Music Is The Answer Special Post - "Tcherniak & Thomas"

Hey Folks,

Well, as promised, our latest music post (a special one at that) is dedicated to two terrific talents & two great guys to boot, Nick Tcherniak & Steve Thomas. Both have been collaborating in the studio for some time now, both occasionally perform together, but they also have individual careers spanning, collectively, over 30 years. Plus, with some amazing sets from them both at recent gigs, we wanted to share a slice of their musical magic with you, as well as give you an insight into their colourful D.J. careers.

Steve Thomas has been playing out his characteristic hard hitting house style since the early nineties, having been spotted by Laurence Malice while playing at London club Labyrinth and was immediately offered a residency at Trade where he featured virtually weekly at the famous Turnmills venue. Touring with the Trade collective around the world, the trip to South Africa being superbly documented in a televised show, Steve shared his passion for hard house with the late great Tony De Vit, with whom Steve became very close friends until Tony’s untimely death in 1998. Whilst Steve (or as he became affectionately known, “Janet”) may be best recognised for being a Trade stablemate, he has performed at other clubs including, Cream, Sundissential & Ministry of Sound, but with guest spots across the world, Hong, Australia, Canada & the US, being regular visits, he is also well known for his residency at Twilo in New York, alongside Danny Teneglia, as well as the massive club brand DTPM in London. Other career highlights include development of the Tripoli Trax & Tinrub Recordings record labels and appearances on Kiss FM & Radio 1, making for one of the most sparkling CV’s in the business.

Nick Tcherniak was a little later to the game than Steve, but has an equally glittering career of hard edged house music for close on 10 years, with appearances at some of the biggest clubs around the globe, including Paradise Factory in Manchester, Fabric, Heaven, The End, The Egg & Fire in London, Queen in Paris & Los Angeles, La Chapelle in Lyon, & Propaganda in Moscow, as well as other European city club venue guest spots, making him truly international. Early in his career Nick balanced his D.J. career with a job at one of London’s best & longest running record stores, City Sounds, but when he secured praiseworthy weekly residencies at DTPM (where he cemented his friendship with Steve) & Fiction, he concentrated on D.J’ing and then producing music, which followed with acclaimed partnerships with D.J. producer Pagano at Heaven & Jason Gardiner, under the guise of “White Knights”. More recently Nick’s connections with Trade are most notable, but he regularly appears at the very popular Barcode Vauxhall & at smash Spanish club SuperMartXe. But it doesn’t stop there, as he tirelessly works in the recording studio as well as appearing on his regular weekly radio show at Push FM.

The partnership between Nick & Steve is a match made in heaven, as Steve’s Hard and US influenced house works extremely well with Nick’s sounds of tech, progressive & electro house, whether it be in the recording studio or live at clubs, spectacular back to back sets at Trade/Orange on August Bank Holiday Monday & at the massive 19th Birthday party this year being testament to their amazing collaboration. Previous joint track releases “Neva”, available on Axis Trax and “Believe” featuring artist Nathan James released on Filthy Groovin records, have both received major airplay on the radio & across many dancefloors as well as being part of D.J’s playlists. With Nick popping over to Spain, where Steve now lives, from time to time (and Steve to London), their latest track release, entitled “Ven Conmigo” featuring artist “S-J” is another great example of their joint efforts, which has attracted a huge amount of attention, already having been given different styles of remixing treatment, minimal by Lady Bianca, progressive by Steven Redant as well as both tech and tribal by the duo of Steve & Nick. All versions are available through online store Beatport and are well worth adding to your collection. The link is http://beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/193719/ven_conmigo#app=34e28a486-index=o. Their next collaborative track is already in the making and will also feature “S-J” and is titled “Control” which is due for full release on “Rogue Industry” (a new sub label of the well known “Champion” records – of Robin S’s “Show Me Love” & Faithless’ “Insomnia” fame) in the second week of March next year, which will be getting the full “Champion” campaign exposure and we will be the first to give you more details as they break.

Now, if you missed out on Steve’s awesome set at DTPM’s “The Bitch Is Back” party on 15th Nov (review extract – “Everyone was soaking up the octane fuelled, upbeat, hard house tinged yet adoring string of tunes Steve was putting together, which took us back to all those heady days of sets of his at Trade, of-course at the DT of old, but with a definite vein of newness running through it all, absolutely stupendous”) or Nick’s amazing performance at SuperMartXe’s 1st Anniversary party on Sat 28th Nov (review extract – “but when Nick Tcherniak took to the decks, we were going nowhere and found our stride dancing away deliriously to his incredible progressive, tech & electro beats that had a packed Coronet going wild, not least when he played a fab remix of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood classic “Relax”, pure magic!”), then you can catch Nick on the decks throughout December, including at Orange/Trade’s “The Magic of Christmas Night” and Steve, who fly’s in from Spain for DTPM’s “NYD 2010” party. There may also be a possible & exciting joint b2b appearance at Matinee in February (more news of that soon).

A final mention goes to Nick’s latest autumn podcast, which is a superb mix journey of underground house moving onwards & upwards to tech & upbeat tracks that had our feet tapping & hearts pumping as soon as we heard it. Recorded from a live D.J. set, the upbeat tinges will definitely appeal and features samples from “The Black Eyed Peas” & “Sander Kleinberg”, with the Tcherniak & Thomas track “Van Conmigo” (featured above) finishing off a magnificent 80 minutes of music. And in the inimitable words of its maker, “this is one not for chilling out, but more for getting up and getting down!” – we love it!!! Go to http://nicktcherniak.podomatic.com, and click to play or download to your complete satisfaction.

Well, that’s our special post up and we hope you enjoy our music choices here, but stay tuned for up-coming coverage of yet another release compilation by Brent Nicholls and a mix from Gabriele Cutrano who will be headlining at the forthcoming “Lovechild” party on 12th December.

In the meantime, don't forget that a wide choice of your favourite D.J's music can be found at http://seenqueen.com/music & as we say more & more, “let the music play”

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Juicy's Artis & Hi-Fi"

Hey Folks,

With our minds focused on happenings across gAylist London as things really step up in the march to 2010, our eye was slightly off the “music” ball, so, slightly delayed we know, we bring you details of tow of the scene’s real “grafting” D.J’s, both who have been busy compiling new mixes.

First up is saucy Steven Artis, who is well known to the London scene have been based here since 1992 when he decided to move from his native Germany. His fascination & passion for house music, whether uplifting, catchy, energetic or tribal is very much reflected in his style. This blond bitesize bombshell (yes, he used to have long blond locks!!) is part of the furniture at Fire, having been resident at nearly all of their club nights, including Horizon, A.M., Gravity, Orange, Later & not least Juicy, which remains one of his favourite club nights to play. But he also ventures into his hornier side, playing out at events such as Fitladz & Deep, as well as being a regular behind the decks at Barcode Vauxhall, both up front & in the club bar. When he is not behind the decks, he is busy downloading fresh tunes and compiling mixes and we just love his latest, entitled “futurism” (we are playing it now!), which is indicative of the style he plays out at Deep & Juicy, tough electro infused house with uplifting swirls & sounds. To get your slice of Steven, go to http://stevenartis.podomatic.com and click on “play” or “download” options and you can catch him live at Barcode Vauxhall this Sunday (29th Nov) and then next Saturday at Deep.

Our other choice this time around goes to Hi-Fi Sean Dickson, who we have featured in the past, but with a relentless chain of releases over the last few weeks, he is well deserved of another mention. Since first hearing him play in the flesh for ourselves, at Beyond back in May, when he captivated us in the black room, we have adored his style of music and try to catch him whenever we can, as he always reserves a place “under the mirrorball” for us (a private joke thank you!). A real torre de force on the London scene, this man holds down many residencies, current ones being Juicy, Hard On!, Ursus Cave, Our House & Beyond, but he also appears at regular Barcode nights & is called upon as a guest D.J. for a whole host of events, notable appearances being at Hustlaball, Tabloid & Space. Being able to turn his music style to fit the club in which he plays, his repertoire is extensive, very much reflective in his latest mixes which he has put together celebrating Hard On’s! “Mr Sleazy”, Juicy’s “Erotica” and new Friday outing at barcode Vauxhall “Our House”, not to mention classic Hi-Fi through his series of mixes, “Tech Noir” Vol. 6 & “Psychedelic House Music” Vol. 10 (told you he was busy). Details of all the mixes can be found at http://hifisean.podomatic.com & if you decide to download, check his facebook site for alternative site options. You can catch Sean D.J’ing this weekend at “Visions” at Fire this Fri (27th Nov), at Hard On’s! “Mr Sleazy” party on Sat (28th) & Beyond on Sunday morning (told you he was busy).

Well, that’s our two choices, but coming up this weekend is our next “Music Is The Answer” post, devoted to two amazing talents that collaborate both in the recording studio and live at club events to an exceptional standard (and are best pals to boot), Steve Thomas & Nick Tcherniak. We are already excited about this one and think you will be too!

In the meantime, let the music play & enjoy both Steven's & Sean's mixes!

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Lo-Profile Boys, Brent & Guy"

Hey Folks,

Well, following a magnificent Matinee party last weekend, we thought it only appropriate to include two D.J.’s’ latest mixes in our “Music Is The Answer” post, both which reflect their individual styles but most definitely the sounds you expect to hear from them at Matinee.

First up is main floor maestro Guy Williams, who often takes the opening slot at Matinee’s parties, exploding the atmosphere with his enthusiastic yet tough tech house and this is also a style reflected in his sets at the metrosexual clubbing outfit “Black Rabbit”, which has inspired his latest compilation. With a pedigree of parties behind him, including Trade at Turnmills & since, appearances for Radio one, even launching new club ventures like Hoof & Reverse, taking that latter to Manchester just last month, which proved a phenomenal success, 2009 has been good to this man and we have been only too happy to support his ventures & enjoy his fabulous music on many occasions. However, if you haven’t savoured is musical magic (where have you been all our lives!!) then go grab your slice of Mr Williams by downloading his “Jack The Rabbit” mix at http://sendspace.com/file/b218k1 and why not catch his latest track mixes/remixes at http://soundcloud.com/guy-williams/guy-williams-music-power. Incidentally, as we go to press, we are still recovering from his truly awesome set at DTPM “The Bitch Is Back”, when Guy was at his supreme best.

Our second choice goes to a London gAylisting D.J. that needs no introduction, as this man has, as you say, “been there & done that”, but in actual fact continues not only to evolve within an ever changing scene, but often is responsible for finding those records first, that end up being massive dancefloor hits. He never fails to delight us at Matinee, having given some truly sparkling performances at parties both in Colosseum & now Cable, Viva being a real highlight, but for us eclipsed by his latest Matinee appearance at “The Next Chapter” when he got the Parlour room absolutely pumping with his uplifting yet funky house. But this man is no stranger to the bar/club scene either, often playing out at both Barcode’s, most notably at Industri, but also has rocked Rupert Street & never fails to impress at Profile & Lo-Profile. Guessed yet? Well, it is Brent Nicholls of course and in his latest mix and in continuance of his “Live Sessions” series, he has laid down a set recorded live it Lo-Profile in October. In his own words, “this recording is all about the eclectic crowd that gets down to Lo-Profile, with a mixture of Latin beats, commercial floor fillers, tougher more electronic sounds and progressive house” very evocative of Brent’s style and the whole mix is a glorious collaboration of these house genre’s with some pure gems, not least our fave track of now, Zoe Baldwin’s “Release Me”. You can stream the mix for free at http://djbrentnicholls.com/music by clicking on the relevant album cover, or watch out for download options through certain Facebook groups & website newsletters.

Now, we promised details of a new track by D.J. Oliver M (the man behind Matinee London), who collaborated in the studio with Jean Phillip back in September to produce the superb track “Strings Of Motion”, which has been given the remixing treatment by Ivan Gomez. We predict that this could be a sure fire hit across Europe’s dancefloors and well worth a listen. To download this latest remix click on the following link.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/gyagzzzdzmm/Dj%20Oliver%20M%20and%20Jean%20Philip%20-20Strings%20Of%20Motion%20(IVAN%20GOMEZ%20REMIX)%20MASTER.wav

Well, that’s our latest choices up, which we hope you will enjoy. But, watch for promised news on compilations from Hi-Fi Sean & Steven Artis as well as news on releases by Serge Devant & Danny Verde. Plus, we will be focussing on two major talents, Nick Tcherniak & Steve Thomas, who have been busy in the studio recording.

In the meantime, don’t forget to log onto http://seenqueen.com/music, where you can get the best choice of the scene’s D.J. websites, mixes & compilations.

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Brilliant Beyond"

Hey Folks,

Well, it’s time once again to bring you up to speed with some recent compilation mixes that have definitely caught our attention and this latest “Music Is The Answer” post has a particularly special theme, in a word “Beyond”, with three of this mega afterhours clubs resident D.J.’s having dedicated their newest work to this phenomenal brand.

First up is Alan K, who has been playing out at Fire for many years and having enjoyed countless amounts of his sets a Later, in more recent times he has filled the final slot on the main floor at Beyond, although sadly for us, our energy levels have rarely allowed us to enjoy the full length of his sets. His uplifting chunky and funky style is reflected right across his work, which also extends to other clubs such as Gravity & A.M., both also afterhours attractions in their own right. However, in devoting a recent Sunday morning purely to Beyond, we managed to soak up the whole of Alan’s set & all the superb atmosphere created by Beyond at Fire and you can now too as he has released a “live” recording of his set at Beyond on 25th October, which will give you the full flavour of this man’s terrific talents. The mix is in two parts & to grab your fill, go to http://djalank.podomatic.com , click on the options & download to your delight.

Next up and another “live” recording of a set is fab Swedish D.J. D’Johnny, who has been cutting it right across gAylist/land London since whenever, playing out at some of the biggest clubs in town, including Juicy, SuperMartXe and (of course) Beyond. His career also spans both near & far continents, making regular trips to Cologne, Sydney & Madrid and was also in the thick of it during this year’s Ibiza season. Back in London, he is part of the resident team at Lo-Profile and also pops up in Barcode (where we first met) from time to time. However, for us, he is at his brilliant best when playing a Beyond and has taken the “black” room by storm in previous visits, with his tough tech & electro infused hard hitting house, but we have to say his best set yet was at “Beyond The Grave” where he played out to a packed “Terrace Room”. If you were there you will know how good it was, but if not, you can transport yourselves into this very set by going to the following link and finding out for yourselves, http://soundcould.com/djohnnybeyondthegraveterrace2009-11-01 , you are going to love it!

Now, our dedication to all things “Beyond” couldn’t be complete without the inclusion of the legend that is Steve Pitron, a name that has “Beyond” written all over it, not just at recent Area parties, but spanning the whole of Beyond’s domination of afterhours clubbing since 2001 & the days of Colosseum. For us, there is no other D.J. that attracts so much excitement & attention and he has been responsible for corrupting our Sunday mornings on so many occasions (in a good way you understand!), with his amazing ability to turn up the pace, set the musical heartstrings racing & combine classic tunes with up to date hits. This latest Beyond mix of his is no exception, with the inclusion of new vocal mixes of “Shake It” and “Let The Bass Kick”, an as yet un-released Freemasons remix of the classic “Here Comes The Rain Again” as well as the timeless “In My Life” which he was playing in Beyond back in 2003. With 17 other tracks in the mix, this is a must listen & Mr. Pitron at his very best. So, go to http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com and click on the download link.

Well, that’s it, our dedication to Beyond through three great mixes which we hope you will enjoy as much as we have done/continue to do.

Now, with our choices close to being right back up to date, watch out for upcoming posts which will include work from Hi-Fi Sean, Steven Artis, Guy Williams & a “hot off the press” compilation from Brent Nicholls, as well as more news on track releases by Serge Devant, Oliver M & Danny Verde.

Also, don’t forget to go to http://seenqueen.com, THE clubbing website, which also has a special music section covering featured mixes, links to London’s best D.J.’s sites & a new “Top 10” section.

Go There!

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Magnificent Matinee"

Hey Folks,

Well, with literally just hours to go before the Matinee “The Next Chapter” at Cable in London Bridge, we thought it only appropriate to dedicate our latest music post to this amazing gAylisting club event, focussing on two D.J. talents, one who has featured in past parties at Cable & the other guesting tonight. So, without further ado, let’s crack on!!....

Our first choice goes to Jonny M (Marsh), a powerful little D.J. talent, based down in Brighton, but who makes regular appearances in London, most notably recently at Matinee’s Cable launch party, packing out room one and performing brilliantly at the 3rd birthday. With birthdays being the name of the game in October, we were also privileged to be present for virtually all of his magnificent set at Trade’s 19th at Ministry of Sound, Jonny setting the bar room alight with his super sexy & octane fuelled house style, so characteristic of all his sets, mixing classic floor fillers remixed with tougher & hard hitting sounds to perfection, this matching his spectacular performance at Trade’s first outing at Ministry of Sound back in July. Following Matinee’s birthday party, in tribute, Jonny released his own mix, simply entitled “Matinee London Mix – October” which evokes everything that is great about his live sets. To download, go to http://soundcloud.com/jonny-m and transport yourselves into the Matinee magic.

Our other choice goes to superb Spanish D.J. talent Steven Redant, who is the guest D.J. at “The Next Chapter” tonight, playing out in room one as Jonny has. With a D.J’ing career spanning many years, Steven has held & continues to hold regular residencies at some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including, “La Demence” in Brussels, “Red & Blue” in Antwerp & “Discotheque” in Barcelona, as well as “Loveball” parties worldwide. Recent appearances include the massive Cologne party “Greenkohm” as well as the city’s “NightControl”, playing out at “in Eilat, Zurich, Paris & Madrid throughout 2009. He was in the thick of it at the peak of the Ibiza season, packing out Space twice in August, although his love remains with his residencies, especially in Brussels. However, his full-on pumping house style with a tinge of underground is sure to go down well at Matinee and speaking with Steven earlier this week, he is truly thrilled about playing in London. The man is always busy producing compilations and his latest is sheer brilliance, a true reflection of his style & performances at La Demence, which also includes his latest track release. So, to sample some scintillating Steven sounds, go to http://stevenredant.podomatic.com/ & click on whichever mix takes your fancy (they are all great!!).

Now, a couple of quick Matinee mentions go to firstly Oliver M’s track “Strings In Motion” which has been given the remix treatment by Ivan Gomez & also to an upcoming new release by Serge Devant (the man behind the 2009 smash “Addicted”) entitled “Wives In Jerusalem” with Naudia Ali on vocals, which looks like being yet another smash. More details of these will be released in forthcoming posts.

So, that’s our latest choices up and now it’s time to party at Cable & Matinee “The Next Chapter”. However, if (why ever not) you can’t or don’t make it, then check out Jonny’s & Steven’s latest mixes to get your own experience of the Matinee magnificence.

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "French Fancy's"

Hey Folks,

Well, with our last post being back in September, we have so much to catch up on, therefore in attempting to do just that, we will be releasing more than just the one weekly post throughout November, so watch this space for some magnificent mixes to come.

However, as we promised way back when, this post is devoted to all things French, with two newbie’s to our music page, both deserving of more than just a quick mention.

First up is a relatively unknown name to the London gAylist scene, although it will surprise you that this talent has played in venues such as Fabric, Colloseum, The End & Cafe De Paris, although it is fair to say his main stomping ground is France, his home country. D.J. Gaetan Scott has, since the early days of his fascination with music & mixing, rubbed shoulders with the likes of Antoine 909 & Slamma (both familiar names) and continues to constantly experiment, combining a complete genre of house music in his work, whether it be underground, tech, electro, funky, progressive or even disco, which he aptly calls “a fusion of colours”, “as long as it is uplifting & has a sexy flow” he say’s (and why not we say!). He has also tried the remixing game, a notable success being a bootleg of the Delux vs Shapeshifters “Sun Is Rising Up”, which even got radio airplay. His focus, however, remains on his fusion style and this is no more better displayed than through his latest releases, “Fusion of Sounds Vol’s 1 & 2” which well deserve a listen. So, to sample & succumb to the Gaetan Scott style (as we have) go to http://djgaetanscott.podomatic.com/, click on the latest two mixes & either stream or download to your delight.

Our second choice this time round goes to French fancy & worldwide globetrotter Leomeo, probably one of the sexiest D.J’s we have seen in a long time (what is it with these French boys!?!), who spreads his musical words wherevever he goes, whether it be Montreal, New York, Barcelona, Berlin, Rome, or Sydney, definitely earning him a reputation across the planet. But it doesn’t stop there, as his wings have spread across Asia, with major gigs in Kuala Lumpa, Shanghai & Manila, but also Singapore where he was resident for a while. Then there are places like Tel Aviv & Prague as well as the clubbing hotspot, Ibiza & you will realise that there are precious few places this man’s steps have not trodden. Of course his native Paris his major stomping ground, but London has not escaped his attention, with gigs at Discotec & more latterly Lovechild, where we witnessed his superb set. When he is not running around the world, Leomeo has a resident slot on the very popular “Radio FG” French online music channel & whilst his musical roots have a tribal, electro & progressive tendency, his energetic style goes more vocal too, his work dipping in & out to great effect. So, we definitely recommend a visit to http://leomeo.com/ where you can get your complete fill of over 8 mixes plus a whole load of visuals & more.

Well, that’s our first catch up instalment and we hope you will agree, two great alternatives to the norm. However, watch this space for a special Matinee music post coming up this weekend which will showcase another “Music Is The Answer” newbie, Jonny M as well as Steven Redant ( the guest D.J., for Saturday’s Matinee party), followed by a devotion to all things Beyond, with releases from Steve Pitron & Alan K, as well as lots more besides.

In the meantime check out our choices, kick back & enjoy!

xDM