MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“GERMAN GEMS”
With the biggest dance & music festival to hit the capital virtually with us, our focus on the clubs that will be representative within the main event on 30th May is nearly complete and with our focus moving to Germany & underground outfit Nightkomm, we take a look at two D.J.’s who star regularly behind its decks and will not just be flying the flag for this uber chic underground club, but will be showcasing their immense talents which have also been noticed by record label & agency, Sorry Shoes (separate preview coming up).
First up is Nighkomm resident Thomas William, a native of Germany has been in the D.J’ing game since 1991, starting out under the camp name of “Marlene”, but realised with the turn of the century that simple Thomas William would ideally fit the bill. However, whether as Marlene or Thomas, he has consistently made waves across his home country, holding down long lasting residencies at massive clubs Greenkomm & Nightkomm, as well as playing out for many years at uber chic Club Lulu in Cologne where he resides. Mind you, it didn’t and hasn’t stopped there as Thomas has played out behind the decks right across Germany, chalking up appearances at clubs Kit Kat, So, Sky & Roter Salon in Berlin, Club Royal in Frankfurt, Rating Hof in Dusseldorf, and Sundance & Familienkombinat in Hamburg, as well as a handful of other cities, making him a well known name away from Cologne.
But it doesn’t stop there, as he has been prolific too, with appearances across five continents, including San Paulo in Brazil, Cape Town in South Africa, Sydney in Australia, Jakarta in Indonesia, as well as closer to his home, at clubs in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Geneva, Paris, Zurich and even London, where he has taken guest slots at the legendary Heaven nightclub. Ibiza ranks in his list of achievements behind the decks, playing out in summer seasons at clubs Amnesia & El Divino, so Mr William is unquestionably a well travelled individual and unmistakably globetrottingly accomplished. Away from the live D.J’ing performances and Thomas is just as active in the studio, a handful of fully commercial releases which have made it big across Germany, “Personal”, Pumpattack” & “Tribaltheque” being most notable, as well as some compilation mixes, released primarily under the Greenkomm label, all very evocative of his tribal, trance & techno influenced sounds, which also move into the electro & progressive house genres, with the occasional doze of uplifting vocals to make his sound more commercially received.
Mind you his skills in production extend beyond that too, as he has worked on video music releases as well as DVD recordings projects for Nightkomm, where he still features as one of their main resident D.J’s, having held associations with them since 2002. Add to that his event organising skills as well as having worked for well known German vinyl store SGR and it was no surprise that Sorry Shoes’ record label & agency Mike Kelly would spot Mr William and bring him on board to add further dimension to the growing team, importing Mr Williams vast knowledge of the recording, production & D.J’ing fraternities to help the fledgling company attract stars further a-field form its launch country of Germany. And remaining active not just with his involvement with Nightkomm, with Sorry Shoes, but still D.J’ing across Europe & beyond, his experience behind the decks and his very distinctive tribal, techno, trance & progressive stance will be an interesting and enticing addition to the LGDF compliment, luring in and catering for the tastes of ardent followers of these house genres of house music and taking his rightful place in the main event line up on 30th May, flying the Nightkomm flag.
Our other focus goes to Chris Bekker, a proven D.J./Producer in his field and from his base in Berlin, he has slowly made an impact on the music scene not just through his studio work but also through live gigs he has played across the world. The origins of his musical influences come from the Iberian sound that he absorbed during a summer season on the white isle in 2001, which was soon followed by regular trips to Barcelona and Madrid, where the club scene in both cities was the inspiration for him taking up his career as a D.J. and producer, leaving a highly success business & marketing life behind him in pursuit of his dream, although he cleverly balanced both his full time job with learning the required skills of both D.J’ing & production, first experimenting with the acquisition of his first set of D.J equipment and then using his business acumen to open doors within his native Berlin.
His big break came in 2006 when he secured a residency at uber posh club Bangaluu and it was here where he established a solid reputation for his energetic and pumping sets that then saw him take guest slots at the infamous Kitkat club as well as being a regular feature at the gay Sunday night event GMF held at the Weekend club. With his reputation pretty much the talk of Berlin it was only a matter of time that further opportunities would come his way, which saw Chris secure a residency at Liqidrom, but having the flavour to travel running through his blood, Chris soon spread his wings across Germany securing a further regular residency at Cologne’s Nightkomm as well as racking up guest slots in Hamburg & Frankfurt and even being spotted by the top brass at the super sized La Demence in Brussels.
But it is his producing that has seen prolific results, a whole string of remix works not only hitting top ten slots in all the important German dance charts, but propelling his name internationally, especially with his hit “The Chase” which features the massive Giorgio Moroder, confirming his status as an accomplished producer, the track hitting dancefloors around the globe and inspiring him to dive back into the studio. The production of that inspiration is his latest track “Upgrade” which is out and available via top download site Beatport you can listen to via http://beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/225389/upgrade, which will give you an idea of Chris’s musical slant & style, Chris describing it as a “...dancefloor ripper...” with divine vocals courtesy of singer Torita, which has already been given the re-mix treatment by the likes of Chris Montana & the combo of Steven Redant & Lenz Garcia, which is destined to be as big if not bigger than his previous smash. So, with this track expected to be a chart topping winner, the future looks very bright for Mr Bekker, not least as upcoming gigs, apart from his residencies, include a return appearance at La Demence, plus plenty more further a-field, including destinations Tel Aviv, Bejing, Shanghai, Vancouver and Houston, having already broken the U.S. market with a slot at Miami’s WMC club.
Chris’s current musical style is best described as tribal, progressive & electro house with a distinct feel of trance within it all, the combination of those genres allowing the dancefloor crowd to grab his style and yet then in an instant be taken away on an unexpected yet magical journey. This is one of the reasons why the promoters of LGDF have included Chris in the line up and this unexpected yet symptomatic enthralling style will without doubt be a hit with the international & discerning clubbing crowd that will be descending on London this coming weekend.
So two talents that will definitely be worth searching out and watch out for our special weekend recommendations post coming up later, which will detail the full line up across this massive weekend of music. (DISCO MATT)
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“GERMAN GEMS”
With the biggest dance & music festival to hit the capital virtually with us, our focus on the clubs that will be representative within the main event on 30th May is nearly complete and with our focus moving to Germany & underground outfit Nightkomm, we take a look at two D.J.’s who star regularly behind its decks and will not just be flying the flag for this uber chic underground club, but will be showcasing their immense talents which have also been noticed by record label & agency, Sorry Shoes (separate preview coming up).
First up is Nighkomm resident Thomas William, a native of Germany has been in the D.J’ing game since 1991, starting out under the camp name of “Marlene”, but realised with the turn of the century that simple Thomas William would ideally fit the bill. However, whether as Marlene or Thomas, he has consistently made waves across his home country, holding down long lasting residencies at massive clubs Greenkomm & Nightkomm, as well as playing out for many years at uber chic Club Lulu in Cologne where he resides. Mind you, it didn’t and hasn’t stopped there as Thomas has played out behind the decks right across Germany, chalking up appearances at clubs Kit Kat, So, Sky & Roter Salon in Berlin, Club Royal in Frankfurt, Rating Hof in Dusseldorf, and Sundance & Familienkombinat in Hamburg, as well as a handful of other cities, making him a well known name away from Cologne.
But it doesn’t stop there, as he has been prolific too, with appearances across five continents, including San Paulo in Brazil, Cape Town in South Africa, Sydney in Australia, Jakarta in Indonesia, as well as closer to his home, at clubs in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Geneva, Paris, Zurich and even London, where he has taken guest slots at the legendary Heaven nightclub. Ibiza ranks in his list of achievements behind the decks, playing out in summer seasons at clubs Amnesia & El Divino, so Mr William is unquestionably a well travelled individual and unmistakably globetrottingly accomplished. Away from the live D.J’ing performances and Thomas is just as active in the studio, a handful of fully commercial releases which have made it big across Germany, “Personal”, Pumpattack” & “Tribaltheque” being most notable, as well as some compilation mixes, released primarily under the Greenkomm label, all very evocative of his tribal, trance & techno influenced sounds, which also move into the electro & progressive house genres, with the occasional doze of uplifting vocals to make his sound more commercially received.
Mind you his skills in production extend beyond that too, as he has worked on video music releases as well as DVD recordings projects for Nightkomm, where he still features as one of their main resident D.J’s, having held associations with them since 2002. Add to that his event organising skills as well as having worked for well known German vinyl store SGR and it was no surprise that Sorry Shoes’ record label & agency Mike Kelly would spot Mr William and bring him on board to add further dimension to the growing team, importing Mr Williams vast knowledge of the recording, production & D.J’ing fraternities to help the fledgling company attract stars further a-field form its launch country of Germany. And remaining active not just with his involvement with Nightkomm, with Sorry Shoes, but still D.J’ing across Europe & beyond, his experience behind the decks and his very distinctive tribal, techno, trance & progressive stance will be an interesting and enticing addition to the LGDF compliment, luring in and catering for the tastes of ardent followers of these house genres of house music and taking his rightful place in the main event line up on 30th May, flying the Nightkomm flag.
Our other focus goes to Chris Bekker, a proven D.J./Producer in his field and from his base in Berlin, he has slowly made an impact on the music scene not just through his studio work but also through live gigs he has played across the world. The origins of his musical influences come from the Iberian sound that he absorbed during a summer season on the white isle in 2001, which was soon followed by regular trips to Barcelona and Madrid, where the club scene in both cities was the inspiration for him taking up his career as a D.J. and producer, leaving a highly success business & marketing life behind him in pursuit of his dream, although he cleverly balanced both his full time job with learning the required skills of both D.J’ing & production, first experimenting with the acquisition of his first set of D.J equipment and then using his business acumen to open doors within his native Berlin.
His big break came in 2006 when he secured a residency at uber posh club Bangaluu and it was here where he established a solid reputation for his energetic and pumping sets that then saw him take guest slots at the infamous Kitkat club as well as being a regular feature at the gay Sunday night event GMF held at the Weekend club. With his reputation pretty much the talk of Berlin it was only a matter of time that further opportunities would come his way, which saw Chris secure a residency at Liqidrom, but having the flavour to travel running through his blood, Chris soon spread his wings across Germany securing a further regular residency at Cologne’s Nightkomm as well as racking up guest slots in Hamburg & Frankfurt and even being spotted by the top brass at the super sized La Demence in Brussels.
But it is his producing that has seen prolific results, a whole string of remix works not only hitting top ten slots in all the important German dance charts, but propelling his name internationally, especially with his hit “The Chase” which features the massive Giorgio Moroder, confirming his status as an accomplished producer, the track hitting dancefloors around the globe and inspiring him to dive back into the studio. The production of that inspiration is his latest track “Upgrade” which is out and available via top download site Beatport you can listen to via http://beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/225389/upgrade, which will give you an idea of Chris’s musical slant & style, Chris describing it as a “...dancefloor ripper...” with divine vocals courtesy of singer Torita, which has already been given the re-mix treatment by the likes of Chris Montana & the combo of Steven Redant & Lenz Garcia, which is destined to be as big if not bigger than his previous smash. So, with this track expected to be a chart topping winner, the future looks very bright for Mr Bekker, not least as upcoming gigs, apart from his residencies, include a return appearance at La Demence, plus plenty more further a-field, including destinations Tel Aviv, Bejing, Shanghai, Vancouver and Houston, having already broken the U.S. market with a slot at Miami’s WMC club.
Chris’s current musical style is best described as tribal, progressive & electro house with a distinct feel of trance within it all, the combination of those genres allowing the dancefloor crowd to grab his style and yet then in an instant be taken away on an unexpected yet magical journey. This is one of the reasons why the promoters of LGDF have included Chris in the line up and this unexpected yet symptomatic enthralling style will without doubt be a hit with the international & discerning clubbing crowd that will be descending on London this coming weekend.
So two talents that will definitely be worth searching out and watch out for our special weekend recommendations post coming up later, which will detail the full line up across this massive weekend of music. (DISCO MATT)
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