture around the dancefloor.
Photography by Loes De Boer
VM: If you could choose any DJ, from any era, to share a booth with for one night, who would it be?
F: Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage. It was such a formative moment in club culture, when the relationship between the DJ, the sound system and the dancefloor was still being defined. Paradise Garage helped lay the groundwork for so much of what we now understand as clubbing, but I only know that world through recordings and stories. To experience it firsthand, from inside the booth with larry himself, would be incredible!
