Globe-trotting tunes

MORE
Travel page

Search Travel

SEATTLE

Globe-trotting tunes
Thanks to DJ Dean Sven, everyone is a world citizen

Photo by John Granen

DJ Dean Sven Carlson spins tunes from around the globe on Friday nights at Tost.

TUNE IN

Here are some of DJ Dean Sven's favorite music venues around Seattle.

FOR ALTERNATIVE, COUNTRY, AND ROOTS: The Tractor. "They routinely book the best new artists." 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W.; http://www.tractortavern.com/ or (206) 789-3599.

FOR A DATE: Dimitriou's Jazz Alley. Jazz greats call this venerable institution home when they're in Seattle. 2033 Sixth Ave.; http://www.jazzalley.com/ or (206) 441-9729.

FOR JAZZ, BLUES, AND R&B: About the Music. "It's in a funky, huge old warehouse space and has a nonsmoking area." 6010 Airport Way S.; http://www.aboutthemusic.net/ or (206) 762-5518.

FOR ROCK: The Showbox. With new improvements in sound, a good dance floor, and top acts, "they've really got it down." 1426 First Ave.; www.showboxonline.com or (206) 628-3151.

FOR DISCO: The Baltic Room. "It's classy, and they routinely bring in DJs from other countries." 1207 Pine St.; www.thebalticroom.com or (206) 625-4444.

FOR INTERNATIONAL MUSIC: Chop Suey. "Dance and electronic music from all over the world." 1325 E. Madison St.; http://www.chopsuey.com/ or (206) 324-8000.

On Friday nights, the dance floor at Seattle's Tost Lounge looks like something just blown in from the East. Grooving to the sounds of Midival Punditz, New Delhi's chart-topping group, ladies from the 'burbs might be mixing it up with a handful of men from India or shaking it side by side with Middle Eastern 20-somethings. This is just what DJ Dean Sven Carlson had in mind in May 2002, when he and business partner Darek Mazzone launched a project called Planet Beat, their signature mix of pop hits from other countries.

Whether it's electronica from India or hip-hop from Honduras, Carlson says Seattle is a perfect universe for Planet Beat. "Seattle is a very big test market for products. It's big enough to be cosmopolitan, but isolated enough to not be influenced by Portland or Vancouver," Carlson says.

The Bellevue-raised Carlson, 42, seems to have been destined for this vocation from an early age. He says he was always the one to organize the music for school dances and remembers that Herman's Hermits' "I'm Henry the VIII, I Am" was his first record purchase. At age 10, hearing Ravi Shankar play sitar at George Harrison's "Concert for Bangla Desh" piqued an interest in global music that has stuck with him. "Music from Africa and India layers and builds. It's very trancelike, very spiritual," he says. "People can dance in a way that's different than Western beats."

It goes beyond the beat — Carlson says music from other countries is an excellent bridge for humanity. "Music serves as a tool to open doors."

Carlson is on the verge of opening some of his own doors. He is negotiating with radio stations around the world to syndicate his show, which can now be sampled on his website (http://www.planetbeat.net/). First taker: Seattle's KMTT (103.7 FM), Sunday nights at 11.

Carlson may be starting a trend. "Whether it's lattés or laptops, big movements start in this city."

Catch Planet Beat Friday nights ($5) at Tost Lounge, 513 N. 36th St.; http://www.tostlounge.com/ or (206) 547-0240.

— Vanessa McGrady