Music Is The Answer "Entertaining European's"

Hey Folks,

Well, from the comfort & protection of our home, we take another weekly look at the D.J’s that are doing it for us and the tunes that are delighting our ears, this latest “Music Is The Answer” post having a distinct European flavour to it.

So, we take a close look at two talents that are cutting a stride in their respective countries & another globetrotter that has a brilliant new track out.

First up is the lovely Venezuelan Eduardo De La Torre, who have been really making a name for himself since moving to and making Berlin his home a year ago, quickly landing a weekly residency at The Ken Club as well as spreading the De La Torre magic across Germany with gigs at some of the biggest happenings in the country, including Hamburg Pride, Gay Happening, Pearls Of The Night & Clubs United, as well as playing out regularly at clubs Spundloch & 136 Grad in Hamburg & at the Gay Convention in Krefeld, plus plenty of circuit events across northern Europe. However, it seems to be in Eduardo’s nature to always want to keep things fresh in his life and head for new projects & boundaries, indeed having roved around much of Europe throughout his young life, Madrid being a base for a while and then London being another highlight of his career, when the cute Mr De La Torre immediately impressed with regular spots at Matinee as well as running his own Friday night club night, “Uncut”, he is once again venturing further afield from his current base. Recent trips to Copenhagen and Stockohlm as well as back to his native Venezuela evoke this man’s passion for travelling around and he often says that “Traveling and meeting people around the world is one of my hobbies” and wherever he goes he takes his bag of tools, his records, spreading his love of house music through genre’s that include funk, electro, tribal & latin, all mixed in with delightful vocals that always fill the dancefloor when he is playing, Eduardo also remarking that “Music is my life, I love the connection it makes with the crowd I play to and D.J.’ing is one of my biggest passions”. And this definitely also shows through in the work that he lays down in the studio, not least a recent track release, a remix work of artist Q,Boys’ record “Set It Up/Pull It Off” with the progressive genre label to it, but in actual fact combining electro & funky undertones as well as playing beautifully on the vocals to give it a real euro-style big stage sound and is available to listen or download through soundcloud via http://soundcloud.com/eduy2k/qboy-set-it-up-pull-it-off-feat-case-by-case-dj-eduardo-de-la-torre-no-scene-remix. But his works don’t stop there as he puts out a handful of compilations every year and his latest is a celebration of his appearance at massive worldwide club brand Salvation’s first party in Berlin, masterminded by the brilliant Steve Elliot, Eduardo being part of a stunning D.J. line up & a huge event success, this mix a worthy addition to your collection & very evocative of the De La Torre style which you can download now at http://djdelatorre.podomatic.com/. So where can you catch this superb D.J. talent in the up-coming weeks? Well, he is about to embark on a tour of Russia, concentrating on the big clubs in Moscow, including the huge Propaganda and then returns to Germany for a whizz around Berlin, Hamburg & Dusseldorf during April, before making a welcome return to London for Hustlasball the first weekend of May and we can’t wait to hook up with him again, having last seen him sharing birthday week’s together a couple of December’s ago.

Next up is the fabulous & energetic Steven Redant, who is every bit the globetrotting D.J., more often than not living out of his suitcase & spreading the Redant word wherever he goes, be it in Moscow, Rome, Eilat, Istanbul, Lausanne, St Tropez, New York, or Toronto, just to mention a few destinations, the man hardly ever standing still, Steven often remarking that his travels are “relaxing after a week in the studio” and entertaining his audience through amazing performances combing his trademark progressive sounds intermixed with plenty of tech & electro house to great effect. The man’s C.V. is littered with appearances at some of the biggest club names around, Privilege in Ibiza starting it all off, but subsequent conquests including Queen in Paris, Black n Blue in Antwerp & Propaganda in Moscow, although in between guest appearances across Europe, The Middle East & America, Steven also holds down a regular residency at super glamorous club La Demence, where he is part of the stable of core D.J’s that perform to massive 2000 plus crowds each month. However, despite his globetrotting tendencies, this enigmatic Belgian always returns to the anchor that is his current home, Barcelona, often adding intensive stints in the studio to his jam packed hectic schedule which means the release of compilation mixes is nearly as feverish fast as his D.J.ing gig demands and whilst in Barcelona he also has a regular residency of one of the city’s most popular clubs Discotheque, which was the inspiration for his recent single release of the same name. Add to that his weekly radio show “Get It On”, not just a radio show but a phrase that sums up this man’s vitality & energy and you get a sense of the whirlwind life that Mr Redant envelops himself in, the sporty Steven also loving trading the surf for the snow and has just this last week been tearing up the slopes at The European Gay Ski week, which culminated with a massive Trade party in Tignes, where he played alongside Elof of Red & Blue and he described it in typical Redant fashion “I’ll be coming down from the mountains so will be my own little nuclear reactor” and we couldn’t sum up this man any better than that. So, to get your sample of his atomic energy & reactive fusion of sounds, go check out his latest podcast, taken from a set at La Demence earlier this month which you can listen or download at http://stevenredant.podomatic.com/. Upcoming gigs include an Easter session at, where else but La Demence, Steven drawing a little breath with regular spots in Barcelona in April before hitting both Rome & then London for Hustlaball on the first weekend of May.

Now, onto that track that is filling our ears at the moment and is very much in the “nu funk” style that seems to be filling the sets of scene favourite Brent Nicholls right now, but a single compilation that comes from French fancy D.J. Leomeo and is very characteristic of his music slant & style. Entitled “The New Sound of C”, this is a tune that has an amazing uplifting beat to it, yet from the second it starts, takes you on a crescendo building journey that is pure delight and will have your feet more than just tapping in an instant. We are sure that this is going to be filling dancefloors around the globe this spring & summer and is well worth grabbing now, which you can at http://djtunes.come/leomeo/the-new-sound-of-c and you can get more info on this sexy disc spinning star at http://leomeo.com/.

Right, that’s about it for our selections this week, but just time to mention, as we do, http://seenqueen.com/music, which has a comprehensive listing of some of the best music on offer including latest releases from Phil Hewson, Alessandro Londra & Alan K (more on his in our special “mix masters” post), so is well worth checking out.

Coming up here next week is a focus on two talents new to our “Music Is The Answer” slot, Jonny Marsh of Gaydarnation fame who has just taken up the helm of Friday night club “Onyx” and a name that is synonymous with the D.J.’ing game, Jon Dennis. Add to that penned posts to include Guy Williams, Hi-Fi Sean, Mis-White & D.J. Minx plus an eagerly awaited compilation from Terry Bryan & there is some great music still to come your way.

In the meantime, we hope you like our choices here, so all that’s left to say is “sit back, turn up the volume & let the music play"
xDM

Music Is The Answer - "The New Breed"

Hey Folks,

Well, what a topsy turvy week it has been in Disco Matt land, although through much of the adversity has come some brilliant sounds to soothe our soul, so music has definitely been the answer. And in this latest post, we focus on two young spurning talents that have attracted our attention and then give a shout to a scene favourite’s latest release.

First, we take a look at Jamie Hammond, a name relatively new to the scene and, in fact, quite new to D.J’ing, although in the relatively short time he has been establishing himself, he has definitely been noticed by some of the clubbing top brass, his straight forward style & charming personality winning him many friends. Having decided to make a career for himself behind the D.J. booth early in 2009, Jamie purchased a set of decks to practice the mixing art and soon found himself landing a regular slot at the very chic D.J. bar Inigo in Clapham, a venue that attracts a whole host of sound spinning talent, with the likes of Seb Fontaine & Tall Paul having graced the decks, Inigo also winning numerous best South London bar awards. So securing a place in among the “a” listers was a real coup and was sure to lead onto further things for Jamie and it wasn’t long before he found himself not just in among the “a” list but also the gAylist crowd, landing a residency at the new clubbing success of 2009, Onyx at Area & also then securing a slot at legendary Monday night club Popcorn at Heaven. Other accomplishments in Jamie’s short career have been appearances at Ministry of Sound, but moreover for Pacha in Victoria which has opened a number of doors internationally for him as he will be a feature of the summer season in Ibiza this year and has been earmarked for a number of overseas gigs as well as some potential new residencies into 2010. So, as the saying goes, the future is bright for Mr Hammond, not that he is doing bad at the moment, far from it, his tough take on uplifting, funky & chunky house with a hint of tribal going down a storm at Onyx as well as Popcorn. And this style is very much reflected in his latest compilation release entitled “Rock Da Funky Beats”, available to download & listen at http://d-jamie.podomatic.com/ and includes remixed classics as well as new material and is a worthy addition to your collection. And if you want to get a slice of “live” Jamie Hammond, Monday’s in Heaven or Friday’s in Area should be a date, Onyx’s “Resurrection” party on Good Friday looking like a real hottie.

Our other focus goes to another young talent who grabbed our attention (and some) with an absolutely amazing performance at club night Matador, which held its launch party at Barcode Vauxhall on 6th March, where he literally captivated his audience with a glorious mix of deep & euro-style electro beats mixed in beautifully with uplifting sounds that had the club space of this most popular South London bar rammed for virtually the whole of his 3 hour set. Currently a living in Brussels, Andrei Stan, better known to the clubbing fraternity as “D.J. AnDrEi1”, was born in Romania and discovered at a young age that music was going to form a major part of his life, first learning to play the piano which gave him a good ear for sound and then realising that he found real enjoyment in creating sounds through music & mixing, so set out on the D.J. path by playing at private parties, which, like so many of his peers seems to have been the way to start. With his talents being quickly noticed, he became sought after in his native Romania, playing at a host of clubs , also headlining a major music concert there, although the bright lights of Western Europe soon beckoned & Andrei found his way to Belgium, fast making a name for himself playing at clubs like “La Rocca”, “Louise Gallery” Le You” & “Pulse Factory”. However, his appearances at amazing club “La Demence” will strike the most resonance with the gAylist fraternity, this amazing party which only takes place 12 times a year, being probably one of the biggest & most glamorous club events in Europe, attracting a truly international crowd from France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Switzerland & Spain, as well as ardent clubbers from the UK and the USA, the huge crowd being matched by equally big D.J. stars such as Pagano, Phil Romano, Fabio White, Ben Manson & Steven Redant and with the clubs strategic position in Brussels, it is a mecca for travellers near & far, part of the reason Andrei decided on the city as his home. And that decision has seen him recognised and landed him a residency at The Box Club in the city, where you will find him playing most weekends, when his terrific talents are not required elsewhere. Andrei is also aiming to commence studio work, both remixing & recording his own compilations and as soon as we have news on a release, you will be the first to know. As for upcoming gigs, apart from his Box residency, you can catch D.J. AnDrEi1 behind the decks at La Demence on 30th April and we are reliably informed he will be back in London for Matador very soon.

Now, with the fantastic Lovechild back this coming Saturday for their “Spring Affair” party, we are thrilled that scene star Nick Tcherniak has been added to the D.J. roster & will be playing at this up-coming party. Add to that his incredible performance at Matinee’s “Circuit” event this last weekend and we cannot stress what pleasure you will receive from his latest podcast called “I Have A Dream” which is an absolute smash, transporting us right back to the dancefloor in his hands when we listen to it. With tracks that include amazing remixes of Kidd Massive’s “Touch Me”, SL Curtiz’s “Drop That Sound” and Photon’s “Generate Power” and with no less than seven tracks getting the Mr Tcherniak remix treatment, well it’s an incredible treat!! Grab your copy at http://nicktherniak.podomatic.com/ and like us, let Nick take you on a jubilant musical journey.

Right, well that’s about it for this latest post, but watch out for next week’s when we focus on Eduardo De la Torre & Steven Redant, also giving D.J. Leomeo’s latest track a big shout. Then, with looks at works from Jonny Marsh, Jon Dennis, Guy Williams, Hi-Fi Sean, Mis-White & D.J. Minx already penned, but much more on the list there is still lots of great music coming your way. In the meantime, don’t forget you can visit http://seenqueen.com/music which has a wide ranging selection of latest releases & download links.

So, we hope you like our music choices & D.J. focuses and all that’s left to say is, sit back, relax, turn up the volume & let the music play.

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Incredible Italiano's"

“INCREDIBLE ITALIANO’S”
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER SPECIAL
6TH MARCH


Aren’t we so lucky to have such a depth of D.J. talent on offer in London, probably one of the most cosmopolitan capitals in the world, many befitting the vast array of club brands around, although when it comes to deck meisters, there seems to be one country that dominates the scene, with a veritable feast of them to savour. So, following on from our “Magnifico Italiano” post in January, we follow it up with promised focuses on two talents, as well as including a third & then taking a quick peep at some latest works from the two that got all the attention a couple of months ago.

So, first up is a young man that we have been following since he started out in the D.J’ing game and has probably been one of the most meteoric rises to fame we have seen in all our years on the clubbing music scene. A product of his home city Milan, Danny Verde set himself on the road to stardom in the recording studio, where through months, nay years of hard work saw his first production hit the big time, when “Pushin To The Top” did just that, becoming a euro-wide success & getting his name recognised beyond his native Italy. This smash was quickly followed by “Open Your Heart”, with Andrea Carnell providing the vocals, another brilliant record that is getting plenty of airplay across gAylist London dancefloors at the moment. Add to that remix works of records “Express Yourself” & “Let Me See Your Underwear”, which have underpinned his talent in the studio, Danny’s real passion was always to hit the big time playing live in clubs & events and a big break early in 2009, when he came & played in London for the first time, sparked a whole host of appearances across Europe. But it was The Circuit Festival in Barcelona when he made a huge splash and in front of some of the worlds biggest club promoters, Danny followed a brilliant showing with a summer slot at Spanish favourite club D-Boy and a breathtaking run of parties in France, Belgium, Germany, Russia and Sweden as well as across Italy. The international stage was now for the taking and having got that very important exposure at one Europe’s biggest dance events, the proverbial world was Danny’s oyster, with tours of Brazil & Mexico major conquests, securing his position as THE big new player, his work getting accolades from the likes of Danny Teneglia, Ralphi Rosario & Chris Cox. Describing his music style, whilst there is a distinct slant towards progressive & tribal house intermixed with uplifting vocals, Danny has never put a particular label on his performances & productions, but there is no doubt that he has a very distinctive sound and the minute a record is played you know it is Mr Verde, hence one major reason why his services are now in such demand. Away from his live gigs, he occasionally gets the chance to put some compilations together, his latest mix entitled “Danny Goes To Brazil” celebrating his highly successful tour earlier this year and a great example of his unique talent & style, which is available through http://dannyverde.podomatic.com/. However, his real skill is in his remix work and in advance of his upcoming trip to Los Angeles, Danny has worked on a remix of Blake Lewis’s single “Heartbreak On Vinyl”, which has just been released on Tommyboy records US., with further projects penned for this label, together with a remix of Hector Fonseca’s “Addicted” & Thomas Anders’ “Stay With Me”. Next week sees Mr Verde make is US debut at club Friction in Los Angeles and then back in Europe, gigs in Berlin, Cologne, Oslo & Valencia are on the cards, as well as a return to London at the end of May.

Our second incredible Italiano has probably made the biggest impact of any and is recognised as a leading performer in his field, making waves wherever he goes. A product of Sicily but having made London his home & base, there is little doubt that Mr Francesco Pagano has reached virtual legendary status, racking up probably one of the most impressive list of gAylist appearances across the scene in the capital, from Matinee to Megawoof, Onyx to Orange, Rapido to Revolver, Tabloid to Trade and loads more besides, his talents in demand & his reputation higher than anyone we know. And, seeing him performing behind the decks makes you realise just why this man is revered as he is, not just by his clubbing audience, but by club promoters alike who can see the attraction and draw that this superb star seems to have. So, what sets Pagano aside from his other peers? Well, there is little doubt that he takes his audience on a jubilant journey through a host of progressive & electronic sounds that is evocative of his style, casting his line of musical mastery and hooking his audience, drawing them in with each & every beat. So, it also comes as no surprise that he has appeared at events & clubs right across the globe, having been right in the thick of it at last year’s Circuit Festival in Barcelona, hitting the high notes in Ibiza at both Space & Privilege, making it big in Brussels at La Demence & Amsterdam for Rapido, but further afield, having played out across all five continents (even he has made Antarctica yet), his latest conquest been a stunning set at the “Alegria Musica” party in New York, playing alongside Chus & Ceballos. But Francesco is just as well known in the recording studio, where he has produced some amazing remix work, topping many of the D.J. and download charts, probably his most prolific pieces of work being “Back To the Future” and “Trapped”, the latter a collaboration with Wayne G & featuring Peyton., these and other releases getting the support of names such as Bob Sinclair, Paul Van Dyk, Danny Rampling & Junior Vasquez, testament to the quality of his productions. More recent works look like living up to this heady reputation, his remix of Steven Redant’s track “Discotheque” which raced up the charts within days of its release and is still available via http://beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/208033/discotheque_pagano_remix. 2010 sees his producing continue to bear fruit, with some amazing new work due out over the next few weeks, Pagano particularly proud of forthcoming mixes of the US club hits “I Try” by Made By Monkeys and “The DJ The Music & Me” by Lula, as well as “Get Funky” the new single from Rosabel, the collaborative name for Ralphi Rosario and Abel, so watch this space for details of these releases in forthcoming posts. In the meantime, Pagano’s year looks full of some gigantic gigs, not least this coming weekend when he debut’s at amazing Afterhours club Beyond, then makes a welcome returns to The Egg’s decks for Space Ibiza’s Tour, which hits London on 19th March, Lovechild at Fire on 27th March & returns to both Rapido & La Demence.

Our third shout in this special post goes to Micky Galliano, who has been in the D.J’ing game for well over 15 years, starting out in his native Naples back in 1993 when he purchased his first decks and learned his craft playing out at private parties which spurred him on to showcase his talents in clubs across the city. In 1995 Micky got the chance to spend time in New York, where he buried himself into a D.J. & clubbing scene that at the time was being dominated by stars like Junior Vasquez, Danny Teneglia & Frankie Knuckles, which helped form his musical style, best described as deep house. It was inevitable, however, that this bubbly Italian would be London bound and Mr Galliano made the bold move in 1999 and got quickly noticed by club promoter Rosario Cascio, the man behind Vertigo, which followed with a resident slot, playing alongside names such as Danny Rampling, Pete Heeler & David Piccioni, which really got him noticed. So, it came as no surprise that his talents were jumped on and resulted in him appearing at some of the capitals biggest & well known venues, including Ministry Of Sound, Fabric, Pacha, & Turnmills and in gAylist terms has played for SuperMartXe at the Coronet & has been a favourite for uber club brand Queer Nation. Internationally, Micky has seen plenty of action, guesting at Space & El Divino in Ibiza, WMC in Miami, Chocolate in Buenos Aires & for Vertigo out in Jakarta, as well as playing for Azuli parties worldwide. But Italy continues to draw him back and he has an impressive list of clubs under his belt, his biggest accomplishment being a residency at Muccassassina in Rome, which is much of his focus these days when away from the UK. But his talents aren’t just restricted to the D.J. booth as Micky gets into the studio quite a lot too, having worked in the past with Luca Ricci on various projects, their first collaborative track “La Dolca Vita” hitting the high notes, following being snapped up by US record label Harlequin. He is currently working with production outfit Sugar Shake, with two projects he calls “Friday” and “People From The South” due for release in the next few weeks as well as two other releases, one for Pagano entitled “My Body & My Soul” and another for Danny Rampling called “Why Can’t I Be Italian”. In terms of compilations, Micky manages to squeeze the odd release in here and there, his February podcast being typical of his musical style, which you can download from http://mickygalliano.podomatic.com/, with further mixes available through his website http://mickygalliano.com/. 2010 dawned in the right foot for Mr Galliano with his residencies at both Vertigo & Muccassissina continuing, forthcoming gigs also including the launch of Patrick Lilley’s club night “Music Is The Answer” (sounds familiar) this weekend (12th March) another appearance at The Eagle’s Tonker on 19th, then dashing over to Miami of WMC’s pre-party the White House the day after, before returning to his Italian residency in Rome at the end of March.

Now, we just have time to mention some latest work from the two “Magnifico Italiano’s” we featured in our January edition of this special post, Alessandro Londra having just released a new compilation befitting the style of music he is currently playing out at places like Lo-Profile, Fitladz, Barcode & Rupert Street, which is well worth a listen and is available for download at http://rapidshare.com/files/355560844/cd_promo.mp3. Our other focus a couple of months ago, Gabriele Cutrano, is very busy in the studio at the moment but has given us a sneak preview of his EP , which is due for release on all the online stores at end of March and will include a minimal remix of “The Scheme” by Justin Steel ,the demo version available at http://soundcloud.com/justin-steel/gabriele-cutrano-the-scheme-js-demo-version, while his latest full works can be found at http://soundcloud.com/gabrielecutrano/sets/original, which is a visit must.

So, that’s it for our second music post focussing on all things Italian although the “special” theme will continue with a look at the art of multiple mixing, two talents getting our devotion, while we also return to our regular style music posts, emerging stars Jamie Hammond & Andrei 1 coming up next week, followed by a distinct euro slant with D.J’s Eduardo De La Torre & Steven Redant under the spotlight in our final post for March.

In the meantime, why not check out http://seenqueen.com/music which has an extensive listing of all the best & latest D.J. compilation releases and also includes the awesome new mix from Brent Nicholls, which this scene favourite D.J. has produced for the website. Entitled “SQ Spring 2010 Sampler” with what he describes as a “Nu Funk House” vibe to it this is a collection of ten terrific tunes that mesermised us from start to finish and for us, it is Brent at his brilliant best. Check it out as we know you won’t be disappointed.

Now, we hope you like our choices here and that said, it just remain to say, click on the links, turn up the volume and let the music play.

xDM