MUSIC IS THE ANSWER -
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
MUCCASSASSINA D.J.’S
To accompany our special series of preview posts, looking at the international clubbing brands that will be gracing the massive London Global Dance Festival with their presence, the weekend of events will be as much, if not more about the D.J.’s, jetting into London from around the globe. Some will be representing these club brands and here we focus on two Italians that will be doing their bit for the Muccassassina room
First up is the impressively talented Danny Verde and it is fair to say that of any D.J. in recent times, Danny’s rise in the game has been the most meteoric and in the last twelve months has seen him play right across Europe and in both North & South America. However, his foundations are in the recording studio and Danny established his track record for prolific production from an early age, developing his art from a self built studio in his home village just outside Milan and it is from here that he has developed his remixing art, not just releasing a whole host of single releases, but moreover receiving licenses to remix the works of many artists, but most notably Madonna, his remix of “La Isla Bonita” being published is more than 20 countries and “Who’s That Girl” was licensed in Scandinavia, Russia, Greece and Japan. Danny’s own single releases have seen amazing results, topping D.J. & other music download charts across the world, “Pushin To The Top”, a punchy euro style hard hitting house tune with subtle vocals quickly followed up by the incredible “Open Your Heart” featuring breathtaking vocals from Andrea Carnell combining sexy & seductive sounds with progressive & uplifting beats that definitely take you a mesmeric journey of delight, other remix releases including “Express Yourself” and “Let Me See Your Underwear”, all securing Danny’s reputation for developing incredible work that has seen his singles included in D.J’s playlists across the globe. However, he has always had a passion for D.J.’ing live in clubs and while his studio work was a big focus in his earlier days, in some ways restricting him to playing in Italy, whether it be Billy in Milan or Muccassissina in Rome, Danny’s talents were soon spotted by club promoters beyond his native country & an appearances in London at Matinee propelled him into the eyes of this Spanish giant of a club brand, his major break coming at the massive Circuit Festival in Barcelona last year, when he captivated the huge audience with his tough tech style & deep progressive vocal tipped beats. This was immediately followed by a summer season at the city’s D’Boy club and then a breathtaking run of parties France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark & Russia, Queen in Paris, La Demence in Brussels, Heroes in Cologne & Propaganda in Moscow being huge highlights, Danny also being the star of the show at Matinee’s “Next Chapter” party in London. Highly successful tours of Brazil & Mexico soon followed & he has just completed his first successful showing in USA, playing out to a packed audience at Friction in L.A. Back at home & in the studio, Danny remains as busy as ever, squeezing in the odd compilation mix when he can, his latest, a slant towards summer and entitled “Waiting For The Sun” available at http://dannyverde.podomatic.com/, is a superb example of the Mr Verde style although he never wishes to put a particular label on his performances & productions, rather letting the music do the talking. Testament to that is his recent release, a remix of Blake Lewis’s single “Heartbreak On Vinyl”, which is out on Tommyboy records in the US and already topping the charts, plus with further projects penned for this label, together with a remix of Hector Fonseca’s “Addicted” & Thomas Anders’ “Stay With Me”, there is just no stopping this incredible remix production talent. With his work receiving accolades from the likes of Danny Teneglia, Ralphi Rosario & Chris Cox, it is fair to say that Mr Verde is becoming a big new player in both his studio & his D.J.ing art and his music style, that has a distinct slant towards progressive & tribal house intermixed with uplifting vocals is certainly making friends in all the clubs that he graces his presence with. Danny is very excited about returning to London and given his standing within the global D.J.ing community, his place at LGDF is well deserved and he will defiantly bring a whole load of enthusiasm to his performances at the end of May, for which those London clubbers that were present when he played at Matinee last year, will be most familiar with. Danny also represents fabulous Italian club Muccassissina, probably one of the most flamboyant & extravert clubs not just in Italy, but across the globe, the amazing combination of exuberant music, larger than life performers & truly gorgeous people giving it short of legendary status and Danny’s guest slots at this Rome splendour have received plenty of accolades, so it seems fitting he will be part of the special themed space at LGDF
Our other devotion goes to Phil Romano who has probably one of the most diverse backgrounds of any D.J. we know, having held down a number of vocations before he took to his latest career path. Born in Italy, Phil’s natural abilities as a child saw him develop his penchant for athletics, although his smouldering good looks & physique landed him in the modelling game, that took him as far as Australia, where he also dabbled with his love of music & partying, combining these perfectly in promoting various circuit events. However, it was a move to the USA that saw Phil drawn into the gay porn industry, starring in well over 20 movies for famous brands including Falcon Kristen Bjorn & Hot House, which also saw him land a succession of nominations in the industry’s version of the Oscars. But Italy was soon to draw him back and his passion for clubbing & circuit festivals got him behind the D.J. decks, quickly securing residencies at some of the country’s biggest clubs, including Milan’s Billy, & Rome’s DBump & Muccassissina and it was in Rome where he developed & promoted his own monthly circuit party “Push Club” also working on similar projects that have seen the launch of Italy’s first gay circuit weekend. Phil has, nevertheless, continued to spread his wings far and wide, playing D.J. gigs at some of the major clubs around Europe & beyond, which have seen him perform at La Demence in Brussels, Propaganda in Moscow, FFF in Tel Aviv, Alegra in New York & D-Boy in Barcelona, this Catalan city becoming his adopted home, a perfect launching pad for his hectic schedule. But it doesn’t stop there as Phil is accomplished in the studio as well, having worked on remix singles with close friend Danny Verde, including Anna Buckley’s “Express Yourself” as well as releases of his own, “No May Gustah” & “Te Toca” being notable successes that earmark his skill for combining genres of electro funk, latin, euro-style tech & progressive house with a dash of vocals, all that are evocative of his style, although that said, Mr Romano is adept at playing to his audience and their tastes, cleverly switching sounds to suit the occasion. His studio work includes regular podcast releases, two wonderful examples in both his “USA/Brazil” & “Europe” which show the skill Phil has for switching styles dependant on the crowd being available at http://djphilromano.podomatic.com/ and he was also commissioned to produce the official CD for Barcelona’s Circuit Festival last year, cementing his reputation in the production game, although it is his incredible appetite for music, for partying & for entertaining that keeps him extremely busy, & evokes his mantra which is “live it loud!”. So, not only will Phil bring his sexy good looks to LGDF, but his masterful skills behind the decks should prove a real hit with the international crowd the festival will no doubt attract. With his obvious Italian connections and the fact that he has played a number of times at the club, like Danny Verde, Phil will be representing Muccassissina at LGDF and he is definitely the epitomy of everything this legendary Rome event stands for.
So, make sure that both Danny & Phil are on your radar (or should we say gaydar?!) at the LGDF main event in the Muccassassina room, as these are to D.J.’s sets & performances you definitely won’t want to miss. (DISCO MATT)
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
MUCCASSASSINA D.J.’S
To accompany our special series of preview posts, looking at the international clubbing brands that will be gracing the massive London Global Dance Festival with their presence, the weekend of events will be as much, if not more about the D.J.’s, jetting into London from around the globe. Some will be representing these club brands and here we focus on two Italians that will be doing their bit for the Muccassassina room
First up is the impressively talented Danny Verde and it is fair to say that of any D.J. in recent times, Danny’s rise in the game has been the most meteoric and in the last twelve months has seen him play right across Europe and in both North & South America. However, his foundations are in the recording studio and Danny established his track record for prolific production from an early age, developing his art from a self built studio in his home village just outside Milan and it is from here that he has developed his remixing art, not just releasing a whole host of single releases, but moreover receiving licenses to remix the works of many artists, but most notably Madonna, his remix of “La Isla Bonita” being published is more than 20 countries and “Who’s That Girl” was licensed in Scandinavia, Russia, Greece and Japan. Danny’s own single releases have seen amazing results, topping D.J. & other music download charts across the world, “Pushin To The Top”, a punchy euro style hard hitting house tune with subtle vocals quickly followed up by the incredible “Open Your Heart” featuring breathtaking vocals from Andrea Carnell combining sexy & seductive sounds with progressive & uplifting beats that definitely take you a mesmeric journey of delight, other remix releases including “Express Yourself” and “Let Me See Your Underwear”, all securing Danny’s reputation for developing incredible work that has seen his singles included in D.J’s playlists across the globe. However, he has always had a passion for D.J.’ing live in clubs and while his studio work was a big focus in his earlier days, in some ways restricting him to playing in Italy, whether it be Billy in Milan or Muccassissina in Rome, Danny’s talents were soon spotted by club promoters beyond his native country & an appearances in London at Matinee propelled him into the eyes of this Spanish giant of a club brand, his major break coming at the massive Circuit Festival in Barcelona last year, when he captivated the huge audience with his tough tech style & deep progressive vocal tipped beats. This was immediately followed by a summer season at the city’s D’Boy club and then a breathtaking run of parties France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark & Russia, Queen in Paris, La Demence in Brussels, Heroes in Cologne & Propaganda in Moscow being huge highlights, Danny also being the star of the show at Matinee’s “Next Chapter” party in London. Highly successful tours of Brazil & Mexico soon followed & he has just completed his first successful showing in USA, playing out to a packed audience at Friction in L.A. Back at home & in the studio, Danny remains as busy as ever, squeezing in the odd compilation mix when he can, his latest, a slant towards summer and entitled “Waiting For The Sun” available at http://dannyverde.podomatic.com/, is a superb example of the Mr Verde style although he never wishes to put a particular label on his performances & productions, rather letting the music do the talking. Testament to that is his recent release, a remix of Blake Lewis’s single “Heartbreak On Vinyl”, which is out on Tommyboy records in the US and already topping the charts, plus with further projects penned for this label, together with a remix of Hector Fonseca’s “Addicted” & Thomas Anders’ “Stay With Me”, there is just no stopping this incredible remix production talent. With his work receiving accolades from the likes of Danny Teneglia, Ralphi Rosario & Chris Cox, it is fair to say that Mr Verde is becoming a big new player in both his studio & his D.J.ing art and his music style, that has a distinct slant towards progressive & tribal house intermixed with uplifting vocals is certainly making friends in all the clubs that he graces his presence with. Danny is very excited about returning to London and given his standing within the global D.J.ing community, his place at LGDF is well deserved and he will defiantly bring a whole load of enthusiasm to his performances at the end of May, for which those London clubbers that were present when he played at Matinee last year, will be most familiar with. Danny also represents fabulous Italian club Muccassissina, probably one of the most flamboyant & extravert clubs not just in Italy, but across the globe, the amazing combination of exuberant music, larger than life performers & truly gorgeous people giving it short of legendary status and Danny’s guest slots at this Rome splendour have received plenty of accolades, so it seems fitting he will be part of the special themed space at LGDF
Our other devotion goes to Phil Romano who has probably one of the most diverse backgrounds of any D.J. we know, having held down a number of vocations before he took to his latest career path. Born in Italy, Phil’s natural abilities as a child saw him develop his penchant for athletics, although his smouldering good looks & physique landed him in the modelling game, that took him as far as Australia, where he also dabbled with his love of music & partying, combining these perfectly in promoting various circuit events. However, it was a move to the USA that saw Phil drawn into the gay porn industry, starring in well over 20 movies for famous brands including Falcon Kristen Bjorn & Hot House, which also saw him land a succession of nominations in the industry’s version of the Oscars. But Italy was soon to draw him back and his passion for clubbing & circuit festivals got him behind the D.J. decks, quickly securing residencies at some of the country’s biggest clubs, including Milan’s Billy, & Rome’s DBump & Muccassissina and it was in Rome where he developed & promoted his own monthly circuit party “Push Club” also working on similar projects that have seen the launch of Italy’s first gay circuit weekend. Phil has, nevertheless, continued to spread his wings far and wide, playing D.J. gigs at some of the major clubs around Europe & beyond, which have seen him perform at La Demence in Brussels, Propaganda in Moscow, FFF in Tel Aviv, Alegra in New York & D-Boy in Barcelona, this Catalan city becoming his adopted home, a perfect launching pad for his hectic schedule. But it doesn’t stop there as Phil is accomplished in the studio as well, having worked on remix singles with close friend Danny Verde, including Anna Buckley’s “Express Yourself” as well as releases of his own, “No May Gustah” & “Te Toca” being notable successes that earmark his skill for combining genres of electro funk, latin, euro-style tech & progressive house with a dash of vocals, all that are evocative of his style, although that said, Mr Romano is adept at playing to his audience and their tastes, cleverly switching sounds to suit the occasion. His studio work includes regular podcast releases, two wonderful examples in both his “USA/Brazil” & “Europe” which show the skill Phil has for switching styles dependant on the crowd being available at http://djphilromano.podomatic.com/ and he was also commissioned to produce the official CD for Barcelona’s Circuit Festival last year, cementing his reputation in the production game, although it is his incredible appetite for music, for partying & for entertaining that keeps him extremely busy, & evokes his mantra which is “live it loud!”. So, not only will Phil bring his sexy good looks to LGDF, but his masterful skills behind the decks should prove a real hit with the international crowd the festival will no doubt attract. With his obvious Italian connections and the fact that he has played a number of times at the club, like Danny Verde, Phil will be representing Muccassissina at LGDF and he is definitely the epitomy of everything this legendary Rome event stands for.
So, make sure that both Danny & Phil are on your radar (or should we say gaydar?!) at the LGDF main event in the Muccassassina room, as these are to D.J.’s sets & performances you definitely won’t want to miss. (DISCO MATT)
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