Disco Matt's - Music Is The Answer

"Big Guns & Baby Boomers" - DM Does....The Music News

2010-12-07T19:17:00.003Z

“BIG GUNS & BABY BOOMERS”
DM DOES...THE MUSIC NEWS
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER NEWSLETTER
MONDAY 6TH DECEMBER

On this momentous day in Disco Matt land which has signalled the launch of our new look website, it seemed highly appropriate to also get back into music mode by issuing our latest in the developing series of newsletters, designed to bring you bang up to date with the compilation & track releases from a host of your favourite D.J.’s, as well as news on their forthcoming gigs & events. However, in this issue, we mix up the format slightly, including some upcoming shining stars in amongst the well established names, hence the title, “Big Guns & Baby Boomers” plus, we will be using the opportunity to link in with a handful of tunes that are doing it for us right now.

So, let’s crack on and our first “Big Gun” mention goes to Steve Pitron, who has once again pulled an incredible compilation out of the bag, this one devoted to WE Party, which launched to amazing accolade in London just two day ago, Steve’s performance on the night emulating plenty of elements from his mix, which we simply haven’t been able to put down since its release just under two weeks ago. Now, if you have been following our WE posts over the last few days, not least the two special Music posts we devoted to this new Spanish club brand, you will have a really good idea of just how brilliant we think this latest Pitron podcast is, but if you haven’t, go take a look, but more importantly, make sure you add this compilation to your collection now, by going to http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com/.

Now, we have promised for quite a while to hone in on Belgian talent, Ruben Winters and once we have selected seventh gear on our regular Music Is The Answer posts, we will be. However, in the meantime, it seems he has been very busy, not only holding down his regular residency at Antwerp’s Red & Blue club, but has also finalising his sparkling new logo, which he launched not long after our last newsletter. But, moreover he has been busy recording two new compilations, both which were inspired by his live sets at Red & Blue on 6th & then 20th November, as well as producing an experimental track entitled “Staturate”, which shows one of many strings to his talented man’s bow of music genres. So, in advance of our full focus later this week (yes it is coming) go to http://soundcloud.com/d-jayme to get a taste of this Belgium beaut.

Right, back to our next big gun and a rare inclusion in our posts, but well deserved, as Paul Heron has been in the studio and has compiled a full-on 119 minute mix that is absolutely crammed with gems right from the off, progressive by design, but uplifting & vocal tinged in delivery, which Paul neatly explains as “...a collection of some of my favourite tracks from my sets over the past few months...”. And that is truly worldwide, as Paul has been truly globetrotting throughout the summer, from Sydney to Sao Paulo & back again, has starred at both The Circuit Festival & XLsior, has done the business for Delice, and had even treated audiences back here at home in London, with amazing performances at Matinee, Beyond, Orange, Hype, SuperMartXe, as well as holding down regular stints at Lo-Profile, Shadow Lounge &, of course, Industri. So, given how busy he is, this mix if a rare treat indeed so is well worth grabbing while you can at http://soundcloud.com/djpaulheron/dj-paul-heron-november-2010.

Our second, so called “baby boomer” (an affectionate term naturally) is Zach Burns, who stormed onto the scene just over three months ago at A:M and is now part of the roving residency team at fab new Thursday hit, Room Service, he also having guest spotted at Monday nighter Popcorn and is slowly developing a following, not least through his regular podcast releases, which are well worth a listen. Indeed his latest December addition, one which he describes as “...something fresh & uplifting for the horrid winter months ahead...”, is delightfully different, combing bouncy beats with chunky tunes that drift you through the 115 minutes in a tech & vocal dream. So, go check out this latest Burns blast at direct link http://djburns.podomatic.com/entry/2010-12-04T11_00_05-08_00.

Next up is big hitter Gonzalo Rivas, a huge talent that never fails to miss our radar, having been a major tore de force in clubs like Trade, Orange, Beyond & Salvation across the years, although the list of his appearances both home & abroad is both extensive & amazing. Plus, he never fails to disappoint on the studio works front either, his regular compilations always hitting our collection, his “deep” series very much in the Orange RAW mode, while his recording for Manchester’s Gaydio radio station, is more in the vein of his sets at resident spots in the capital, which include Lo-Profile, Barcode & Beyond. However, we cannot recommend enough, his “Retrospek” mix, which looks back across twelve years of huge hits that have made his many performances. With 20 terrific tunes, this mix is an absolute joy and is pure Gonzalo at his superlative best, which you must most definitely add to your collection by going to http://gonzalorivas.podomatic.com/.

To make it three all, next up is Jamie Hammond, who’s meteoric rise to fame was nothing short of spectacular, he being thrown into the limelight at Friday’s favourite, Onyx, although has since laid his hat much more neatly both at London’s Popcorn and (the biggie) Rome’s Muccassassina, the Italians particularly lapping up his tougher edged yet invigorating beats. This international exposure is certainly getting Mr Hammond noticed & is also growing his musical style considerably, very much reflecting in his podcasts, the Muccassasina devoted compilation very good indeed, although his November release proving an absolute corker and, as Jamie rightly say’s, includes some real classics which are also tunes of right now, very much evoking the euphoric energy of his performances. So, enough said, just go grab his extended November mix now at http://d-jamie.podomatic.com/entry/2010-11-21T15_09_35-08_00.

Right, let’s take a little breather from our “Big Guns & Baby Boomers” for a moment or two and bring you up to date with the tunes that are doing it for us right now, the first being a summer smash in Spain which has yet to hit our shores yet, although we are pinning a few hopes on this one appearing sometime soon, Rebeka Brown’s “Offshore”, grabbing us from the second we heard it just a couple of weeks ago. With a couple of You Tube links to share with you, namely http://youtube.com/watch?v=U0pAhuML8fs&NR=1 &
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GQCvVo-7maw, plus with an appearance on Tony English’s podcast devoted to Lovechild’s “Anniversary” party, (available to download at http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com/), Rebeka’s vocals are simply stunning, and this track is right up our street.

But, Rebeka does it again for us with the brilliant “Show Me Your Love”, which first found our favour on Mikey D’s incredible compilation “Lose Control” (if you haven’t got this in your collection, where have you been...grab it at http://mikeyd.podomatic.com/) and has since been taken up by a whole load of D.J.’s, Miguel Picasso’s creation making playlists across this last weekend, from WE’s pre-party on Friday through to Beyond WE on Sunday (and we suspect many other places too) and is one of our favourites of now, which you can also grab a slice of via Mr Pitron’s podcast (we would give you the You Tube video links but they have been removed!!).

Other records that are very much grabbing our attention right now include John Dalback’s “Back To the Dancefloor” which we have had on repeat most of the last two weekend’s (check it out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=Non3nlCpT54), Peter Rauhofer’s remix of the Tears For Fears smash “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, which you can catch in full eight minute glory at http://youtube.com/watch?v=dr7O4tamqTY, Chris Montana’s “Don’t Give Up”, which is destined for greatness for sure (check out the Good Guy remix at http://youtube.com/watch?v=2IFcT9RSk8E), the love it or hate it (my goodness are we going to get stick from certain quarters) “Happiness” by Alexis Jordan, Dave Aude’s remix probably our favourite version (see why at http://vimeo.com/12782128), and then, for reasons that escape us, Carlos Gallardo’s “Get It Up”, well actually it’s that Eurovision style sound yet incredible production as well as oh, yes, those violins & vocals the radio edit at http://youtube.com/watch?v=7TDfTgpBfu0 really good, but Carlos’s club version even better. But as the list goes on, we can’t so will stop there, well for now at least.

However, before we return to our BG’s & BB’s, a little bit of news and at long last we can confirm the release of the eagerly awaited & anticipated compilation from Pagano, “Digital Generation” first being talked about as far back as August. But, with much debating as to the final fitting of tunes over, Francesco reliably informs us, that 20th December will marks its release (how kind, it’s our birthday!) and we will bring you the necessary beatport links as soon as they hit our desks.

Right, back to BG/BB shouts and next up in our list of lovelies is Brent Nicholls who has been a busy boy, the last ten weeks having seen five, yes five compilation releases, all making our task to give each one the coverage they deserve here, very difficult indeed. So, rather than go in reams of words, lets simply say that each one is worth adding to your collection, whether it be the Lovechild inspired comp, his devotion to World AIDS day, the “Red-Missing” mix, his “Funky Town” collection or the truly superb “Lo-Profile 3rd Birthday” devotion (the ending still cracks us up). Now that’s four, but the fifth is our favourite, “Let’s All Chant” a retro-tastic two hours of tunes that is pushing for top spot in our year end chart, that’s how much we love it. Plus, for all you iTunes officinal’s, Brent is there now too (link http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/djbrentnicholls-com/id401502128) although with his swish looking new website, you can grab all these compilations by simply going to http://djbrentnicholls.com/web/music/.

Now, another person we have been meaning to mention for a while is Luis Silva Carvalho, better known in D.J. mode as Luy G, he having bubbled on the surface of the scene for quite a while now, having made guest appearances at a few events at Laurence Malice’s club The Egg in Kings Cross. His style is very much on the hard house side of tech, in fact the two volume release which has literally just hit our desks, is verging on techno, hinting towards the direction in which he wants to take his music & his D.J.’ing. So, if tech & techno is your thang (and we know there are lots of you out there that love this music genre slant), then Luy G is your man & his mixes your bag, both volumes titled “I Love Tech” out now at http://luyg.podomatic.com/.

Back to our big guns and Micky Galliano is next up, he having had a superb summer out in Italy, then returning to rock Barcode on a number of occasions, both at Friday happening, Funkarama, the Saturday smash “Deviate”, playing alongside his bello Pagano, as well as starring at Patrick Lilly’s highly successful brand, Queer Nation, although he keeps getting drawn back to his homeland & especially to Rome’s Muccassassina, where he is part of the core residency team. And it is this brilliant brand which inspired his latest compilation (you only have to hear the first track to realise) in advance of his gig at their Red party event at the end of last month, which hooked us from start to finish and will do you too, by going to http://mickygalliano.podomatic.com/.

So, to our final “baby boomer” although he is more like a protégé, having first come to our attention following a set earlier this year in Rupert Street, this being followed by a success in a D.J. competition run by Heaven’s “Popcorn” club, sparking guest gigs at both A:M and Gravity, the latter now including him as part of their roving residency team. Therefore, it will be no surprise that Norbert M has marked this occasion by laying down a compilation with Gravity firmly in mind, which is well worth checking out, as is his devotion to A:M, as well as his October creation, “Never Mind The Autumn”, all of which you can download via his podcast page http://norbertmik.podomatic.com/.

Now, we want to end on some exciting news, but before we do, pick out our final “big gun”, D’Johnny, which kind of brings us round circle in terms of compilations, as it is his WE party inspired mix that gets our shout, admittedly for the second time in a week, although having waxed lyrically about it last time, we just can’t help ourselves again this being testament to just how good it is. Cutting straight to the chase, the 118 minute mix getting us right in the mood with the intro track “Get Together”, then neatly following up with the Kathy Brown vocal infused “Trippin”, other biggies including Suzanne Palmer’s “Big Love”, the incredible Javi Reina 2010 mash-up of the classic “I Can’t Stop” and, naturally, WE party’s anthem, We (Eloise), although on this occasion, Danny LeBlack’s version. So, this tech triumph is a must for your collection which you can grab now at http://djohnny.podomatic.com/.

Right we are just about at the end, but before we hit our crescendo, news of what’s coming up between now & the end of the year, the return of our Music is The Answer posts first on the agenda, focuses a plenty including that of Ruben Winters, while expected track & compilation releases from Ivan Gomez, Nacho Chapado, Guy Williams, Nick Tcherniak, Hifi Sean, Eduardo De La Torre & Danny Verde will get our full attention. Plus, we are now linked into both Soundcloud & Podomatic, which means you can share your music with us & by doing so, you will more than likely get a mention & maybe more. Go check out our pages at http://soundcloud.com/discomatt & http://podomatic.com/discomatt or why not simply mail us at matt@discomatt.com.

So, to our last couple of mentions which go to D.J.’s Javier Media & Leomeo who have not only been busy individually, but have collectively worked on a new project “Nirvana Dream”, although more of that in a moment.

First to Javier and the truly exciting news since we last went to press on this Barca boy, is that he has been signed to massive Spanish clubbing brand Matinee, he having successfully rocked their “Vice” party in Barcelona just yesterday (Sun 5th). But his Matinee news gets bigger & better, as he will be starring in their tours of both Miami & New York, on NYE & NYD respectively, marking his first major gigs in the States, although, following this magnificent Matinee news, Mr Medina’s feet have hardly touched the ground, this weekend seeing him play out in Beirut at “Vanity”, followed the next weekend by “Barbarella” in Milan & Matinee’s Paris party, before those huge happenings stateside. No one can be as pleased as us with this news, having followed & nurtured his work since spotting him back in the spring and the progress he has made has been nothing short of spectacular (reminds us of Danny Verde), so we are sure you will join us in hearty congratulations to Javier, the US news being probably the best birthday present he has received in years (it was Sat btw). Now, we just await a new compilation from him, although you can, like us, keep your eyes peeled at either http://soundcloud.com/javier-medina/ or http://javiermedina.podomatic.com/.

As for Leomeo, well, we simply can’t keep up with our favourite Frenchman (sorry had to be said), tours of The US, Canada & Asia taking him away from his beloved Paris for most of the last six months, as have trips closer to home, including Spain, Germany & Belgium as well as his home country France, Lyon often calling on his superb services. Mind you, as busy as he is, it doesn’t stop Leo from dipping into the recording studio to lay down the odd compilation or two, many marking either his trips around the globe or the gigs he has played, three brilliant examples being “Sunday IN NYC”, “Shanghai Halloween” & “Matinee Paris – 1st Anniversary”, all available at http://soundcloud.com/djleomeo. But we get extremely excited when he hits the track recording path, his own “The Sound Of C” earlier this year getting our vote, as does his latest remix work of Shazz’s “Wherever You Are”, which he cutely entitles his “Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi” mix and is another example of Leomeo at his banging beat best.

So, what about “Nirvana Dream”, the Javier & Leomeo joint project? Well, it’s a collaboration extra-ordinaire, as the two talents fuse their tribal & tech house styles amazingly with sufficient amounts of vocals as well as elements of trance to produce a jaw droopingly elegant & mouth wateringly masterful track, this eight minute marvel neatly matched to visuals in video (check out link http://youtube.com/watch?v=eZzXnIhSHJc) that will hopefully be played out in all its glory at this coming weekend’s Lovechild “Mirrorballs" party, of which Leomeo headlines and is a liaison we cannot wait for, as sadly we can’t be at Matinee Paris the following weekend where both Leomeo & Javier will star together.

Well, that is it, our “Big Guns & Baby Boomers” music newsletter, we having breathlessly covered 14 D.J’s and well over thirty links to compilations, tracks & video’s, leaving us to simply say, “sit back, select those sounds, turn up the volume and let them play, as Music Is The Answer”. (DISCO MATT)

"A New Look, A New Direction" - DiscoMatt.com "Go For Launch"

2010-12-07T19:06:00.002Z

“A NEW LOOK, A NEW DIRECTION”
DISCOMATT.COM “GO FOR LAUNCH”
REPORT – MONDAY 6TH DECEMBER

Well, it has been a long time coming, but the day has arrived when we can, excitingly, announce the launch of our new one-stop website, a momentous day in Disco Matt land and one which we are coining “go for launch”, perhaps not quite as spectacular as the first rocket in space, the first man on the moon or even that first space shuttle mission, but a significant launch & step in our relatively short yet eventful history.

And yes, it has been just under three years since we started putting pen to paper, Disco Matt having been born & developed following publication of his review of Matinee in February 2008, on tip top clubbing website SeenQueen, we having gone on to rack up exactly 200 reviews since then, although as we have broadened our services ,other posts & reports have pushed up that incredible figure to well over 400, adding previews, weekend recommendations, hot dates & music pages to our family of blogs.

But in an ever changing & fast moving world and with our reputation & name established, the time came for us to step out of our “blogging” label, by creating a full-on website to encompass the full range of our work, offering a “one-stop shop” for our regular readers & wider audiences. So, given this momentous change, we have decided to slowly phase out our posts via BlogSpot, with the plan to fully integrate into DiscoMatt.com from the beginning of 2011. However, till then, you will be able to find out posts both here & at the new site.

So, why not take a look at our new look now & our post “A New Look & New Direction” which gives you a complete rundown on the new features, pages & site navigation tools, by simply clicking on http://discomatt.com/. We hope you like our new look and welcome your feedback, good, bad or indifferent. (DISCO MATT)

"Wonderful Ensemble Again" - Music Is The Answer - WE Party Special Take Two

2010-12-03T09:52:00.004Z

“WONDERFUL ENSEMBLE AGAIN”
WE PARTY LONDON – SATURDAY 4TH DECEMBER
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER SPECIAL – TAKE TWO

Now, before you wonder and ask, what are we up to?, and what is this take two? Well, if Strictly Come Dancing can do it, so can we (oh that little word is going to be used a lot isn’t it...WE that is), so, “Wonderful Ensemble Again” it is, as despite having pretty much buttoned down both the message & then the music selections in advance of the WE Party launch on Saturday, those naughty D.J.’s have kept us on our toes. Yes, two of the main room stars have, whilst our backs were turned, gone to press with brand new podcasts, dedicated directly to WE’s launch in London. So, in true style, we just had to bring the full details to you & run down a review of both, plus tempt you with a handful of other tunes that we hope will be heading our way at WE courtesy of another main room entrant.

So, let’s get down to it and first up is the much anticipated & awaited compilation for WE’s headlining resident D.J. Carlos Gallardo, who (London airports permitting) will be flying in direct from Madrid to further heat up what is already looking like a red hot Coronet main room of music, with dramatic dance music magic, loads of latin favoured bats and the extra infusion of vocals to his track selections that has sometimes been missing from his compatriots at certain other named Spanish club import parties. That said, there will be no shortage of sexy Spanish tech fuelled & progressive euro sounds that always seem to hit resonance with the theatrical proportions of WE London’s host venue, although, as we have said, the big difference with Carlos’s WE sound compared to those of other parties, is that vocal injection. And from the very minute we started listening to his podcast, we were met with just that, fulsome Spanish styled sounds, vocal drenched yet pumping beats, starting off with the amazing anthem & summer smash"Get It Up" then rolling on into a brilliant adaptation of Cher’s “I Drove All Night”, followed by Carlos’s own “raw” yet rapturous version of “We (Eloise)” which is surely going to be THE song of the weekend (or is that the WEekend?!) , then onward to the fabulous “Fantasy Girl”, which is given the Gallardo grunt and a new twist of the classic Blondie hit “Call Me” among plenty of other brilliant beats. And to be honest, we had to stop dancing around the study during our research of Mr Gallardo’s gorgeous gathering of tunes, for fear of disturbing the neighbours (sadly we are not detached here in Clapham). So, with a mere smidgen of song giveaways, we cannot shout for Carlos’s creation enough and what’s even better is that WE London’s fab promoter, Alex Erfan, has loaded it into a podcast version to make it easy for you, so forget all those half baked download links and go grab some Mr Gallardo now at http://alex888.podomatic.com/entry/2010-12-02T07_32_52-08_00.

Hot (another word we will be using a lot) on Carlos’s heels is D’Johnny, who, along with fellow London superstar Steve Pitron, will be balancing out the Anglo-Spanish mix in the main room, he not just making up the quintet of WE main room qualifiers, but is very much a man on form at the moment, storming recent performances at Lo-Profile’s 3rd birthday, Beyond & Later (to name just a few). So, this smashing Swede’s inclusion in the WE line up was a natural choice for the London promoting team, not least that he is acutely familiar with The Coronet, having played there on a number of occasions in the recent past, both for SuperMartXe & Hype, his depth of talent & experience surely coming into play. And we were hoping he would also lay down a compilation marking WE party’s launch in London, Mr Cermann never failing to please us with his creations, this one another example of just why he is in such demand, the 118 minute mix hitting the ground running with the fab intro “Get Together”, then going all Delicious on us with their Kathy Brown vocal infused “Trippin” track. But the mix continues with selection after selection that prove as scrumptiously sweet as a chocolate selection box, the variety of sounds blending perfectly, meaning that, not only did we disturb the neighbours again while playing Johnny’s creation, but his selection box of sounds was munched up with gusto, other highlight tracks including Suzanne Palmer’s “Big Love”, the incredible Javi Reina 2010 mash-up of the classic “I Can’t Stop” and , naturally, WE party’s anthem, We (Eloise), although on this occasion it's Danny LeBlack’s version, all making up this tech & tribal triumph which, in the words of the man himself, is a collection of “...some of my own edits & bootlegs... (they are good, very good)... together with chunky house & sexy rhythms from other great producers that I am a fan of & support, all to give you an idea of what to expect from me at WE...”. And, if the truth be known, we absolutely love D’Johnny’s WE inspired mix, and we cannot wait to see him play at WE, so we recommend this podcast be an addition to your collection, which you can grab now at http://djohnny.podomatic.com/

Now, for fear of repeating ourselves (oh what the heck) if you haven’t yet grabbed your own copy of Steve Pitron’s devotion to WE then you must surely be in the minority, but just in case you missed the, how many is it now?!, erm...five mentions we have given this faaaabulous compilation, then go to http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com/ NOW! And, having very much been the soundtrack of our weekend return to his homeland, when we caught up with old friends over in Essex, we got hooked to a couple of tracks, the first being John Dalback’s “Back To The Dancefloor” which we had on repeat most of the time (check it out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=Non3nlCpT54, the visuals being nearly as good as the track), Steve blending it superbly into JC’s “Souk” (has got to rival one of the best pieces of mixing we have heard all year). As for the other, well, if like us you were a Tears For Fears fan (we are showing our age!) then you will love Peter Rauhofer’s remix of their smash “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, which you can catch in full eight minute glory at http://youtube.com/watch?v=dr7O4tamqTY. However, in terms of Mr Pitron’s latest work, the list goes on, Kelly Rowland’s “Commander” in yet another rapturous remix, main WE main Carlos Gallardo’s “Get It Up” (it’s on his mix too) ,“David Tort’s “Chase The Sun” and not forgetting the brilliant blockbuster “Show Me Your Love” by Miguel Picasso featuring Rebeka Brown’s incredible vocals, which will surely make a showing on Saturday, as should Tune In Tokyo’s “Dreamer” & Chris Montana’s “Don’t Give Up”, which is destined for greatness for sure (check out the Good Guy remix at http://youtube.com/watch?v=2IFcT9RSk8E) , but stop it Steve, as we can’t take this magnificent music anymore (well we can actually).

Anyway, enough already, we could write on & on about the music of WE, but we have to stop somewhere, don’t we? So, let’s just leave it there shall we and, as we look forward to WE and the launch on London on Saturday, all that’s left to say, as we love to, is “...sit back, select those sounds, turn up and let them play, as Music Is The Answer...”. (DISCO MATT)

"Wonderful Ensemble" - Music Is The Answer - WE Party Special Post

2010-11-29T22:31:00.005Z

"WONDERFUL ENSEMBLE”
WE PARTY LONDON – SATURDAY 4TH DECEMBER
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER SPECIAL

There is no doubt that WE parties have been the talk of Europe this summer, the brand, which was established by artistic creator & club promoter, Victor Pallas, just a year ago, has very much captured the imagination of Spaniards, Italians & Greeks, with scores of successful parties across Spain (including Madrid, Barcelona & Ibiza), in Rome at Muccassassina and in Mykonos at the famed Xlsior festival. But the WE word, not least through its music, is gaining worldwide reputation, especially given some of the talents the team are drawing in to play at parties both home & abroad, home of course being Madrid where it all started. However, with WE landing in London, we thought we would give you a flavour of what to expect from the music, as well as touching on the works either specially commissioned for the event or latest releases from D.J.’s that have graced the WE decks.

And probably the best way to kick off is by laying to rest, the rumour that, due to the line up at The Coronet in London this coming Saturday (4th Dec), the music will feel like an extract from Beyond, which, in lots of ways simply couldn’t be further from the truth. Now, we can kind of understand why certain elements would jump to this conclusion, especially when three Beyond residents will be playing out in main room, with a fourth in the VIP lounge. However, with two of those three main room stars having played for SuperMartXe and the third having Spain running through his veins, you can certainly expect a much more euro-style slant to each of their sets, although very much in the WE style of sound. So, what is that sound? well, plenty of latin flavoured beats, vocal infused tunes, but moreover a captivating combination of styles that reflect the diversity of talent that the team have attracted, maestro’s like Peter Rauhoffer, Pagano, Danny Verde, & Marco Da Silva, to add to the strong core team of residents that include Carlos Gallardo & Danny Le Black, these names alone, exuding the quality & depth of style that WE is becoming famous for..

So, that said, what can you expect from the line up at The Coronet on Saturday? Well, first & foremost, WE Party will be flying over their star resident D.J. Carlos Gallardo, who has been with the team since the beginning last October, having previously played for SuperMartXe, although, to be honest, his career is littered with appearances for most the top Spanish clubbing brands, including Amnesia, Space, & Cafe Ole. Born in Barcelona, where he established his reputation, Mr Gallardo’s discography is nearly as impressive as his career behind the decks, often combining forces with some of the country’s best vocalists, just this year having been credited with three massive hits, first the remix of “Don’t Let This Moment End” together with Rebeka Brown, and then tipping the charts with “Fantasy Girl” featuring Rob Harris (of The Free Radicals fame). However, he arrives in London on the back of the spectacular success of WE’s very own anthem, entitled (surprise surprise) We (Eloise), which is sure to feature large across the evening & in his set on the main floor, the vocals of Bobby Alexander making this track unmistakable. Now, if you haven’t heard it yet (where have you been?!), go check it out now at http://youtube.com/watch?v=GOnM2-Y0qMU with a remix version by Victor Magan out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=RjDiLGfQ5uE, (although for us, you can’t beat the original) and be prepared to be captivated by Carlos at The Coronet.

However, balancing out the Spanish big hitting influence will be our very own Steve Pitron, who has been charming the crowds across the capitals clubbing scene for well over 10 years now, this list of events & club nights he has played in, very much reading like a who’s who, notable highlights being PSP, Crash, Juicy, Orange, SuperMartXe, and, not forgetting Beyond, Mr Pitron, like virtually no D.J. we know, having this amazing attraction & ability to lift any party. And whilst recent times have seen him very much being the darling of the main room at Area on a Sunday morning, delighting the packed out space with one amazing anthem after the next, the depth of Steve’s talents & his superb skill for pitching the music just right for the occasion, is no better displayed than through his latest compilation, that he has laid down especially for this Saturday’s WE Party. Now, we will be giving the mix our full focus in our upcoming music newsletter, although it rightfully deserves attention here too, Mr Pitron explaining of his creation, “...the session starts & ends with “WE (Eloise)” as well as some turbo-charged bass heavy Spanish productions mixed up with some tougher beats from my current sets, giving you a taste of what to expect...” all very much dispelling the myth that his performance on Saturday will be just like another Beyond two hours. In fact, of all the compilations of his we have in our collection, this is the cleverest, the best thought out & most entertainingly diverse so far and has to be heard to be believed. So, go grab it now at http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com/ and be prepared to be dazzled, not just by the 28 track mix, but by the man’s performance on the night.

Joining Carlos & Steve will be London based international star Gonzalo Rivas, (check out his amazing mix “Retrospek” at http://gonzalorivas.podomatic.com/) who will be adding his own incredible touch to the main room proceedings, while, flying in from Spain will be latest recruit to the WE core team of D.J.’s, Manuel De Diego, this amazing combination really setting the quality of music aside from any Spanish club import we have seen in London so far. Plus, the dynamic trio in the main space will be added to by the terrific talent that is Berlin based D’Johnny, he having very much carved a fantastic following here in the capital and, like Steve, is no stranger to The Coronet, having played for SuperMartXe there in the past, while the VIP room will have a vibe akin the iconic “lite lounge” at Trade, original residents Fat Tony & Guy Williams treating the select sophisticates to scores of spectacular sounds. So, there is no doubt in our minds that the music offering at WE this Saturday is going to be nothing short of scintillating, adding to all the other elements (check out our special preview at http://discomattpreview.blogspot.com/2010/11/welcoming-espania-we-party-special) that should prove this to be one of the best parties & musical exhibitions the capital has seen in a long time. (DISCO MATT)

"Anniversary Accolade" - Music Is The Answer - Special Lovechild Post

2010-11-25T14:57:00.003Z

“ANNIVERSARY ACCOLADE”
LOVECHILD MUSIC & D.J.’S – THURSDAY 25TH NOVEMBER
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER SPECIAL

In advance of our latest DM Does The Music News post, entitled “Big Guns & Baby Boomers”, due out later this week, we thought we would whet your music appeties with a special music devotion to all things Lovechild, the club brand that marked one year at its current home Fire, back on Saturday 13th of this month

In capturing a few clips of recent focus posts & previews, where we looked at the works of D.J.’s and then by honing in on specific Lovechild inspired compilations, this is a special “Music Is The Answer” post, that also marks the end to our sabbatical in advance of a full resumption of services on 6th December. So, we hope you like our indulgence to all things Lovechild and prepare to get busy downloading & listening to some magnificent music.

So let’s crack on with our look back which begins in June, it marking our first real focus on D.J.’s in depth within our Lovechild recommendations posts and whilst the event itself was pretty low key, the music was far from, this being the many reasons why.

“.....Looking at these D.J.’s on offer, the range of house music genres on offer is simply dynamic and the combination will definitely deliver to suit all tastes. Brent Nicholls is in a really pioneering sector of sound at the moment, playing out fresh track, one after the next in the style that he coins “Nu-funk”, the type of music that gets the feet moving, the hips swaying & the bodies gyrating to the funky & disco/electro drenched beats, endless examples available through his LGDF dedicated compilations as well as those pressed for both Hustlaball & Pervert, which you can check out at http://djbrentnicholls.com/music.

Both Terry’s are accomplished deliverers of uplifting yet funky filled house with tech tinges, the antipodean Mr Vietheer making an impact at Heaven’s Popcorn as well as appearing at hip hangouts Barcode, Rupert St, and has literally just released his latest compilation entitled “funky for love” (very appropriate) which is out now at http://soundcloud.com/terryvietheer/funky4love-june-2010-promo, while Mr Bryan continues to make musical waves at clubs that include A.M., Booster, Beyond & Later as well as featuring in Bank Holiday Orange specials, just last week treating us to some storming sets at Beyond & Orange in Area’s fabulous Terrace Bar space, but really tickling our disco & funky fancies in the Vinyl room at A.M., showing the depth in his musical talent, his latest compilation out at http://terrybryan.podomatic.com/ giving a real flavour of his style.

Then there is the magnificent Mattias, who never fails to impress with his octane fuelled tech & progressive house, making him a favourite attraction wherever he goes, holding down a exhaustive international roster, but popping up in the capital every now & then, Barcode & A.M. included in recent appearances, his irresistible musical flair reflected beautifully in his latest “tech house in your face” mix out at http://djmattias.podomatic.com/, while Rupert St favourite Alessandro Londra will be back to Lovechild too, stirring the emotions with his fiery Sicilian passion which shows through in the explosive & exciting music he plays, that has seen him star at Matinee’s both old & new, hangouts including Lo-Profile & Barcode, sexy lads outfits Rudeboiz & Fitladz, not to mention massive clubs As One & Beyond and his latest release “Get Wet”, out at http://soundcloud.com/djalessandrolondra/get-wet will certainly whet your appetite for his music.....”

In July, when London enjoyed the first of two Lovechild parties, the first being “Making Hay” which featured a South African talent that had made waves at the London Global Dance Festival just a few weeks before & we featured him in our focus post, also then mopping up on other’s D.J.’s works in a review postscript.

“.....Making a welcome return to the U.K. is South African Leroy Tayler, who starred at the recent LGDF series of events, landing plenty of new fans at Later’s party that Sunday, so should prove a popular draw again, his distinctly African inspired funky & electro sounds having secured a residency at Cape Town’s premier Crew Club, not to mention being part of Salvation’s touring team. And in celebration of his appearance, Leroy has laid down a specially dedicated compilation which is available at http://events.leroytayler.podomatic.com/, the 117 minute mix very reflective of his afro percussive/electro style & sound and is an absolute gem.....”

“......As our review has highlighted, the music at this “Makin Hay” event pretty much stole the show, and the good news is that if you witnessed The Oli’s superb set, you can re-kindle some of that magic via his latest compilation “Long Summer” which is available at http://theoli.podomatic.com/. Plus Phil Hewson has laid down a special mix for this “Making Hay” event, which you can download from http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com/......”

August saw Lovechild going very summery on us with a beach party in association with Brighton’s Wild Fruit & the strong D.J. resident team certainly delivered on the promise within our “Hot Dates” post.

“.....But raunch aside, the music will be doing it own kind of talking across all three spaces and Lovechild will be bringing back some of its favourite residents who have been missing from recent parties. Alessandro Londra makes a welcome return, having completed a successful tour of Rome since his last Lovechild appearance and he continues to pack a punch at Lo-Profile, Barcode Vauxhall, Rudeboiz (he will know plenty about the contact room!) and, of course, his longstanding residency for Rupert Street. Over & above all of that, Alessandro can count recent gigs for both Beyond & Matinee as highlights, he performing brilliantly at the latter’s “Open Air Summer Party”, which was the Sunday success of the year so far. Young talent and recent Lovechild resident inclusion, Jc Christopher, also makes his return and this will be his third gig for Alex Erfan’s Saturday night outfit, Jc having really got the party going with a brilliant opening set at his last showing in June and will surely be doing the same again.

Then we come to the trio of Aussie’s that we hinted on earlier and first is Terry Vietheer, who like Jc is a recent addition to the Lovechild team, yet deservedly so as the man has been making waves over at Heaven’s Monday nighter, Popcorn, while he also resides for the monthly Shadow Lounge Thursday party, Hola, not to mention popping up at Barcode Vauxhall every now & then, Terry treating us to a terrific tank load of tunes at their 4th birthday bash. But one return we are really looking forward to is Brent Nicholls, who has be a noticeable absentee from the last two Lovechild’s thus making his return all the more enticing. And what can we say about this hugely popular & capable master of his game that we haven’t said before except of his unique genre of house, which he calls “nu-funk” & which is definitely doing it for us at the moment, should feature large in his se, so with the prospect of his performance soaked with these sensational sounds, we cannot wait.....”

September saw us miss out on Alex Erfan’s lovable brand, as we were on a tour of duty in Paris, although Lovechild had their own slice of France, a the Delice boys landed on London and we focussed on the event & an Italian & Englishman that made it the team of resident D.J.’s that time.

“...But, the music is likely to be just as attractive for this special party, not least as the guest slot is filled by the handsome & talented Fabio White, who last entertained us here in gAylist world in the capital at the massive London Global Dance Festival and we know just how excited he is to play at this latest Lovechild event and in Fire’s new look main room to boot. His combination of uplifting, funky & fulsome house will very much find favour with the Lovechild & Fire crowd, Mr White being backed up by a host of resident D.J.’s from promoter Alex Erfan’s extensive stable, the likes of Tony English & Leroy Tayler, both who are familiar with these hot & horny parties and who have just laid down new podcasts that give you more than a hint of the kind of music to expect from their sets. Tony’s latest is crammed with some of the most recent euro style beats to be hitting both the dancefloors & the airwaves, it also adding a touch of Spanish sound as Cafe Ole & Space Ibiza resident Pablo Kopanos features within the 70 minute mix which is well worth a listen by going to http://tonyenglish.podomatic.com/...”

Then in October it was the turn of “Hot Muscle” to take centre stage, a musclbound event, with music to match, the team welcoming a special guest from the states, this giving us a chance to conduct a mini bio on this pint sized powerhouse.

“...Alex is proud to welcome Justin Ryan to London, an internationally renowned D.J. that made his debut behind the decks in New York, but soon spread his wings across America, playing an intrinsic part in Miami’s “Winter Party” & the city’s “Out In The Parks” summer tour, also playing out to packed audiences in Washington DC, Philadelphia, Dallas, Atlanta & Fire Island, as well as up in Montreal, Canada. However, spreading wings comes naturally to Justin and he has formed serious foundation in Australia, establishing a residency with one of the top events teams there, which has seen him play at the huge Sydney Mardi Gras, as well as for club brands Love Muscle, MarXe, Big Q Rising, and latterly, Live, the club that co-hosted the Lovechild party we mentioned earlier, Justin playing alongside Sydney based Johan Khoury (also a Lovechild guest D.J.) and London resident Alessandra Londra.

Mr Ryan’s characteristic uplifting vocals & melodic house hits, intermixed with progressive, latin & euro style beats are sure to go down a treat on the Lovechild London main floor and his energy & enthusiasm for his art will definitely come through, he remarking that “...I always try to deliver the highest energy through my performances, I like to feel part of the crowd and lead them through the party...” And, in celebration of his recent Sydney appearance & that for London this Saturday, Alex has laid down a special compilation, simply entitled “Lovechild” which is well worth a listen at http://justinryan.podomatic.com/ & judging by some of the tracks on here, gosh are we in for a treat at Fire (also check out his photo...he & Johan Khoury have to be related, what do you think?!)...”

And that bring us pretty much up to date, we going the extra mile with a full on postscript inclusion to our Lovechild 1st Anniversary review, which kind of speaks for itself & rounds up this special look at Lovechild, save for a final conclusion to come

“......There is little doubt that Lovechild has & continues to sport one of the strongest resident line-up’s on the capitals clubbing scene, not to mention a host of guest D.J.’s that make the music it plays not just diverse & interesting, but some of the best you will find anywhere. International talents that have graced the clubs decks in the year it has partied hard at Fire have included Albert Neve, Leomeo Carandang, Justin Ryan, Johan Khoury and, of course, Javier Medina, while London based guests extend to Terry Bryan, The Oli, Alan K & Nick Tcherniak. Yet, as this list wasn’t sparkling enough, you then include the list of residents & it truly becomes awesome, Italian’s Pagano, Gabriele Cutrano & Alessandro Londra, Australian’s, Brent Nicholls & Terry Vietheer, Englishmen, Phil Hewson, Tony English, Lee Harris & Jc Christopher, Scot, Paul Heron and Swede, Mattias, even South African Leroy Tayler, a roll call indeed.

But it gets better, as not only is there a special site dedicated to the music of Lovechild, mixes available from the likes of Nick T, Paul H, Mattias, Alessandro, Gabriele & many more, all 13 episodes which can be downloaded from http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com/. But, yet more are available via the D.J.’s direct web pages, all worth a look, http://events.leroytayler.podomatic.com/, http://justinryan.podomatic.com/, http://soundcloud.com/djalessandrolondra, http://funkylondon.podomatic.com/ (Phi Hewson’s site) & http://soundcloud.com/gabrielecutrano.

However, marking this 1st Anniversary party as only he can do best, is Brent Nicholls, with his compilation entitled “LoveChildOne – Feels Like Fire Mix”, which he describes as “...a collection of funky flavoured nufunk, tech dipped & disco inspired tunes...” and he is not wrong there, our fave tracks being “C’mon Get Funky”, “Let’s All Chant”, “Sweep The Floor” & “Disco Disco Disco” (there’s a surprise), but with 13 more terrific tunes besides, making for what we would describe as a retro meets modern gem of a compilation with the Nicholls magical twist to it. So, this is truly a gorgeous gift to Lovechild on their 1st Anniversary and can be one to you too, by going to http://djbrentnicholls.com/ and then either scrolling down the home page, or selecting his “music” section.

Finally, the “official” Lovechild Anniversary mix was pressed onto CD for the party & handed out across the evening, this 44 minute marvel mixed by resident D.J. Tony English, which is a glorious collection of both uplifting vocal tunes & euro-style beats, very much evocate of his superb set on the night and is a MUST for your collection. Now, for those of you that weren’t around & didn’t get a copy, the good news is that it will be released on http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com/ in the next week or so, although in the meantime, if you fancy a copy, then just drop your details to Disco Matt headquarters via disocmatt@hotmail.com & we will arrange to forward a copy to you. Plus, for Tony’s regular podcasts, go to http://tonyenglish.podomatic.com/.....”

Well, that is it, our look back over the last five/six months of mesmeric music from this loveable clubbing brand and apart from saying, happy anniversary Lovechild, we love you, we have to thank ALL the D.J.’s that have graced Lovechild’s decks over these months, as well as thanking Alex Erfan, Roni Inan, Danny Shubert, Thiagio Drewery and the rest of the Lovechild team, without whom, this post would not have been possible.

So, with countless amounts of compilation mixes to download (if you don’t have them already, our parting words on this special musical look at Lovechild simply are, “...sit back, select those sounds, turn up the volume & let them play, as Music Is The Answer...”. (DISCO MATT)

"Energetic Euro's" - DM Does Thew News - Monday 18th October

2010-10-18T13:42:00.003+01:00

“ENERGETIC EURO’S”
DM DOES THE NEWS (PART TWO) –
MONDAY 18TH OCTOBER
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER

With life over the last few weeks being topsy turvy to say the least, while we have been holding our own with both reviews & preview (weekend) posts, our much beloved Music Is The Answer reports have taken a back step. But with there being a relentless amount of new music out there, we thought we would get back into gear with not one, but two D.M. Does The News posts, this one concentrating on European based talents and their latest compilations & tracks or simply just news on forthcoming gigs. So, sit back as we run through a select choice of D.J.’s & their work, giving the all important links to spectacular new sounds.

Right, let’s get going with this mini tour around Europe and what better place to start than in Italy, well Milan to be precise, the home town base for the now global D.J. star that is Danny Verde. Having tracked his career from as far back as 2007, we cannot stress enough how pleased we are that, in this short time, he has gained the following & reputation he has, hardly a week going by when he is not jetting off somewhere to play. However, the foundations for Danny’s popularity are planted firmly in the recording studio and with tracks like “Pushin To the Top”, “Express Yourself” & “Let Me See Your Underwear” just three out of a whole host of smash hits that regularly make D.J. sets across the world.

And, when he is home, hardly a day goes by without something coming out of the now famed Holab studio, latest work in progress productions including a remix of Pagano & Parmour’s “The Reflex” as well as 2010 remixes of “Pushin To the Top”. However, two tracks hot off the press are available now, first Katy Perry’s new single “Peacock” which Danny has remixed with Hector Fonseca, out at http://soundcloud.com/hector-fonseca-music/peacock-hector-fonseca-danny-verde-remix while Mr Verde’s own re-work of Blake Lewis’s “Wait Till Dawn” looks set to be huge this winter, versions of which you can grab now at http://itunes.apple.com/it/album/till-we-see-the-sun-remixes-ep/id388254732. But we are perhaps nearly most excited about his new podcast “Escape From Paradise” which is an absolute corker & in our view, his best yet. So, as Danny aptly puts it, “...are you ready to escape?, if so download it here...” here being http://dannyverde.podomatic.com/. So, being “nearly” most excited surely means something else is coming & yes it is, as we will be with the man himself at Salvation in Berlin in just 6 days, so simply cannot wait.

Right, talking of Berlin, our next shout goes to a talent that has been basing himself there for a while now, although he still manages to pop back to London every now & then, recent trips including gigs at Beyond & more latterly at As One for the August Bank Holiday. Eduardo De La Torre never fails to impress his audiences when he is here & had the Mirrorarch well & truly rocking within minutes of starting his set back on 29th August and marked the occasion by laying down a specially commissioned mix for the occasion. We covered this in our review of the party but cannot resist sharing the link with you again, which is http://soundcloud.com/dj-edu-de-la-torre/as-one-london-bank-holliday-especial-mixed-by-dj-edu-de-la-torre and a mix well worth adding to your collection.

Back in Berlin and life is extremely hectic for Edu, his weekly residency at the Connection club going extremely well, as is his new radio show which goes out every Monday at 8 p.m. local time, the show an on-line based broadcast, which you can tune into via http://embededexposureteam.webs.com/, while studio works continue un-abated with a number of projects in the pipeline which we can’t wait to spill the beans on. However, we can let you know now about an amazing new track called “I Will Stand”, evoking Edu’s incredibly uplifting yet electro/progressive tendencies, which is destined for greatness we are sure. So, check it out now via direct link http://soundcloud.com/dj-edu-de-la-torre/i-will-stand-for-the-nation-balearic-mix-dj-edu-de-la-torre-no_scene-dj-sai-aka-simongad and if you are in Berlin this weekend, come down to Salvation where Mr De La Torre will be playing alongside Danny & Nick Tcherniak (we can’t wait).

Just quickly while still on the German theme, a D.J. talent that seems to jet back & forth to London more than we have hot dinners is super Swede D’Johnny who is, as we speak, recovering from the massive R.A.W. 4th birthday party at Orange, when he performed a special 3 hour back-to-back set with R.A.W. original David Jimenez. Mind you, it seems that this hugely talented young man is set to become part of the furniture at R.A.W., but also is very much an afterhours expert here in the capital, playing regularly for A:M, Later &, of course, Beyond. But, if, like us, you missed him at R.A.W. this morning, then why not grab a slice of D’Johnny in action through his latest “live” podcast (all cleverly captured straight from his Mac) at http://djohnny.podomatic.com/entry/2010-09-29T12_08_22-07_00 or even his more recent Beyond main room set & his back-to-back performance with David Jimenez in The Chapel room, at http://djohnny.podomatic.com/ which you should grab now while you can.

Right our Euro whizz now switches to Belgium, where the cute & cuddly Andrei Stan is based, but like both Edu & Johnny is making it across to London with increasing regularity of late. Now, we first got to hear this talent play back in March for new club launch Matador & since then he has been firmly on our radar. However, with trips to Beyond’s “Super Size” party in August, when he nailed it in The Chapel Room and then at A;M’s re-launch just three weeks ago, when he stole the main room show, it is clear the young Mr Stan is finding fabulous favour with the notoriously fussy yet musically informed London crowd. So, the good news is that he will be back at the end of the month, featuring large in A:M’s Halloween special “Asylum”, followed by a slot next to the mighty David Penn at the event “Vauxhall Chainsaw Massacre” at Colosseum (we preferred the title “Nightmare at Nine Elms St).

Back home & Andrei plays regularly for massive club La Demence, who will be celebrating their anniversary this coming weekend, Andrei thick in the action, while he also has gigs right across Brussels to keep his life very hectic. However, he does also dive into the studio every now & then, laying down recordings for his own use, but occasionally for wider release, whenever he can putting out a full compilation for each month. So, if you haven’t heard this young man play yet, then you can do no wrong by checking out his full length mixes available at http://djandrei1.net/mixes and see exactly why he has gained so much popularity here in London as well as back in Belgium.

Now, before we hop over the border into France, we just wanted to mention rising star Ruben Winters, who, like Andrei, has been on our radar for a while. With a recent lack of regular posts, the planned focus on Ruben has escaped us, although he will be getting our full attention when our beloved focus posts return. However, just as a little taster, why not check out his latest recording from his set at Antwerp club “Red & Blue, where he plays regularly, which you can check out at http://soundcloud.com/d-jayme/red-n-blue-october-02 & don’t get all confused about the name, as all will become clear in our focus.

Right to France and to Parisian Leomeo Carandang whom we sadly missed when we made it across in September, although will be diarising another visit very soon. Currently, this enchanting Frenchman is on a semi worldwide tour, having taken in New York for just under two weeks & is now in Montreal, this being followed by a return trip to his beloved Thailand, where he spent a few years much earlier in his career & life. But it is fair to say, there his hardly anywhere in the world where Leo has not laid his musical hat, we always being thrilled when he makes it to London, recent visits including for Alex Erfan’s massive LGDF gathering & then Lovechild’s “Hot Tropicana”. But trips to Italy, Germany & Spain litter his exhausting schedule, although we can’t wait to see him back in the capital in December for another pre Christmas meet at Lovechild.

So, with all this touring on his plate, we would forgive him for not getting into the recording studio that often, but nothing of it, as his list of compilations & track releases is nearly as frenzied as his globetrotting, his appearance at Cafe Ole in Spain creating a magnificent mix which is out at direct link http://soundcloud.com/djleomeo/cafe-ole-space-ibiza-by-dj-leomeo while a subsequent track of his called “Give me Love”, featuring vocals from Diva Avari has been given the remix treatment by artists including Javier Medina, Pagano & Aurel Devil, although the original is our favourite, which has Leomeo’s style written all over it which you can check out at http://soundcloud.com/djleomeo/leomeo-feat-diva-avari-give-me-love-original-mix. Then there is his own remixing talents displayed with a remix of DJ Rony’s record “Colour Of Love”, not to mention a full on compilation very much hot off the press & compiled in reflection of Leo’s time in New York, which, along with over four pages of stunning sounds, you can add to your collection via http://soundcloud.com/djleomeo.

Now, a further hop across a European border from France finds us in Spain & Barcelona, which is undoubtedly our favourite city (after Cape Town of course), even beating London & now Paris to the accolade. And, being a hotbed of clubs, music & particularly D.J.’s, there are many we could focus on. However, the choice is a simple one for us as Javier Medina continues to rise to the top of the pile, his career gaining momentum by the month, residencies in his home town including D-Boy, Devotion (his favourite) & WE, while involvement in the recent Circuit Festival was a given, Javier also popping across into France & Germany for gigs, X-treme in Cologne. Plus a recent networking visit to Paris allowed us to catch up with this charismatic Catalonian back at the end of September & we are looking forward to a further rendezvous in November here in London & then when we re-connect with Barcelona at the beginning of December.

Gigs aside, Javier has been very busy in the recording studio and has some exciting new projects in the pipeline, although like Edu’s, we have been sworn to secrecy so can’t say much more at the moment. However, what we can mention is his superb remix of Groove Armada’s “I Won’t Kneel” out via http://soundcloud.com/javier-medina/iwontkneelremix as well as a re-work of fellow Barca D.J. Ivan Gomez’s track “Sex” which was released just last week, but is already making waves, Javier’s version out at http://soundcloud.com/javier-medina/ivan-gomez-sex-javier-medina-afterauers-remix. But, these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to releases, so we will keep you posted on news as soon as we can spill, not to mention exciting prospects on the club brand front. However, in the meantime, you should also check out his incredible compilation “Barcelona To London", which has already made out top five for the year and is a must for your collection, the direct link being http://soundcloud.com/javier-medina/frombarcelonatolondon.

Well, we have well & truly run out of space in this, our second DM Does The News post, so mentions for Ivan Gomez, Nacho Chapado & Guarbear Recordings will have to wait. But we must just round off by saying that a new(ish) record looks like replacing “Release Me” as our anthem for the year and was brought to our attention when researching Brazilian club, The Week, but has since made it to the dancefloors of Fire & Area. “Happiness” had particular poignancy when Steve Pitron played it at Beyond “Tokyo” and with Mikey D featuring it on his compilation “Lose Control” & Phil Marriot lauding it on Gaydar Radio, the track is surely destined for massive exposure. With a number of remix versions already out, we guess our favourite is Dave Aude’s version at http://youtube.com/watch?v=JyfoKPzLJc0, although the one on Mikey’s mix is pretty good too, so we are keeping our eyes & ears peeled for more.

O.K., enough is enough, time is well & truly up, leaving us to simply say “sit back, turn up the volume, select those sounds & let them play, as music is the answer”. (DISCO MATT)

"Blighty Based Boys" - DM Does The News - Music Newsletter - Sunday 17th October

2010-10-17T19:11:00.004+01:00

“BLIGHTY BASED BOYS”
DM DOES THE NEWS (PART ONE) –
SUNDAY 17TH OCTOBER
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER

With life over the last few weeks being topsy turvy to say the least, while we have been holding our own with both reviews & preview (weekend) posts, our much beloved Music Is The Answer reports have taken a back step. But with there being a relentless amount of new music out there, we thought we would get back into gear with not one, but two D.M. Does The News posts, this one concentrating on U.K. based talents and their latest compilations, tracks or simply just news on forthcoming gigs. So, sit back as we rifle through a veritable feast of D.J.’s & their work, giving the all important links to spectacular new sounds, as well as linking into other reports of ours.

Right, so we kick off very much with a Beyond theme, especially given just how good last weekend’s Japanese inspired bash was, “Tokyo” probably our best this year yet in so many ways, although the music did much of the talking, not least from the main floor boys of Steve Pitron, Mikey D & Alan K. So before we dive into them, here’s the link to our review which you can catch at http://discomatt.blogspot.com/2010/10/blog-post.

Turning to the D.J’s and first Steve Pitron, his set was full of amazing Beyond anthems as well as tunes from his “Summer 2010” which we still cannot put down, so simply can’t resist mentioning it again as it will certainly be vying for top spot in our year end compilation round up. So, go check it out at http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com/ & for those of you that were at Beyond “Tokyo”, relive some of those magic moments. While we are waiting for a follow up from Steve, he remains busy in the studio with production partner Max Sanna, their latest a pure gem of a remix of Robyn’s single “Indestructible”, which also made his set on Sunday & is well worth grabbing at http://soundcloud.com/maxsanna/sets/robyn-indestructible-max-sanna-steve-pitron-remix. Plus, with Steve’s birthday round the corner, what better way to wish him many happy returns with the first mention here.

Right onto Mikey D, who has also recently released a smashing compilation, “Lose Control” right up there in our rankings & filling our ears virtually every day. Seeing & hearing him performance at Beyond “Tokyo” was like sitting right in this magnificent mix, which has 14 truly amazing tracks on it, virtually all making his set on Sunday, fan-flaming-tastic. So, you just have to grab this compilation which (yes we know) we have mentioned a few times already. So, go to http://mikeyd.podomatic.com/, immerse yourself into “Lose Control” & come out well & truly elevated. Plus, while you’re at it, go check out the official video for opening track “Seek Bromance” at http://youtube.com/watch?v=eWUC5Q0RCAA.

Onto Alan K and never have we seen a D.J. with so much effervescent energy behind the decks, he especially coming into his own at Beyond. Having flown the flag for the club in Greece, Holland & France over the summer, we were so pleased to see him last Sunday and savour the majority of his set (we tried to leave twice but couldn’t tear ourselves away), so are as pleased as punch that he has laid down a compilation marking his prolific performance at “Tokyo” on Sunday morning. This amazing mix truly transfixed us from start to finish, as did his set, so we cannot recommend it enough, which you can play & download at http://djalank.podomatic.com/.

Now, before we leave the Beyond subject, Hifi Sean gets his own look in, his pulsating performance in the Terrace room truly magical, especially given he had literally landed straight into “Tokyo” from Athens. We referred to his showing as “Sushi Sounds Sean Style”, although he preferred the phrase “teriyaki tech”, the word tech very much the vogue come R.A.W.’s 4th birthday at Orange in a few short hours, Sean having laid down a special mix to mark the occasion, he being very much in the thick of the action. Plus, hot off the press is his latest monthly “hifi-cast” as well as the second in his “Chill” series, all three marvellous mixes available at http://hifiseandj.podomatic.com/.

Onward and linking into Nick Tcherniak, who has been a very busy boy indeed, having had a spell out in Spain, in the recording studio with production partner Steve Thomas, the duo still riding high on the back of both “My People” & “Deep Water”, the latter’s remix package still at number one in a host of download charts, Hifi Sean’s mix a particular favourite of ours. Add to that his new EP, “The Answer” featuring vocal from Lizzie France, which has started promo just this week and there is no question Nick is riding high at the moment, he even having had time to lay down two podcasts following his appearances at Matinee & SuperMartXe, both including “The Answer” & the Matinee mix also featuring “Deep Water” & Alan X’s stunning remix of “My People. So these are essentials for your collection which you can get now at http://nicktcherniak.podomatic.com/.

Talking of SuperMartXe, Tony English is certainly getting in on the act recently, having starred at the last two parties, as well as playing at Logan Schmitz’s home-grown brand, Hype, back on August Bank Holiday. That apart & he plays for both Lovechild & Puscha in London, as well as connecting with a host of European D.J.’s through his weekly Saturday radio show on Push.FM, which he compresses into monthly podcasts in a series of “Social” releases, that latest featuring WE & Cafe Ole resident Danny Leblack. Tony always manages to dig deep & find a whole host of hits making it big on the continent, so these podcasts are certainly worth a listen, which you can do so at http://tonyenglish.podomatic.com/, the man also about to release his SuperMartXe “Porno Star” mix, due out tomorrow.

Now, while we are in Logan mode, lets fire through some mixes you should go grab, the Logan presents podcast page worth a look at http://loganpresentspodcast.podomatic.com/, the latest edition put together by Tony English, while Matinee’s Michel Mizrahi has also been busy in the studio, his latest “Autumn Beats” mix a fabulous 114 minutes of mixes well worth tapping into at http://soundcloud.com/michel-mizrahi. And before we leave the subject our own Italian stallion, Pagano, will be featuring large at the forthcoming Logan Presents Matinee outing at MOS, but you can catch a slice of his last prolific performance at http://facebook.com/video.php?v=486674111270, while his studio work continues unabated, his latest “Rave Monkey” remix of the track “I Try” by Made By Monkeys, available to listen via http://youtube.com/watch?v=nz_BTVc7_wg, apple tart anyone?! (hilarious!!), plus we will keep you posted on that much anticipated “Digital Generation” compilation release.

Right, switching alliances a little, we head in the direction of Lovechild & a band of residents that have been busy recording, the terrific Terry Vietheer having popped up here there & everywhere recently, his Lovechild mix now fourth in-line with more later releases that include compilations for B2B & Barcode, while he has a new track out too, “East Village” having been released just two days ago & is a corker. Catch all these compilations & this new track at http://soundcloud.com/terryvietheer, while another Lovechild youngster, Jc Christopher, has added Friday night club Onyx to his D.J. roster, as well as laying down a vocal edition in his “House Mix Tapes” series, which has 14 brilliant tracks on it & is a worthy addition to your collection which you can grab at http://jcchristopher.podomatic.com/. But Lovechild also have their own podcast site, various D.J.’s taking turns to add their own stamp to the growing series, the latest coming from Gabriele Cutrano who performed perfectly at “Lovechild Meets Delice” at the end of September, this mix very much evoking his superb set, which is well worth checking out at http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com/.

But the Lovechild story continues, as resident Alessandro Londra has very much been flying the flag for the brand overseas recently, a tour of Australia a couple of weeks ago, immediately followed by Amsterdam last Saturday and our hard working bello is literally on his way back from Istanbul, where he was representing & promoting Alex Erfan’s outfit at The Otherside club. Yet, having clocked up well over 20,000 air miles in three weeks, he has still managed to lay down a compilation, which was handed out on CD at the party last night, but is also available at http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com/.

Now, another Lovechild resident has been feverishly busy in the studio of late, not to mention lauding it around London at a vast array of clubs, from TTD to Hotwired, Hard-On to Sweat, Lo-Profile to Barcode, even making a stunning show at The Week back in September when we were glued to the Latin Lounge for close on three hours. Add to that his web work for SeenQueen & the launch of new social networking site MyGayFace (MGF) and Brent Nicholls just doesn’t know how or when to stop. And he doesn’t stand still in music terms either, three mixes having been released in just over a month, dedications to Hard On’s! 7th birthday & new club T.T.D. two great mixes, although for us, can’t quite match the magic of his “Get On MyGayFace” compilation, which is knocking on the door for top spot in our 2010 chart. Now, we will be going in-depth on MGF in a forthcoming Disco Matt-ers report, but in the meantime, go sample Brent’s latest works at http://djbrentnicholls.com/web/music and watch this space for a new 3 hour mix of re-hashed, re-mixed & re-made classic pop tunes along with some latest hits rolled in for good measure, which we have been privy to for just over a week now (it's amazing).

Right, we are nearly there, but before we finish up, coming back full circle (ish), quick mentions go to Norbert M who made his A:M debut yesterday morning, having triumphed in a recent D.J. competition at Heaven’s club night Popcorn, his latest podcast very much a reflection of his performance which you can grab at http://norbertmik.podomatic.com/, while Popcorn resident Jamie Hammond has just issued his own latest mix “Live Set 08/10” which we think is his best yet, so well worth a listen at http://d-jamie.podomatic.com/. Now, sadly, we missed out on The Wig Party last Sunday, but heard it was amazing, Rob Sykes certainly making an impact at both the main event at Cafe de Paris & the afterparty in Area, although it was the after afterparty where he laid down his latest mix in front of friends & family, so is rather special & worth checking out at http://djrobsykes.podomatic.com/.

So what was this full circle we were referring to? Well, we started with Beyond & we finish with a Beyond resident, but someone who will be an intrinsic ingredient at R.A.W.’s 4th birthday later tonight, being the lynch pin in the duo that started it all in 2006. Now, he may have proclaimed that Tony De Vit is his greatest D.J. of all time, but Gonzalo Rivas has to be right up there for so many people too. To say his career is littered with plaudits is an understatement and he has featured in some of the biggest parties & club brands around. With yet another birthday (the big one) just around the corner, Gonzalo is definitely in the mood to celebrate, so has, along with Hifi Sean, laid down a new compilation especially for R.A.W’s anniversary which is truly awesome, although we know the Trade one (currently in the making) will be just as good, if not better. Plus, his A;M blast from the past mix is classic Gonzalo too, so while he may be last in our post he is far from least in our estimation, meaning that both mixes are in our collection and should be in yours too, so don’t delay, get downloading at http://gonzalorivas.podomatic.com/.

Well, we are out of time & space, but just want to give quick shouts to Per Q.X. who has some fab new tracks out, to Elliot J Brown how has been mixing in the studio, to new talent Zach Burns that amazed at A:M last week, to Nathan 6 who has put out some new music and finally to Glasgow based Michael Dow, all who will be part of forthcoming posts in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for our “Energetic Euro’s” news post which will be out shortly, but we hope you find favour with the choices here, leaving us to simply say “sit back, turn up the volume, select those sounds & let them play, as music is the answer”. (DISCO MATT)

Postscript

We started this post with a flavour of Beyond and we simply had to share yet another amazing experience, courtesy of two incredible individuals that went that extra mile with us this morning in Area.

Not only have we known him for close on 14 years now, but the musical journey Steve Pitron has taken us on is immense, a whole variety of clubs & events touching our lives where Steve has been involved. But, we were simply blown away by his comradeship this morning in Beyond, so much so we once again witnessed 2 hours of Pitron perfection in a set that included every anthem you could wish for. The man is genius and words cannot describe just how much, our best way to show appreciation of his art is to dance “...in our spot...” knowing that the man knows we are there and, in the words of one anthem, “...let the music pump right through me I can feel it in my bones...” & “...come on now show me pretty ladies how you really like to dance...” as in Steve’s hands do we dance or what.

Then, as if our morning wasn’t special enough, were in for a treat or what when Alan K invited us behind the D.J. booth where we witnessed this multi mixing maestro in full flow. His euphoric interpretations of records like “Release Me” (lyrics extracts above) & “Underground” are amazing from the dancefloor, but when you witness him waving his magical wand over them first hand, it is a glorious sight to behold. The energy he develops & what comes back from the crowd is truly remarkable and grovel in gratification of his, another genius in our eyes.

What more is there to say, apart from Beyond should always include an S, a P, an A & a K. You guys are awesome and we are so lucky to know you.

"Brazilian Beats By The Best In Our Books" - The Week - Music Is The Answer Special

2010-09-18T20:20:00.002+01:00

“BRAZILIAN BEATS BY THE BEST IN OUR BOOKS”
THE WEEK
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER SPECIAL

Well, with a mere three hours to go until The Week, which lands in London and takes Fire in Vauxhall by storm, what better way to get you in the mood for what looks like being THE clubbing event of the weekend, than to share some slices of music that you can expect from this massive carnival inspired party. So, rather than our usual focuses, we take a look at some new compilations, some not so new, but all with one common theme, all laid down by D.J.’s that will be appearing at this carnival splendour.

But first, we have to re-enforce the musical message we delivered via out preview “Sourced In Sao Paulo, Landing In London” at http://discomattpreview.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-event-preview and our weekend focus “Under A Week To The Week” http://discomattweekend.blogspot.com/2010/09/weekend-focus-week, by stating that this amazing event tonight (Sat 18th Sept) has one of the strongest line-ups we have seen in many months, nay years, as megastars & the cream of the crop in Steve Pitron, Mikey D, Gonzalo Rivas, Brent Nicholls & Paul Heron will be joined by The Week resident, Leandro Bekker, as well as upcoming Brazilian star Doug’uim & a special appearance by super Swede Per Q.X., to literally lift the roof off Fire with some of the best sounds around.

So what of these sounds, well Mikey D very much leads the way with his new compilation, “Lose Control”, which has The Week written all over it, as not only does the green & yellow cover shout Brazil, but the terrific tracks in this 73 minute smash do too, especially Mikey’s own mix interpretation of “Happiness” by Alexis Jordan, which has been featured in our other posts, as well as on the official The Week website. From the brilliant opener “Seek” by Bromace, Mikey treats us to a myriad of main room music, many which will be familiar, we even falling on yet another re-work Zoe Baldwin’s “Release Me” in amongst other tracks that include the octane fuelled “Don’t Stop Till You get Enough” and an amazing new version of our own anthem “Music is The Answer”. But to be honest each & every track hits the mark and such is the strength of this compilation, it has already hit our top five of 2010 in just one listen, meaning we cannot recommend it enough, so you simply have to grab it for yourself at http://mikeyd.podomatic.com/, as we concur with Mikey when he say’s “hope it was worth the wait”, and yes, it may be twelve months since the last solo release, but by golly the wait was well worth it.

Onto our next maestro behind the music decks for The Week and who else could it be but Steve Pitron, who will storm Fire’s main room for this mega Brazilian club brand, performing alongside Mikey D in a special back-to-back set that will surely be one of big highlights of a superb evening of music. Now, we have already given Mr Pitron’s latest compilation exposure on these pages, but given his involvement in this event, it is certainly worth mentioning again, as “Summer 2010” is a truly amazing collection of uplifting beats that are so evocative of this man’s scintillating sets that we so often savour. With Steve having starred for The Week over in Sao Paulo on a many occasions, in some ways it will feel a little like a home coming for him at Fire and we suspect he will be pulling out plenty of tremendous tracks to mark the occasion, just like those you can find on his latest compilation offering, highlights being SNS’s “Alive” & Rossini Pain’s “I Will Be” featuring the vocals of Kaysee. So, while it been out for a while, make sure it’s in your collection by going to http://steveptronsessions.podomatic.com/, as “Summer 2010” is very much in our top five of the year and should be in yours too.

Now, we are extremely excited that so many D.J. stars will be under one roof at the same time at The Week tonight, our musical ecstasy extending to Brent Nicholls, who will be reigning supreme in the “Latin Lounge” and will surely be turning out a truck load of his “nu-funk” sounds that both his “Aural” & “No Americano” compilations are crammed with. It certainly goes without saying that both mixes are pushing for a top five slot in our yearly chart, as is his Beyond Pervert mix, all which you can take a listen for yourselves via http://djbrentnicholls.com/music. However, just last weekend, we were treated to a 75 minutes of musical mastery in his “Get On MyGayFace” compilation. Now, such is the diversity of this fantastic mix, from the full-on “Air Miles” to the fabulously swoony “Stereo Love”, from the funk of “Upside Down” to the pop-tasticness of “Add Suv” this will latest Brent release will definitely be in our top five, it’s just a question of where, especially as it includes THE best remix version of “Release Me” we have heard. So, whilst we cannot recommend it enough , here’s the deal, this mix has been produced exclusively for members of new networking site, MyGayFace, so, if you are not a member already, then best you join at http://mygayface.com, not least to grab this specially commissioned compilation, which you can also do via Brent’s website.

But the music doesn’t stop there, as Gonzalo Rivas will be ripping up the Mirrorarch at The Week too and, my, has he been busy in the studio or what, with a whole collection of compilations released in the last few weeks. Latest mix off the block is “Understand This Groove”, a deep & tech fuelled one hour seventeen minute collection of cracking tunes that will surely evoke his set at The Week. From the opener of Jet Project’s “Understand The Groove” through to the finale of “Drumfunk” by Oscar de Rivera & Ismael Rivas, this is Gonzalo at his brilliant best (again!) and one listen will definitely get you understanding his groove and get a feel for his performance at The Week, which you should savour at http://gonzalorivas.podomatic.com/.

Also making an appearance, if but a little brief, will be super Swede Per Q.X., who will, along with stellar saxophonist, Sandra grant, be playing out an exclusive live performance of his hit track “Blow My Trumpet”, which has samba, maraca’s & carnival written all over it. Now, this track has been going down an absolute storm right across the globe and is popping up in all sorts of D.J. sets & compilations and looks set for further success as the year goes on. So, given its exposure, the tune should be familiar to you, but if not, why not get your own preview of tonight’s performance via http://soundcloud.com/perqx/per-qx-blow-my-trumpet

As for the rest, well we would love to share some latest music mixes with you but we can’t, although what we can say is that in bound The Week resident Leandro Bekker has been quoted as saying “...During the party I want to present some Brazilian productions such as “Breathe Again” by Lorena Simpson, a bootleg of “Sexercise” as well as Jeff Valle’s (another The Week D.J.) track “Freefallin”, which features Zoe Baldwin...”, so we will definitely be looking forward to that, as you should know just how big a fan of Ms Baldwin we are. In addition, we are hoping to get an audience with Mr Bekker and then bring you an exclusive interview plus news on planned track & compilation releases, so keep your eyes peeled for that, although we can say with authority that he will surely pack a punch in Fire’s main room after the duo of Dower & Pitron. But there is also The Week regular guest, Paul Heron, who will tempt you into the Mirrorarch with his tougher tech & electro beats, we crossing fingers & toes that a re-work of “Happiness” will be making it to his set and having discussed The Week with him just a few days ago, we know Paul is very excited about playing for the brand, both here in London and then for their upcoming birthday party in Sao Paulo.

So, that’s our special musical look at The Week which looks like being a euphoric event with music being the centre piece, especially with the likes of Messrs Bekker, Dower, Heron, Nicholls, Pitron & Rivas in charge. But for those that cannot make it down to Fire tonight (Sat 18th Sept), why not live the experience through our choices and doing do, as we love to say, “sit back, select those sounds, turn up the volume and let them play as music is the answer”, in this case Brazilian Beats By The Best In Our Book. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - DM Does The News

2010-09-06T21:03:00.004+01:00

"BANK HOLIDAY BEATMASTERS”

DM DOES THE NEWS
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER NEWSLETTER

MONDAY 6TH SPETEMBER

Welcome to the second instalment of DM Does The News and a bit of a special one, as not only have we got loads of music to cram in, but it will be very much a musical journey through the last Bank Holiday weekend that was absolutely bursting with top notch D.J.’s doing what they do best, playing terrific tunes to thrill and in so do, making them our “Bank Holiday Beatmasters”. This supersized & superspeed journey will not only give links to new compilations, new tracks & new studio works, but will also hint towards upcoming stars as well as forthcoming projects of well established favourite jocks, so fasten your seatbelts as we take you on our very own magical music mystery tour.

Well, as always our weekend started on the Thursday and in the hands of the social soiree splendour that is Industri, this venerable institution of a night out having held sway on our calendar for well over two years and in resident D.J.’s Paul Heron and Brent Nicholls, the music is always top draw, Brent especially using Industri as a test bed for new tracks, new evolutions & new directions in his music. So many of our favourite tunes from this master at his game have been born at Industri, indeed Mr Nicholls has racked up a number of compilations either dedicated to or recorded at Industri, although, his latest work, a brilliant collection of tracks from a genre which he calls “nu funk” is not so much an Industri child but a pure devotion this latest direction in his music, elements disco, funk & electro jazz, but predominantly latin beats, Brent explaining this latest work as “...a specialist mix that showcases my diversity & love for house music...” and boy does he show it in bucket loads with “No Americano”. To pick out a favourite track from the 19 on offer is so difficult, as we love them all, but if pushed it would have to be “Filthy Rich” by Arumba, but there are so many other amazing tracks including “Deep In My Sax”, “Devil Walking”, “Et Moi”, “Sweet Devil” & “To Start Again”, not to mention the inspiration for this compilation, the camp “We Speak No Americano”. But don’t just take our word for it, check out this amazing mix at http://djbrentnicholls.com/music, where you can also get details of free download options & other works of his.

Onto Friday and normally we try to dive into The Box, which always seems to attract a really good looking crowd, especially on a balmy summers evening. But with the weather far from summery, this Covent Garden hangout got a wide berth, unfortunately so as we know the music would have been just as good as Thursday in the hands of our very own female equivalent of Mr Nicholls, D.J. Minx, who is resident at The Box each Friday, as well as now being part of the “Therapy” team at Shadow Lounge. However missing out wasn’t so bad, as news has drifted our way of a new compilation from her, which is another superb summer corker, kicking off with Mark Knight’s “Devil Walking”, which we tipped as hitting the big time back in May, the compilation also including a multi mixed version of his “Downpipe” with strands of “Automatic” running through it which is simply fabulous. This foxy female has also included the awesome track “Dead Famous” by Diagram of The Heart, that rounds off this glorious 66 minutes of music from our female Brent, that’s how highly we rate Sam & her music. So, it goes without saying that we recommend you go grab your copy of her latest work at http://djminx.podomatic.com/.

The rest of our Friday was consumed by music in the hands of two latino’s, the first being Leandro Kloppel at the pre-party for Hype & M.O.S.T., Logan presents’ new home grown hybrid’s, both which have had extensive exposure in our preview & reviews posts, so check those out, but in finding Leonardo, Mr Schmitz has fallen on a gem of a D.J. that looks like making a considerable splash on the London scene, although is yet another model who has turned to disc spinning to earn a living (think Marco Da Silva, Phil Romano, Micky Friedman, Enrico Arghentini, they are all at it!!). However, we were impressed by his performance at BCS on this Friday, not to mention the slice we grabbed at M.O.S.T. on Sunday morning and we are keeping our eyes peeled for a compilation from the man, so will keep you posted on news of that, but in the meantime to get the low down on this good looking Brazilian, check out his stats at http://myspace.com/djleandrokloppel.

But Friday was all about “The Digital Generation” really, as we celebrated the forthcoming compilation release by Italian Stallion Pagano, who treated us to a five hour set at Onyx, littered with Francesco classics, including, “Loca", “Back To The Future” & “My Religion” as well as the more up to date “Drama On The Dancefloor” and the brand spanking new track “Digital Generation” which is the inspiration for this upcoming compilation. Now, we know that Pagano is back busy in the studio finalising the format & line-up for this, his first album release, which we are reliably informed will be out around the end of September on Kult Records, we hope including all the above, plus his ultra new remix work of Dynamix’s “Don’t Want Another Man”, which we expect to get an exclusive first airing at another five hour set of his, this time at Barcode Vauxhall this Saturday (11th Sept). We will keep you posted on “Digital Generation’s” release, but in the meantime, check out his discography & other info at http://djpagano.com/.

Saturday saw Logan’s Hype take centre stage in our proceedings, Spanish D.J. star Carlos Gallardo also centre staging a line-up that included London’s finest & international superstar globetrotter Paul Heron, who treated us to a sparkling set that included a brilliant if but slightly camp (he is going to kill us!) rendition of “Acapella”. He has been so busy of late, studio works have been very limited, but we are expecting a new compilation soon, although his “Summer Progressive” mix, which we featured a while back, is still available at http://soundcloud.com/djpaulheron/paul-heron-summer-progressive-2010.

As for Mr Gallardo, well, in his native Barcelona & further reaches of Spain, Carlos has made a considerable impact, working in the country’s biggest club brands, including Space, Privilege, Amnesia, SOS & SuperMartXe and also with some of Spain’s top vocalists, his work on “Say The Words” with Kaysee & “Don’t Let This Moment End” with Rebekka Brown, just two of hoards of track releases. But his latest work entitled “Fantasy Girl”, featured in his set at Hype and is a blistering progressive smash which you can grab for yourselves via direct link http://djsbag.com/progressive-house/10092-carlos-gallardo-feat-rob-harris-fantasy-girl and which will give you an insight & snapshot to his performance at Hype which we described as “...a prolific performance...” and “...stupendous set that rivalled any Spanish D.J. import guest we have seen, ever!...” enough said.

Other Saturday night & Sunday morning D.J.’s that featured in our journey and who are both busy in the studio right now are Tony English & Danny Verde, Tony having rounded off Hype in style with a rousing performance, albeit slightly divorced from his usual style of tough progressive eurobeats. But you can get a full flavour of Tony’s style, which his sets at SuperMartXe & Lovechild are pretty much full of, collections of Balearic & Spanish beats plus major European dancefloor hits, many of which are showcased in his podcast series “The Social 2010”, part one featuring Alex Guerrero, the next instalment including D.J. Luque, although the third of four, pure Tony and our favourite yet. Now, we are told that the fourth instalment is due out this coming Wednesday (8th Sept), but you can grab the other three now at http://tonyenglish.podomatic.com/.

Now to Mr Verde, the man whose career has well & truly rocketed in the last 18 months or so and no one could be more pleased than we at just how meteoric a rise it has been, an exhausting list of gigs taking him right across the globe. But, despite all this live D.J. work demand, Danny remains no slouch in the studio, where he has really made a name for himself and, following his smash tour of Los Angeles, US online music site, Beatport, has loaded up many of his best works, all which are now available at https://beatport.com/it-IT/html/content/artist/detail/70306/danny_verde, which includes his latest remix work “Stay With Me” by Thomas Anders, which has European vocal house in bucket loads & is simply Danny at his dynamic best. Why not also catch it in full glory with visual links at http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dl5FF3N2QI0 and whilst we missed out on Danny at M.O.S.T. (after a brief hello), we are very much looking forward to a reunion at Salvation in Berlin next month, plus we will keep you up to date with forthcoming studio projects of his as the inside track of news hits our desks.

Onward and Sunday morning had to include Beyond, this afterhours proving to be the single most popular party of the whole weekend, stellar D.J. performances coming out of the main room from Messrs Adams, Dower, Head & Pitron and we are keeping our eyes peeled for new compilation works from all four (yes that includes you Jamie!!). But over in room two, German club “Sexy” was also having its fair share of the action, seeing host for the night (well morning), Oliver M play the opening set. And to mark his performance, Oliver has released an 80 minute mix, which is a live recording from his set at the “Super Size” event, which he describes as “...a good mixture of vocal, tribal, & tech house tracks and full of energy all the way through...” adding that “...this mix represents my more mainstream music style...” and includes the massive summer smash, “The Sun Is Gonna Keep On Shining” in full remix treatment, as has “Rhythm Is A Dancer” plus many more, in fact, listening to the mix, we wish we had been there to witness Oliver’s set, as this is a glorious collection from start to finish & the best compilation from him by far. So, don’t miss out on it, catch it now at http://djoliverm.podomatic.com/entry/2010-09-02T15_27_22-07_00.

But, hanging out in the Terrace room with Craig Elder, Tom Fuller & Dorin Andrei as we did for most of our brief stay at Beyond, we couldn’t help by being transfixed with the sounds from resident D.J. Hifi Sean Dickson, who never fails to impress us with his progressive tech & funky beats, especially if we find a spot under the mirroball (a private joke!) and his “Psychedelic House” mix compilations have become legendary in many a living room, his latest “Hifi-cast” reflecting many of the sounds that are spinning his world at the moment, a mixture of twisted disco beats, tech tracks, progressive sounds & funky tunes that make it a truly psychedelic from the off. So, to get your slice of Sean, go now to http://hifiseandj.podomatic.com/entry/2010-09-03T08_18_19-07_00 where you can also look up his previous mixes and watch out for our review of his pulsating performance last Sat (4th Sept) when he played b2b with Nick Tcherniak at Barcode Vauxhall.

Moving on and As One was to be the next instalment of a further four parties in our bank Holiday weekend, although proved to be the last, but what a last it was, as many of “our boys, guapo’s, bello’s” were there & performing behind the decks, not least Eduardo De La Torre, who commissioned a compilation mix especially for this amazing amalgamation of an outing, which you can have for yourselves via http://soundcloud.com/dj-edu-de-la-torre/as-one-london-bank-holliday-especial-mixed-by-dj-edu-de-la-torre and is full of the energetic electro, tech & funky latino beats that was the trademark of his scintillating set. But news on his charming Venezuelan doesn’t stop there, as we know he is busy in the studio, working on a track release, of which we have been sworn to secrecy (how exciting!), plus he starts his new weekly show tonight (Mon 6th Sept) for Embeded Exposure Radio, the live link being http://embededexposureteam.webs.com/, Edu being on air each Monday from 8 p.m. till 10 p.m.. local time.

Another D.J. that starred at As One & in doing so, played on behalf of Wild Fruit was Lee Harris, who has definitely been making an impact in the capital in recent months, featuring loud & proud at many an Onyx event, as well as being part of the ever increasing roving residency team at Lovechild. Lee also laid down a special compilation for this brilliant blend of brand’s bash, this 11 minute mix kicking off as it means to go on with the glittering & remix version of the Eurythmics classic “Here Comes The Rain”, which is an absolute favourite of ours (we can hear those rockets fire across Beyond’s main room as Steve Pitron blasts this amazing track out!), but Lee’s superb selections grab you with every twist & turn, not least when “Release Me” pops up in a new format (nothing can beat the original for us but this has a damn good try), so another mix well worth adding you your collection, which you can do by going to direct link http://soundcloud.com/mashed/lee-harris-as-one-aug-2010.

However, the man that was very much doing it for us, was Barcelona boy Javier Medina, taking a guest slot in the Lovechild room at As One and treating us to a plethora of progressive, tech & tribal beats that has us whirling around like a spinning top, although it would be fair to say that, whilst his style goes down an absolute storm on the continent, London ears still need to grow accustomed to his style, but there is no doubt this D.J. talent is definitely going places and we are behind him with every step. Suffice to say, his follow up trip to Ibiza was a huge success & inspiring too, he diving straight into the studio when he got back to work on Lula (no not Lulu the Scottish born singer, Lula!!), but, once again, we are sworn to secrecy, but this is going to be the collaborative talk of the town soon, so we will let you know as soon as we can. But what we can talk about is his latest compilation, which he also commissioned for As One, his “Barcelona to London” mix dripping with joyous Javier Medina magnificent music, which we love and are sure you will too when you check it out at http://soundcloud.com/javier-medina/frombarcelonatolondon.

Now, due to upsetting circumstances our weekend came to a sudden end after As One, we trading the dancefloor for our duvet, but had we made the fantabulous & fun filled Pooldisco, we would have no doubt savoured the superb sounds of Kris Di Angelis, who has had a magnificent summer with plenty of brilliant developments both in & out of the studio, not only having released his first ever single, but has also landed his first radio show, which he is developing on as we speak, plus he is working on the sound & music programming for this year’s London fashion week which starts next Monday (13th Sept), so very much a man on the up and all from a boy that used to create havoc with us in Rupert Street all those years ago when we were younger. Anyway, back to Pooldisco, and if like us, you missed out on the last party, then why not re-live it through Kris’s compilation mix at http://soundcloud.com/krisdiangelis/pooldisco-volume-3, which has some terrific tracks including “Acapella”, “All the Lovers”, “Keep Me Home” & “Stelify” among others, that is truly refreshing & different to the norm, yet so Pooldisco and we love it!!

Then, of course we missed both DTPM & Orange/Trade where a whole host of D.J.’s were playing to delight, so sifting through who to select here was tough (although Hifi Sean has already had his mention), but we couldn’t pass over both events without including Nick Tcherniak, who, we are reliably informed, stormed DTPM and then had a similar effect at Orange/Trade, no surprise really, as he has been hitting the high notes at both club events for some time and has very much come into his own over the last couple of years, not that life was that tough before. The summer has been really good to Nick, having secured gigs both at home & abroad, his last venture across the seas being to Antwerp’s Red & Blue party, which he has celebrated, along with his appearances over the Bank Holiday back in London, with a special mix simply entitled “Trade, DTPM, Red & Blue In Reverse”, but couldn’t resist laying down a live podcast recording from his set at Orange/Trade too, both available at http://nicktcherniak.podomatic.com/. For us, stand out tracks across the two compilations are Per Q.X’s “Blow My Trumpet” & Rino Cabrera’s “Seize The Night”, although both are littered with amazing Tcherniak & Thomas remixes, the duo that is Nick & Steve also springing up with their single releases “My People” & “Deep Water”, the former having gotten the breathtaking re-work treatment by Alan X and has to be heard to be believed, while “Deep Water” has already been re-worked a few times, on this occasion by Hifi Sean, days before its official release this Friday (10th Sept) and is an equally impeccable interpretation. Now, we will be bringing you separate news of both tracks, plus more excitement in the Tchernaik-Thomas world in forthcoming posts, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

We also missed out on Gonzalo Rivas, who was also reported as taking Orange/Trade by storm, but then it goes without saying that the words, Gonzalo, Orange & Trade are synonymous with each other in so many ways, he having treated us to tons of tremendous times as far back as Turnmills & as recent as Fire, with everything in-between. But, interestingly he also does the business at Beyond and we couldn’t complete our look at our “Bank Holiday Beatmasters” news post without a mention for his specially devoted mix to their “Super Size” event, which is out at http://gonzalorivas.podomatic.com/player/web/2010-08-27T02_45_14-07_00 and we have to say this is very special indeed. Mr Rivas gets you in the dancing mood straight away with Craziba’s “Spinning Around” and then takes you on a magical musical tour not dissimilar to this one, the mix including works from the likes of Roger Sanchez, Ivan Gomez, & Taito Tikaro, he rounding off the 69 minutes of mesmerism with his own Trade remix of the Bills, Hurr & Rivas collaborative smash “Raise Your Hands”. For us this mix represents the Gonzalo flavour of music in full-on finery and why he remains at the top of his game, suuuuperb!!

Now, just a very quick musical mention for fab clubbing website SeenQueen, who have been busy bees like us, serving up well over 14 compilation mixes in the last month alone, many of which are featured here, but of course without our detailed devotions. So, for direct links to artists including Sharon O Love, Jamie Hammond, Dimitry K & Steve Geller, go to http://seenqueen.com/music & click away.

Well, our journey is almost over, but a reminder that we have up-coming news on studio works from Leandro Kloppel, Danny Verde, Eduardo de La Torre & Javier Medina, so watch out for those, plus keep your eyes peeled for Tony English’s podcast release, Pagano’s compilation and those official “Deep Water” remixes on Sorry Shoes recordings. We will also have news on more Gonzalo mixes, including his one dedicated to a Trade's 20th Birthday and talking of birthdays, we kind of come full circle in saying that Brent Nicholls’ latest compilation landed in our lap earlier, this being a devotion to another club’s anniversary, Suzi Kruger’s Hard On!, which celebrates 7 years in existence with a special party on Sat 25th Sept, Mr Nicholls combining classic Hard On! sounds with new beats in this aptly named “Master & Servant” mix which will get fuller exposure closer to the time.

Right, that’s our second DM Does The News done, our next post returning to usual format but with very much an anglo Belgian-French-Spanish feel to it, looking at Ruben Winters in detail, but also shouting out for Andrei 1, Leomeo, Ben Manson, Steven Redant & Ivan Gomez, while the following week we head back to blighty for focuses on Elliot J Brown & Gary H, who have just released new compilations. In the meantime we hope you love our choices here, so as we love to say about our music picks, “sit back, select those sounds, turn up the volume & let them play, as music is the answer”.

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Outstanding Orange-ites"

2010-08-17T21:26:00.004+01:00

“OUTSTANDING ORANGE-ITES”
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER – SPECIAL POST
SUNDAY 15TH AUGUST

When the word Orange is used in conversation by our straight cousins, they tend refer to either that round fruit that burly rugby players eat at half time or “...the future’s bright the future’s...” mobile phone network, but when it comes to us the thing that springs to our mind first & foremost is the legendary afterhours Monday morning madness of a nightclub that has become an absolute institution & a reason to push the boundaries of normality to the extreme. And this weekend, well tomorrow morning (16th August) to be exact, marks a momentous occasion in the life & times of this iconic club, as it celebrates 12 years in existence, yes, the last year before it reaches its teens, this citric splendour that started life back in 1998 at its first home in Rotherhithe, although in those days the night was named Chiller, whereas the club was called Orange. However with a move to Vauxhall in 2001 that Orange, as an event, step out of the shadow of the club marked the beginning of something quite special. So to mark this special occasion, comes another in our series of special music posts in which we focus on the clubs most longstanding residents & then cram in news of latest studio works from others intrinsically linked with this Monday morning madness of an event.

Without question, the one name that we associate with Orange & who has been with the club right from those exploratory early days in Vauxhall is Fat Tony, the legendary D.J. that has been hitting the headlines of both the gay & tabloid press, as well as hitting the bill board posters for the biggest clubs in the business, of which Orange can be credited as one. That said, Tony’s career behind the decks close on fifteen years before the concept of Orange was born in 1998, a career that has seen this sometimes controversial character, feature large & wide across the gAylist scene, notable brand appearances also including, Crash, DTPM, Fiction, Matinee and, the mother of them all, Trade, the club where not only did he rule the famed lite lounge, but forged one of the strongest friendships in his long an illustrious career, that with the equally colourful character that is Lawrence Malice. But it was also in more main stream clubs & venues like Cafe De Paris & Puscha that have benefitted from the Tony magic, has seen him travel the world with his vocation, from capital cities like New York, Sydney & Moscow, to countries like South Africa, Greece & China. His time behind the decks has seen Tony rub shoulders with the likes of Madonna, George Michael, Prince, Michael Jackson & The Pet Shop Boys, such was the demand for his services at a never-ending number of celebrity parties, all this very much thrusting him into the media spotlight, Tony never being scared of causing a little controversy or speaking his mind. Indeed on such incident landed him in on the front pages of The Sun newspaper, the headline reading “It’s A Hit, Gender Bender D.J. thumps Wham! George!"

However, the rock & roll lifestyle that saw him party hard with the stars & celebrities of the music industry was to take its toll, as not only has he had to face a battle with cancer, but the ravages of his indulgent lifestyle saw him seek the sanctuary of rehabilitation in order to allow him to continue his passion for D.J.’ing as well as maintaining his relationship with his long term partner. Having won his first battle, the fight against cancer, Tony probably saw his most successful years with Trade and with other associations too, the days of Soho’s Review bar also real highlights, not least the formation of a D.J. & friendship tie with Stevie B that is as strong today as when it was formed. But, for us, it was the emergence from rehab that has seen the most dramatic change in Tony, most especially through his work. Not only has he once again become the D.J. in demand that he was all those years ago, but performances at Matinee’s Cable based parties & DTPM’s “The Bitch Is Back” will live in our memories. However, unquestionably, Tony is at his magnificent best when playing at Orange and no Bank Holiday party is the same without him & Tonnic doing their funky & fulsome most, he even having the ability to draw people away from Area’s main room and the likes of Paul Heron & Steve Pitron. We have been privileged (and we don’t use that word lightly here) to witness an incredible string of outstanding sets at Orange from this legendary D.J. and for us, he is the epitomy of what Orange is all about, pushing the boundaries, keeping in tune with the cutting edge sounds of now and capturing the imagination, both Tony & Orange doing this week-in week out. As for his time in the studio, well since coming out of rehab, Tony’s rediscovered passion in his art has seen a succession of track releases under the title “Men Adore”, cuts of which you can check out at http://myspace.com/djfattonyldn, although we continue to wait for promised further new tracks as well as remixes of old classics, so we will be watching this exciting news with interest.

Our other special devotion goes to two more legends of the dancefloor, who have been cutting a stride since our earliest days of clubbing and both continue to play an important part of the citric splendour that is Orange. Without doubt, The Sharp Boys have played a significant part in all the major clubs, parties & events across gAylist London & beyond for a good fifteen years now and their dynamism behind the decks always goes down extremely well, whether it be in the confines of The Terrace room at Beyond Area or the massive stage that is the London Gay Pride dance stage, just two examples of a myriad of joint appearances the duo have chalked up this year alone. To say they have been there & done that is a commendable observation, as they have been part of virtually every major club brand, venue & event, the list including Trade, Heaven, DTPM, Universe, Famous Five, Purple In The Park, Brighton/London/Manchester/Soho/Pride’s, the list goes on, but have also been very much a staple ingredient of virtually every party across the gay clubbing mecca that has been (and continues to be) Vauxhall, playing out at Area, Fire & Colosseum, branded parties touched by George & Steven including Gravity, Horizon, Space, Juicy, White Party, Later, & of course Beyond and no specialist weekend or Bank Holiday goes by without the boys being part of the essential line-up. However, the duo are also famous for their clubbing parties, Royal House, a concept that was born a few years ago now, but still has an amazing following & creates an incredible buzz, although despite having been involved in so many parties, such massive brands & even self made concepts, the boys will always been intrinsically linked with Orange and no party would be the same without them behind the decks.

You would be forgiven for thinking that, given that impressive C.V. of London & UK appearances, the Boys restrict themselves to good old blighty, but oh no, as their glittering careers have seen them play to thousands in countries as far apart as Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, & South Africa, whilst they have touched on cities such as Istanbul, Miami, Los Angeles, Moscow, San Francisco, Sydney and loads in between, clubbing destination hotspots including Fire Island, Ibiza, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, & Cologne having been intoxicated with their incredible blend of funky, electro, tech & vocal drenched uplifting house for which they have both become renowned for. But it would be fair to say that the duo of George Mitchell & Steven React are just as prolific in the recording studio, having amazed a discography that many would be proud of and during their time remixing works for the biggest dance & pop music names in the business, including George Michael, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson, Christine Aguilera, Aretha Franklin & Mary J Blige, although they also devote some of their limited spare time to laying down compilations too, their two latest being absolute corkers. The first of our choice is the mix that was lifted straight from their appearance on Gaydar Radio in advance of this year’s London Pride celebrations, when the duo performed a phenomenal closing set on the Dance Stage in Leicester Square, although this “Sharpcast” is taken from their clubnation show the previous night, while their “Dansen” titled compilation includes some superb tracks, not least Mark Knight’s “Devil Walking, Pirupa’s “Blu”, Swedish House Mafia’s “One” & Hifi Sean’s Psychedelic mix of the fab “Strings Of Motion”, although the boys also get in on the remixing act with their take on Boy George’s Amazing Grace, but give us a sneak preview of their own track “Dansen” which is due for general release v soon & the inspiration behind the compilation title. Both these mixes get our full thumbs up which you can grab at http://sharpboys.podomatic.com/ and watch this space for news on the full release of their new track, plus catch the boys playing this coming Bank Holiday at Beyond’s Manchester Pride special, plus Orange Trade back in London.

Now, as has become our tradition, in devoting this post to all things Orange, we have diverted slightly from our advertised coverage, but in keeping with the citric theme, give shout to the works by three other Orange resident/guest jocks, first up being Gonzalo Rivas, one half of the original RAW combination that is now an intrinsic part of any Orange party. For us, Gonzalo ranks alongside the mere handful of D.J.’s that stand out as milestones in our clubbing history, his involvement in Trade around the turn of the century, a very important time in our lives although he continues to cut an impressive stride across many parties where we appear and never fails to deliver storming sets that leave us breathless. This goes for his compilations too and his latest, a tribute to labels 99North & Higher State Records sitting nicely here, as the mix includes Upstate’s “I Get High”, remixed by The Sharp Boys, as well as works by Steve Tomas, & a plethora of 99 Allstars tracks plus much more that Gonzalo explains “...have had a huge influence on me over the past years...”, he being pleased to bring you “...a selection of my favourite tracks & remixes mixed all together in one podcast...”, which is a must for your collection at http://gonzalorivas.podomatic.com/.

Moving onto the newer member of the RAW line-up and one that is proving incredibly popular, as it seems the man simply plays out of his skin at Orange parties, Hifi Sean even been credited as saying “...I love playing RAW at Orange, it’s one of those satisfying spots you get as a D.J. sometimes to experiment with sounds & grooves & watch everyone on the packed out Monday morning dancefloor get completely lost in it all...” his enthusiasm for his work shining through in Fire’s mirrorarch room with spectacular results. This also goes for his studio work and hardly a day goes by without Sean putting together some sort of track remix and his compilation series, particularly the psychedelic ones have incredible following, so it goes without saying that his latest is yet another superb example of the Hifi heavenly sound, which you should sample yourselves by going to http://djhifisean.podomatic.com/, or failing which, check out http://tunyurl.com/hifiseanpodcasts.

Our final citric devotion goes to one Nick Tcherniak, who has been gracing the decks at Orange as a guest recently, but is no stranger to the Orange/Trade combo parties, where back-to-back sets with partner in mixing crime, Steve Thomas, have become legendary. Indeed Nick’s studio works with Steve have seen some amazing results , both “My People” & “Deep Water” making it big right across Europe, being included in playlists of the top named D.J.’s and projecting the Tcherniak & Thomas duo right into the mixing/remixing limelight. But here we shout out for Nick’s latest compilation, “Summer Heat”, which includes some sizzling tracks, not least Crazibiza’s “Pinning Around”, Lopez Twin’s vs Who Da Funk with “Shiny Disco Balls 2010”, Pagano’s “Fascinating” and the Todd Terry/Prok & Fitch collaboration “Something’s Going On”, which is a worthy addition to your collection. And while you’re at it, grab his devotion to Logan Schmitz’s private party “UP”, both compilations available at http://nicktcherniak.podomatic.com/.

Right, that’s it for our special look at some of the huge talents that make up the incredible afterhours that is Orange and a special birthday commemoration marking 12 glorious years on Monday morning madness, which we are sure, especially under the helm of one Steven React Sharp, looks set to have many more years of citric splendour full of “outstanding orange-ites”. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "DM Does The News" - July/August Edition

2010-08-09T22:48:00.005+01:00

"DM DOES THE NEWS”
MUSIC NEWSLETTER –
JULY/AUGUST 2010

As much as we adore our weekly focuses on the top notch D.J’s out there, we would be the first to admit that this doesn’t allow us to keep pace with the ever increasing volume of compilation & track releases hitting our desks, whether it be from the huge list of disc spinning maestro’s we have covered in past reports, to those scene favourite’s we see in action behind the decks during our review duties, not to mention the new & emerging talent that we are pressed to promote.

So, the time had come for a new style report to allow us to address this situation, and as a result, “Disco Matt (DM) Does The News” was born, a music newsletter style post that will not only run through the latest releases from D.J’s we have covered in the past, share news on those new names, but moreover, serve as our way to keep you (as well as us) up to speed with the relentless pace of music activity across this glorious scene of ours, not just in the capital, but right across the globe.

The plan, just like this introduction, will be to keep the reports quite pointed & punchy, keeping the chat to a minimum, but choice to the maximum, offering all the relevant links & information to keep you best informed of what’s going on musically out there, as well as forthcoming gigs to keep your eyes out for. But fear not, our regular focus posts will continue, as will our special devotions to the music of those big club brands or latest trends and our “Disco Matt Does The Music News” reports will fit into that schedule, also complimenting our whole family of reviews, previews & recommendations.

Right, lets crack on and first up is a new compilation from Terry Vietheer who manages to fit occasional dips into the studio in with his D.J’ing gigs for club nights, Hola, Lovechild, Mixtape & Popcorn, as well as appearances at Barcode in Vauxhall & Shadow Lounge in Soho. His latest studio work has produced a track entitled “East Village”, which he has produced alongside Chris Cooper and is very much a progressive & tech in its making, while his August compilation has a more accessible feel to it, being devoted to his gigs at Popcorn and is simply titled “Heaven”, this 64 minutes of vocal drenched & uplifting house very much reflecting his live sets at this popular Monday nighter. Whilst the track & compilation show contrasting sides to Terry’s talents, both get a hearty thumbs up from us, which you can play/download via http://soundcloud.com/terryvietheer.

Next up is a track from Per QX, which started life back in May but has now got the recognition it deserves with a full release on Seamus Haji’s house label, Big Love, as part of a four track EP entitled “New Blood Vol 2” and includes three other tracks. However, it is Per’s “Blow Your Trumpet” that gets our attention, a big room, saxophone soaked stormer that this Swedish born trendsetting D.J. has been lauding across Europe on his many gigs & travels so far this summer, not to mention being tried & tested on his regular East End audience of followers. This fabulously funky 6 minute mix, which is available via https://beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/266930/big_love_digital_presents_new_blood_volume_2, is, as Per concurs, “...a must for any house music lover...” and we couldn’t agree more, while watch this space for a full focus on the fun filled Mr QX coming up soon.

Next is a Barcelona based Nacho Chapado who we focussed on back in May when he appeared at the massive London Global Dance Festival, yet as he has been so incredibly busy in the studio since, it is his two latest releases that get our shout. First up is his compilation mix “August Session” which is a cracking combo of pumping tech, tribal & progressive beats with latin & funky undertones that had us hooked right from the off, which you can grab at http://soundcloud.com/nch/nacho-chapado-in-session-august-2010 and will definitely find favour with those of you into the more minimal side of house. As for the track, it’s a much more vocalised piece of work, featuring the Madonna-esque voice of Alhena Bay and is a Chapado collaboration with mixing partner Sergi Vila entitled “Show Me Your Love”, which we adore. This 10th release on the “Spanish Mafia” label, Guarabear Recordings, is available via http://junodownload.com/products/show-me-your-love/1607655-02/ as an “original” mix & as remixes by fellow Barca based D.J. Ivan Gomez & Sorry Shoes’ Jean Phillips.

Onto another Barcelona based talent this time the emerging star that is Javier Medina who not only kicked off The Circuit Festival last Sunday alongside Pagano at the massive Devotion party, but also went on to woo the thousands attending the huge WE event later in the week. WE is certainly the talk of Spain at the moment, so with Javier very much in the mix there, his route to stardom is surely paved with gold and is our big tip of the year. Here we promote his latest compilation which is a two hour reflection of his spectacular set at Devotion just over a week ago, a tribal, tech & progressive collection of tunes which you can grab at http://soundcloud.com/javier-medina/devotioncircuitfestival2010 and watch this space for news on a track release he has worked on in the studio with close friend & fellow D.J. Leomeo.

Before we move away from the Catalonia capital, our next shout goes to Steven Redant who, like Javier, was in the thick of the action at The Circuit Festival, although his exhausting schedule sees him jet across Europe virtually every other week. So, his weekly “Get It On” compilations are becoming fewer & further between, while he lays down mixes drawn from his live performances, his latest being a tribal & tech triumph marking his storming set at the Gay Games in Cologne at the end of July, which you can listen/download at http://stevenredant.podomatic.com/. Then, there is his track “Dance” on which Steven combined forces with Lenz Garcia, vocalist Olaya & the multifaceted Marco Da Silva, to produce what Steven describes as “...another tribal stomper with a dirty dirty bass line and a clash of Marco's baritone voice and Olaya's diva screams..” and he isn’t wrong there. Having topped the masterbeat charts, we think this track is definitely going places which you can add to your collection via http://soundcloud.com/stevenredant/dance-steven-redant-lenz-garcia-marco-dasilva-feat-olaya.

Right, zooming across Europe and to a talent that has made the big time like no other recently and, having tracked his progress for close on three years, we are so proud of his achievements. Danny Verde is now certainly a name to conjure with amongst the top brass in the D.J.’ing game, this charming & modest Italian landing gigs right across the globe, just a week ago taking Montreal by storm, then jetting back to Europe for The White Party in Cologne. A brief respite of two days will allow Danny to draw breath before heading off to Brazil, then making Ministry Of Sound in the capital on August Bank holiday, all this meaning his studio work, which shot him to stardom, is pretty much on the back foot. However, his latest remix project in the piping looks like being another huge success, this marking the second collaboration with US vocalist Blake Lewis. As yet, we have no release date, but we can share this video teaser with you and think you will agree that “Till We See The Sun” is going to be a dancefloor scorcher, so go check out the sample at http://youtube.com/watch?v=wWJ8R-U2zZ8 and watch this space for further news on that.

Another guy that will be here in the capital for August Bank Holiday is Eduardo De La Torre, who will once again be gracing the decks of awesome afterhours club Beyond, so like Danny’s MOS gig, should be a definite date in your diary. And a must for your collection should be his Beyond devoted compilation which he laid down straight after ripping up The Terrace room with a rousing final set that saw the place packed right till the end, so if you missed that, don’t miss this & get your copy now at http://djdelatorre.podomatic.com/. Plus, just last weekend while on a well deserved break in Amsterdam, he couldn’t get away from the studio & has a new track in the making called “All Around The World”, so keep your eyes peeled for further info/links.

Right, we are on the home straight now as we shout for local boy plus OMFG, Circus & Barcode resident Kris Di Angelis who got our full focus in July, yet has been a busy bee in the studio since, well to be honest he is hardly out of it, Kris burning the midnight oil most nights, although not always with mixing partner Sam Hunwicke. Mind you, for his first ever track release on the open market, he has chosen one he compiled with Sam, “Anthem” being an a-typical tough & twisted triumph that you can grab at http://junodownload.com/products/anthem/1610816-02/, Mr Di Angelis remarking on the release “...I can’t believe it’s taken this long to actually put a tune out...” and nor can we Kris, more of the same pleeease!!

Now a talent whose time behind the decks is very much like the rollercoaster lifestyle he leads, Steven Geller having dipped in & out of the Vauxhall clubbing scene nearly as much as we have had hot dinners, although there is no escaping this man’s immense talents for mixing tracks and when he is on it, by golly it is a sight & sound to behold. So, we couldn’t give up the opportunity of pushing his latest compilation mix, 58 minutes of banging beats that will turn up the heat in your living room when you select it by going to http://djstevengeller.podomatic.com/, and keep your ears glued for his own new mix of “Some Kinda Rush” which makes an appearance, it’s amazing!!

Very much a new talent on the scene is D.J. Norbert M, who we threw into the spotlight on back in June following news that he had made for shortlist for the Popcorn D.J. challenge. Such was his splendid performance in the first heat, that he made the semi’s & now the final, which takes place tonight (Mon 9th Aug), so we wish Norbert all the best with that and will bring you news of just how he got on But in the meantime, we are thrilled to share his latest mix, dedicated to London’s Pride last month, which you can check out at http://norbertmik.podomatic.com/.

Another new(ish) talent to reach our posts, although not a full on focus yet, is Michel Mizrahi, who very much played his part at Matinee’s “Open Air Summer” party at MOS in July and issued a mix marking his magnificent performance there. However, not resting on his laurels, Michel has followed it up with his “Afterhours” compilation, which we think is even better than his Matinee one and is jam packed with euro style tracks, pulsating progressive beats & lots of vocal infusions that make this a stand-out 66 minutes of music mixing, which you must surely sample at http://soundcloud.com/michel-mizrahi/afterhours-michel-mizrahi.

Finally and bringing us right up to date is a D.J. that made a huge splash at the Gay Brighton Dance Festival this last weekend and is literally still recovering from the massive success that was Rebel Afterhours this morning, some describing it as “...the best party of the year so far...”. While we weren’t there, we can certainly vouch for Guy Williams’ amazing talent behind the decks and have to take our hat off to the man for the hard work he has put in both on his D.J’ing & his club promoting, both vocations bearing considerable fruit at the moment. Quite how he fits studio work in is beyond us, but he does and we simply adore his latest track compilation, “Like That” pulling in strands of tech, nu disco, trance & alluring vocals, which is, as it say’s on the tin “... an ass wigglin percussive groover...”. So don’t delay, go get your slice of this Williams wonder at http://soundcloud.com/guy-williams/guy-like-that.

Right, that’s just about it, although just time to tell you which three tracks are really doing it for us at the moment, which we are tipping for the big time on dancefloors, two already having emerged in the few days. For us, they speak for themselves, so go search them out as Denzel Park’s vocal mix of Mobin Masters’ “World Go Round”, Craziba’s “Spinning Around” & “So Alive” by Syke n Sugarstarr are very much on our repeat button right now. Oh we can’t resist, here are some links, http://youtube.com/watch?v=CYUaJ7k51RY, http://youtube.com/watch?v=1G9tKyKs7S4 & http://youtube.com/watch?v=lwhPStUHRIo, each one having been picked up a while back by two scene Favourite D.J’s and can be found in full glory on their latest compilation releases “Aural” & “Summer 2010” .

Next week we return to our focus style post, although give it a real citric flavour, honing in on Orange residents The Sharp Boys & Fat Tony, plus shouting for latest studio works from Gonzalo Rivas, Hifi Sean & Nick Tcherniak, while the following week, we point towards Lovechild with focuses on guest D.J.’s Johan Khoury & Aural Devil, with shouts for Jonny M & JC Christopher’s new mixes.

In the meantime, we hope you like our new “DM Does The News” style post and our 18 selections, so as we love to say, “...select those sounds, sit back, turn up the volume & let the music play...”

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Music Mixing Madam's"

2010-08-02T15:23:00.006+01:00

Hey Folks,

Being back into usual music mode, we revert to our regular post format, although give it a female flavour with focuses on two artists yet to get our attention, but also squeeze in shouts for a trio of chaps & their latest works.

So, let’s crack on and our first focus goes to Sharon O Love, a female talent that first caught our eye back on NYD 2009, when she featured large in Salvation’s massive party at the now defunct Hippodrome, an event that had its fair share of controversy, although Sharon’s stellar set was one major highlight along with other resident stars Gonzalo Rivas & Mis-White, Sharon’s typical uplifting, rip roaring, funky & fulsome vocal drenched house very much hitting the spot with the 2000+ crowd that night. Indeed, her style of sound secured Sharon a position within the regular team at Salvation and has seen her tour with the international club brand across the world, appearances on the international stage opening up doors & opportunities for solo representations, destinations included in her globetrotting being Russia, Germany, Greece, France & Spain, while more unconventional spots have included Lithuania & Dubai. But it would be far to say that Sharon has made as much of an impact back here in blighty, spreading her good house heaven word across not just London for Salvation, but up north from her home town of Nottingham, her impressive C.V. including gigs for Federation in Leeds, Essential in Manchester, Gatecrasher in Sheffield & Ko Ko in Leicester, although her appearances have seen her go as far south as Torquay and up north to Edinburgh, with much in between.

More recent developments in Sharon’s career behind the decks has seen her become part of the team at new Sunday night club event Booster in London’s Vauxhall, her following in the capital having increased tenfold as a result and we get the feeling that she will become even more of a feature in this ever changing yet vibrant scene south of the river. Mind you that doesn’t stop her spreading those international wings of hers and just last weekend saw Sharon play at Hamburg’s Pride event and this lovable lady is about to thrill throngs of Mexicano’s in a weeklong tour that will capture over 5 gigs, before returning to Europe for whistle-stop drop in’s on Munich, Lausanne & Rome, fitting these appearances in with her commitments to Booster, all meaning that Sharon’s life behind the decks is busier than ever. So, given all this, it is hardly surprising that swapping the circuit for the studio is a challenge, but it is one that Sharon rises to as much as she can, not only laying down compilation mixes from time to time, but also devoting a chunk of her unstoppable energies into track creations with mixing partner Alex Senna, under the guise of After 6. The duo have, in the three years in partnership in the studio, racked up over ten mixes/re-mixes in their discography, many with the backing of the huge MOS label, although undoubtedly their biggest success has been the rework of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”, which has been playlisted on every major UK radio station, including the biggie, Radio 1, and such has been the track’s success that recent further re-works include a sunrise & a club mix.

However, for us, it is Sharon’s compilation mixes that strike real resonance with us and very much reflect her live performances behind the decks, so it comes as no surprise that we have found real favour with her latest release entitled “This Is London – Summer 2010”, just over an hour of Sharon at her uplifting & energetic best that gets you going right from the off with uplifting vocals hits of now. The mix includes the brilliant “Acapella”, a superb re-work of “Sunday’s At Heaven”, a 2010 favourite of ours in Pitron & Sanna’s remix of Paul Harris’s “I Want You”, which is a take on the Eurythmics classic “Love Is A Stranger” and rounds off with a new take on David Guetta’s classic “Just A Little More Love”. But there is plenty more besides, especially a fabulous take on the Hed Kandi hit, David Morales’s “How Would U Feel” with the seductive vocals of Lea Lorien combining with barnstorming new beats that give the track that amazing energetic feel that is so very much Sharon O Love at her best. So, it goes without saying that this latest offering gets a massive thumbs up from us and is a must for your collection which you can grab at http://soundcloud.com/dj-sharon-o-love, along with over 6 previous full on compilations as well as those remixes of “Fast Car” we talked about.

Our other devotion this week goes to Lisa German, who’s terrifically trouncing tech tunes have been entertaining audiences for as long as we can remember, Lisa having first caught our eyes & ears back in the heady days of Trade during the 1990’s, when she made it big in the main room of Turnmills, having been given a foot in the door by promoter Laurence Malice, who offered Lisa a slot in the infamous test lounge. So impressed was Mr Malice that Lisa soon found herself playing in Trade’s main room, becoming a feature of the residency team through the late 90’s & into the new century, not just playing for Trade in the capital, but touring with the brand across the country & overseas and Lisa was featured in Trade’s “Retrospek” album, which was released in 2002, pretty much making Miss German a household name for the club since. But house nay Home was also going to dominate her career in the early new century, as it was the club of the same name, Home, that saw Lisa play out each Friday, where she rubbed shoulders with the likes of Steve Lawler, Danny Tenaglia & Carl Cox, this then leading on to appearances for Space in Ibiza and really opening the floodgates on worldwide gigs, whether it be as near as France & Switzerland, or as far as Brazil & Australia, there has been virtually no continent untouched by the Lisa techy, funky, chunky house style. Mind you, that said, this Lancashire born & bred lass has cut a considerable stride back home too, residencies including Sheffield’s Gatecrasher & London’s DTPM, Heaven & Gallery at Ministry Of Sound, making her probably the most accomplished & professional D.J.’s on the circuit and a favourite with the clubbing crowd.

However, one of the most interesting developments in her career was a chance meeting with Hed Kandi’s Mark Doyle while Lisa was playing a gig for Centro in Singapore in 2005, Miss German very much impressing Mark with her chunkier style of house that was to suit the “Twisted Disco” label of the brand and was brought on board to play at an endless string of parties across the UK and overseas. Having been known for playing it on the tougher side at clubs like Trade DTPM & Gallery, her move to Hed Kandi was seen as quite a strange one by many, although Lisa has been noted as remarking on this stage in her career as “...an opportunity that really brought back my love for simple, well produced funky house music...”, something that inspired her to get behind the decks in the first place and in some ways brought her full circle from the early days back in Manchester at clubs Brickhouse & Hacienda, two places very much responsible for her emerging love of house music back in the 1990’s. But back to Hed Kandi and Lisa also stated that “...I felt very privileged to be asked to join the team...” adding that “...The Hed Kandi parties were some of the best I have played, the crowds were up for a good time, pure & simple and you couldn’t ask for more than that...” and it was this philosophy that Mark Doyle had pioneered with Hed Kandi, that saw Lisa rejoin his side for Mr Doyle’s breakaway new brand, Fierce Angel, Miss German being a staple ingredient in virtually every album release & party.

But it is fair to say that Lisa has, through all this, maintained her underground status and remains best known for her Trade days, her continual appearances for Gallery and new venture Smartie Party. Having said that Gallery has led Lisa to be part of the team at Friday nighter Onyx, Miss German having been recommended by Tom Fuller and, along with Ariel, rips up the Terrace room each & every week with her terrific tech toned tunes, all this meaning that Lisa hardly ever gets into the studio to lay down recordings, preferring to play it live to her audiences. However, we trawled the archives and managed to track down a rare mix of hers which you can download for yourselves at http://abmp3.com/download/7072338-mp3, plus why not check out this fabulous video, which chronicles her tour of Greece with Hed Kandi, via the link http://muzu.tv/hedkandi/greece-is-the-word-music-video/38503?country=gb.

Right, moving on and we promised to bring you details of a live set devotion to the magnificent Matinee “Open Air Summer Party” by emerging talent Michel Mizrahi and here it is, a glorious Balearic inspired 58 minutes of sounds that reflect his performance at this huge event last month. The whole compilation is drenched with euro style vocals & beats but with plenty of funky intentions too, Funkagenda’s collaboration with Mark Knight, the brilliant “Devil Walking” standing proud alongside Blast’s “Crazy Man 2010” as two highlights of the mix, which you can grab now at http://soundcloud.com/michel-mizrahi/michelmizrahi-matinee-ministryofsound-11july2010.

Next and we were so thrilled to be in the company of French fancy Leomeo this last weekend, he having taken all the plaudits at Lovechild’s “Hot Tropicana” party on Saturday. However, when we caught up with him earlier in the day, we were given a full insight to the special mix he laid down in celebration of the birth of his niece Jeanne, entitled "The Life", a touching collection of tunes ranging from Massive Attack & Coldcut to Otis Redding & Sophia Loren, but with much more besides. Leomeo described it as “...as celebration of the birth of life and a mix combining loads of different sounds that have meant alot to me & my life, so mean even more when dedicating these records in a special collection to Jeanne...” the love & passion of his devotion purely evident in his words & expressions. And we couldn’t agree more, this 111 minute chilled out mix compilation having already found its way into our collection and should be in yours too by going to direct link http://soundcloud.com/djleomeo/the-life-soft-mix-special-dedicated-to-jeanne-by-dj-leomeo.

But the Leomeo story goes on and his exhaustive schedule of gigs leaves us breathless, recent trips to New York & Barcelona preluding his London showing. Whilst he takes every opportunity to rest between visits, such is the demand for his services, that Leomeo’s diary is pretty much booked out until December and much of it demands plane journeys here there & everywhere, including a return to his beloved Singapore. However, this delightful Parisian based beaut tries to fit in gigs in his native France and in recognition of this, has produced a compilation entitled “La Legende Masquee”, a mix dedicated to the the club of the same name in St Tropez where the man played out recently and is very much more in the Leomeo tribal & progressive style but with a touch of techno,which we found addictive from the start, being surprisingly reflective of that incredible performnce at Lovechild on Saturday and we are sure, a stellar set in St Tropez too. So, for another slice of Leomeo magic, go now to http://soundcloud.com/djleomeo/la-legende-masquee-the-mix-by-dj-leomeo.

Now to our final trio of talents and who else could it be but the fabulous Francesco Pagano, who treated us to a simply scintillating set at Logan Schmitz’s private party, UP, two Sunday’s ago, leaving us breathless in admiration of the man’s diverse talents. And just four days before, he released his remix of the superb “Raise Your Hands”, a pulsating progressive track that has the Pagano trademark sound & style written all over it, so is surely one for your collection, his dirty warehouse remix available via http://beatport.com/s/t5w8tf. But as good as this track is, the really exciting news is a planned compilation release due out in September on Kult records, entitled “Digital Generation”, so watch this space for news on that.

Right, that’s it for another post, although we are already looking forward to next week as our report will be more of a newsletter when we catch up on our backlog of compilations & track releases, covering offerings from Terry Vietheer, Per QX, Nacho Chapado, Javier Medina, Eduardo de La Torre, Nick Tcherniak & Danny Verde, before returning to our usual focus format and a very citric flavour devoted to Orange residents, The Sharp Boys & Fat Tony the following week.

In the meantime, we hope you like our choices here and as we love to say “select those sounds, sit back, turn up the volume & let the music play”.

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Become A Beyond Believer" - Special Post

2010-07-25T12:28:00.006+01:00

“BECOME A BEYOND BELIEVER”
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER – SPECIAL POST
SUNDAY 25TH JULY

In the relatively short time that we have been reporting in a vibrant gay music scene boasting some truly amazing D.J.’s not just here in the capital, but across Europe & further a-filed, one club stands out head & shoulders above the rest when it comes to truly inspiring music, this coming as no surprise when you see the veritable feast of disc spinning meisters that graces the clubs decks over the years. So, with the latest incarnation of Beyond parties, B2B, gathering steam and having held its latest party last night & today (Sat/Sun 24th/25th July) we thought it only appropriate to devote a special post to this most prolific of club brands, focussing on two D.J.’s that centre pieced both parts of the 14 hour extravaganza, but we also give a shout to two Beyond inspired compilations and one by a Beyond resident D.J.

Right, without further a-do, our first focus goes to Rob Sykes, who made a welcome return to Beyond last night (Sat 24th July) at the first leg of the B2B party, taking to the main room decks at super club Colosseum in Vauxhall and proving a considerable draw, particularly given his D.J.’ing pedigree. In terms of Beyond, whilst Rob was never considered a resident, the odd guest appearance in the original days of the club at Colosseum saw him treat the masses to slices of the Sykes superb sound that became so sort after at the time. With the massive circuit style club Action being part of the clubbing revolution within Vauxhall, Rob was an intrinsic part of this club set up, headlining the D.J. line up at each party and most deservedly so, his style of funky, chunky, progressive & tech infused house very much hitting the mark with the huge audiences that Action attracted and this mega circuit styled event made Mr Sykes pretty much a household name across gAylist/land clubbing in the capital. But this was to lead onto Rob joining the exclusive band of D.J.’s that work & play for The Orange group and it is fair to say that, in Juicy, Rob continued the fairytale connection with Action’s Andrew Harris, this Saturday night outing at Fire enjoying four years in the spotlight, its sudden demise leaving a gaping hole in the clubbing calendar and also leaving Mr Sykes a little in the wilderness, thus his return to the fore with Beyond, very much a morale boosting move.

Rob’s career behind the decks stared back in the early 1990’s, he gaining residencies at clubs that included Quiet Storm, Billion Dollar Babes, Hollywood Babylon & the then iconic Studio 94, these appearances seeing Mr Sykes stretch his legs overseas, in Europe, The US Africa & Australia, notable highlights in his career being representations at aftershow parties for Janet Jackson, Kylie Minogue and even for the great lady herself, Madonna, following her most recent concert at London’s Wembley Stadium. Mind you it doesn’t stop there, as Rob has played at the highly acclaimed & prestigious MTV Europe music awards in both Rome & Lisbon, playing to massive audiences both in & out of the music industry, so is no stranger to playing to huge crowds, although is just as comfortable in the small sophisticated bar set up, as the enormous circuit stage. Away from the limelight and Mr Sykes dives into the studio occasionally, laying down compilations that are very much reflective of his mood and moments in life, creative collections of beats that represent Rob’s diverse taste in house music genres floating between funky & electro, to more underground & tech infused sounds are loaded in his impressive repertoire, two great examples being his latest mix entitled “Lady Loca Vive En Berlin” & his “Beach Baby Babylon” compilation (a favourite of ours), both available at http://soundcloud.com/djrobsykes. However, naturally, it is his mix devoted to Beyond B2B that gets our biggest shout, just over 60 minutes of electro funk, tech & progressive beats, together with inviting vocals, all mixed up to provide an uplifting & enchanting string of sounds that have the Sykes stamp firmly on them and in the man’s own words is “...a taster of what you can expect to hear me playing...”, Rob’s centre stage performance for B2B at Colosseum already now in the bag. So, if like us, you were unfortunate to miss this spectacular Beyond outing & Rob’s performance, why not emulate the experience by checking out his mix at http://djrobsykes.podomatic.com/.

Our second focus goes to a man who needs no real introduction as, in terms of Beyond, he is very much a household name and one of the staple ingredients that makes the main room at Area on a Sunday morning the most popular place to be. Mike Dower, better known behind the decks as Mikey D, has been a major tore de force in the Beyond armoury since its re-birth back in 2008 and even if he isn’t part of the line up on any given Sunday (and that is a rarity), you will find him partying with the best of us and supporting what has become very much an institution for many. As we sit here focussing on the man, he is live behind Beyond’s decks, no doubt treating a packed main room to a scorching sequence of scintillating, uplifting, funky & chunky, house tunes that is so representative of his showings at this amazing afterhours club. Not only does Mikey more than compensate for the absence of close friend & D.J. partner in crime, Steve Pitron (who is currently on a well deserved holiday break), but we are occasionally treated to back-to-back sets from the duo that simply blow us away, the recent Pride event being a perfect example. However, whilst he may be best known for his slots at Beyond, Mikey has recently been asked to guest at the re-emerging Later parties at Fire and that very same pride weekend, we were treated to two doses of the Dower delirium, his solo set on the Sunday afternoon showing a tougher more tech infused side to his music that went down an absolute treat, as has all his performances we have witnessed there. Indeed, there are a mere handful of D.J.’s we know that can truly lift any lack lustre feeling we may become prone to on the dancefloor, Mikey being one of those and last week at Beyond did just that, banishing all thoughts of our injuries to the back of our mind and seeing us in a dancing dervish from 9 till 11 virtually nonstop.

To think that this man graduated from spinning discs in his bedroom to playing on the international stage at the blink of an eye is testament to his incredible talent and Mikey has hardly looked back since that pivotal & breakthrough moment in Sicily for Alternative Holiday’s Gay Summer weeklong event. Indeed, a whole string of residences & appearances followed back here in London, his residency at Crash the first time the Mikey magic behind the decks caught our eye, although, with clubs like A.M., Discotec, Heaven, Mr Dower’s reputation and demand was pretty much secured here in the capital, and who can forget his prolific performances for Matinee in its early London days at Area, magic days that will live in our memories for ever. Internationally, Mikey has played gigs as near as Paris & Rome and as far as Sydney & San Francisco, with many in between, all this while holding down a full time job for Ministry Of Sound, a demanding position that means the Dower diary tends to be pretty full, so appearances at Beyond & Lo-Profile, as well as guest slots across London & overseas are his own forms of release from the pressures of his full time job. So it doesn’t surprise that studio works are pretty limited, although a little birdie tells us the man is working on a new compilation at the moment, so as soon as it comes to fruition, we will share it with you. However, even though it stretches back to the first day of 2010, there is no better way to savour the talents of this amazing D.J. very much on peak performance, in one of those massive back-to-back sets with Mr Pitron, both parts taken straight from their three hour set and like the records within the two compilations, have become, as Mikey quite rightly says “...a journey through Beyond hits old and new, crammed with classics to celebrate its history...”, so a perfect choice to mark this latest incarnation of the club, B2B. If they are not in your collection yet, then go grab them now at http://mikeyd.podomatic.com/ and watch this space for his new mix, as we will be giving him a serious nudge when we see him on Dex’s terrace later today.

Right, we promised you some more compilations devoted to Beyond , although we cannot bring you the mini mix that Jamie Hammond laid down to mark his debut appearance for this mega club brand at Colosseum, as, sadly it has been deleted and is no longer available. But fear not as Area resident D.J. Alan K has just released his latest Beyond live set recording which you can grab now at http://djalank.podomatic.com/ and was lifted from his breathtaking set at Beyond’s Gay pride party on 4th July. Now, when it comes to multi mixing (that’s three sometimes four records blended into one) there is no-one better than Alan in our view and this compilation is riddled with brilliant examples and is a must for your collection.

Now, while the link is a little loose, one Beyond resident that always seems to hit the mark for us is D’Johnny, his appearances in The Terrace always drawing us away from the main room madness and while he has yet to lay down a special compilation for Beyond, his latest mix, which is included within the Logan Presents podcast series, is well worth a listen, being hot off the press at http://loganpresentspodcast.podomatic.com/ and just in time for the third UP private party at Dex in Brixton this afternoon. Like Mikey, if we get a chance, we will be prompting Mr Johnny for a Beyond devoted compilation, so watch to see if we are successful in our bid.

But firmly back on the Beyond music trail is a simply superb compilation for one of the clubs original residents, Alan X, who used to carry us cavourting right till the last seconds of our weekly homage’s to Beyond in the early days of Colosseum’s main room madcap antics, although in this latest mix, Alan treats us to the sounds more akin to his sets in the VIP lounge both at the first outing and last night (which we missed, blast!) but is also full of “...tunes guaranteed to get you moving, whether on the beach or at your local chillout...”. This latest mix marvel gets our complete thumbs up and is a must grab at http://djalanx.podomatic.com/, while you can, so don’t dilly dally, go get it now!

Right that’s about it for this Beyond inspired special post, although while we have hopefully given you plenty of brilliant beats to soak up for another week, why not check out Seen Queen’s music page, which has links to over 50 of the scene’s top D.J. talents, as well as a veritable feast of latest compilation releases, plus much more at http://seenqueen.com/music.

Our next post goes back to its usual format, although has a female feel with focuses on Sharon O Love & Lisa German, while we have news on a Matinee inspired mix from D.J. Michel Mizrahi, another new compilation from French fancy Leomeo, who will be in London for Lovechild’s “Tropicana” party, plus details of Pagano’s latest track release in advance of his appearance at Barcelona’s Circuit Festival, so keep watching & reading for all of that. In the meantime, all that’s left to say is “select those sounds, sit back, turn up the volume, become a Beyond believer and let the music play, as Music Is The Answer”. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "O Stands For Oliver"

2010-07-17T11:47:00.015+01:00

Hey Folks,

Just as we thought our lives couldn’t be further enriched with masterful music following a magnificent Matinee party, when all six D.J.’s performing at MOS played a prolific part in making for the best party of 2010 so far (this news never tires!), terrific terrace tunes coming from Paul Heron, Taito Tikaro & Marco Da Silva, while indoors incredible's Alessandro Londra, Michel Mizrahi & Francesco Pagano pumped the main room with brilliant beats, this week has seen two outstandingly awesome new compilations, both which we simply can’t put down, but more on them in a bit.

However, pulling ourselves a little closer to terra firma from our cloud nine existence, two talents new to our music devotion reports and both who are very much involved in this weekend of “love”, get our full focus, then we shout for a couple of mixes that have “love” as their theme (or connections at least), while we bring you the detail on those colossal compilations that are filling our ears at the moment (indeed as we speak!).

First up is Oliver M, the M standing for Mohns, who lots of people will know from the last three years or so, more as a club promoter rather than a D.J., he having headed up the team that was responsible for hosting Matinee in London, Oliver’s involvement seeing the brand’s fortunes hit amazing highs with parties such as “Knockout” at Fabric, “Viva” at Colosseum & “The Next Chapter” at Cable, although the latter in some ways signalling a new chapter in Mr Mohn’s non-stop & energetic life, kind of drawing him back to his roots, D.J.’ing, which he clearly gets a huge amount of enjoyment & satisfaction from. Having said that, his insatiable desire to remain within the club promoting game has seen him dip his toe back into the market here in London following Matinee changing hands, with “Matador”, a club night held in Vauxhall’s Barcode, and this month will see the launch of another new venture “Impact”, intended to bring a little of the European clubbing circuit vibe to London, a scene that Oliver is more than familiar with, France, Belguim, Holland & Germany in particular being his main D.J.’ing stomping ground. Indeed it would be fair to say that his reputation & standing across mainland Europe is huge in comparison to here in the U.K., where his tough electro & tech fuelled house goes down extremely well & suits the more euro-style intention of his beats.

However, it all started for this enigmatic & effervescent German back in his homeland in 1987, when a young & fresh faced Oliver was asked to fill the shoes in a one-off gig in Hamburg for famous producer Boris Dlugosh, this leading to a residency at the city’s Front nightclub and getting him noticed in the fast emerging Berlin scene, where he made his mark, sprouting appearances & residencies across the new German capital and further a-field in Amsterdam & Zurich. But it was when he weighed his anchor in Spain that things really took off for Oliver, gigs for El Divino, Amnesia & Privilege in Ibiza, Space of Sound in Madrid and with Matinee during its early years in Barcelona, which was to forge a working relationship that remains to this day, Oliver being part of the core team of D.J.’s for their massive Circuit Festival & still very much in bed with the Matinee top brass. Naturally London was also going to be a draw for him and Oliver now considers the capital as his home, although in recent months more of a resting pad, as his exhaustive list of gigs & appearances across Europe & the world have seen him travel as far as Rio, New York & Tel Aviv, the latter for the mega international brand Salvation for whom Oliver has been a resident D.J. for well over 5 years.

Indeed, it is with this Salvation residency & having formed a close working relationship with Steve Elliot that has seen Oliver devote a slice of his very limited time away from the live D.J. decks to dive into the studio and complete a new compilation, which he has devoted to the brands appearance at this year’s massive Lovebox festival, where “Cirque Du Salvation” will play its part on Sunday (18th July). The mix is very typical of Oliver’s style, his music still drawing on lots of roots from his early techno days in Germany but much more of the tech kind, while Balearic beats & handfuls of vocals also present themselves across the 72 minutes of engaging & enthusiastic music, Mr M opting for sounds that are perhaps new & unfamiliar to audiences in the capital, yet make the mix fresh & inviting, as we are sure will his performance on Sunday for Salvation. To grab your slice of Oliver M and his “Salvation @ Lovebox 2010 Vol 1” go to http://djoliverm.podomatic.com/. As for the upcoming weeks, well naturally he will be in Victoria Park tomorrow, continues with other Salvation party commitments, will be at The Circuit Festival in Barcelona and also makes regular appearances at the huge La Demence in Brussels. Plus you will be able to catch him playing a rare London gig at new club Impact next week, all meaning that the new chapter in the life of Mr Mohns has D.J.’ing written all over it and impressively so.

Our other love devoted focus goes to D.J. The Oli (another Oliver), who has been entertaining audiences across the capital for close on ten years now, yet looks as fresh faced as he did when he started out, still drawing in the party people to his pulsating sets at clubs like, A.M., Gravity, Orange, Later & Beyond. Indeed, his opening set at Area a couple of weeks ago was an absolute corker, very much laying down the gauntlet for Messrs Dower & Pitron to follow, The Oli being held in very high regard by many of his peers and more than holding his own with the best on the scene across the clubbing playground of Vauxhall & beyond. However, for a university student back at the turn of the century, it was London’s Soho that started Oli’s love for the D.J.’ing game, residencies springing up all over the place, although it was an opening with legendary club Trade, playing at their summer 2002 party at Privilege in Ibiza, that saw him turn his back on the London scene for a while & re-locate to Barcelona. It was here that Oli began to rub shoulders with some of the big names in the business, he remarking that “...the experience of playing in Spain alongside some of the finest D.J.’s/producers in Europe is something I will never forget...” and the doors literally swung open on his career. A decision to soon return to London proved a mere base for his forays around the world, especially with club brand Salvation, which saw Oli visit & play to audiences across Europe, destinations including Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Stockholm & Zurich as well as Salvation favourite Malmo, although individually he has been called to gigs much further a-field, noting Australia, Brazil, Russia, Singapore, South Africa & The USA among the “...29 cities & 15 countries...” he has played in.

However, London is where The Oli has made his mark the most and whilst Fire in Vauxhall dominates his current D.J.’ing commitments, he is known across the capital and indeed was part of the team that ran the iconic & successful Trax (sadly missed) record store in Soho, where customers were often treated to some ad-hoc Oli sets, he continuing the Trax name & brand in a monthly residency at Heaven. But he is just as comfortable in the studio as behind the decks in clubs and often buries himself into compilation & track remix work, barely seeing the light of day in during some months, the results being impressive indeed. And that is very much the case with his latest mix entitled “Long Summer”, which is a two hour spectacular filled with bucket loads of sunshine through a veritable feast of both the newest tracks around, as well as the latest big anthems hitting the dancefloors of the best clubs. Oli’s keen ear for mixing in elements of tech, electro, vocal & progressive beats with amazing effect, gives not just this incredible 150 minutes of music mesmerism the kind of addictive quality that means you don’t want to stop playing it, but when you eventually do, all you then want to do is get onto the dancefloor & soak up one of his scintillating sets. So, to get your fill of The Oli summer sound, go now to http://theoli.podomatic.com/ as this is one hell of a mix & a must for your collection. As for catching him on the dancefloor, well we are pleased as punch that he is making his Lovechild debut this weekend (tonight, Saturday 17th July), so we know exactly where we are going to be, although he is a staple part of the fab vinyl room at A.M. & when he pops up at Beyond only great things happen, so now, you know where you need to be!

Right, kind of rounding off our Love theme (although not the post) we want to give a quick shout to two compilations, first by Pier Morrocco, who will be playing alongside Oliver M at “Cirque Du Salvation” and has recently issued a new mix which we think he should rename Lovebox, but is well worth a listen at http://events.piermorrocco.podomatic.com/, while South African Leroy Tayler makes a welcome return to the capital as international guest D.J. for Lovechild’s “Makin Hay” party alongside Oli and has dedicated a mix to the event which is out at http://events.leroytayler.podomatic.com/, the 117 minute mix very reflective of his afro percussive/electro style & sound and is an absolute gem.

Now onto those outstandingly awesome new compilations from two scene favourites, which you probably have guessed from many of our updates on Facebook, are Steve Pitron & Brent Nicholls, two D.J.’s that have been locking musical horns (in a friendly way of course) at clubs across the capital for over 10 years, but both who remain, for us, THE biggest draws on the dancefloor. Mind you they do it away from the clubs too, as they fill our playlists & ears whizzing around London’s roads as we do, although they even pound our ear drums at our writing desk and are doing that right now, we flicking between the two mixes & hardly able to choose between them.

So first to Steve Pitron’s much anticipated & awaited new compilation, entitled “Summer 2010”, and follows his “Ibiza Opening Fiestas” smash which is now over 2 months old but is as fresh as the day it was released. However as good as that is/was, it doesn’t get a look-in compared with this latest one, which is 2 hours of pure Pitron perfection, kicking off as it means to go on with the fab funky & uplifting remix of Robbie Rivera & Juan Magan’s “Oh Baby”, then dips in & out of hard hitting, rip roaring, pop-tastic, disco drenched & house heavenly tunes, each of the 23 tracks finding favour & combining to produce a compilation which, for us, is his best yet (yes better than “Addicted”) and could be Steve playing to a packed Beyond from 9 till 11 on a Sunday morning, just as much as composing in the studio, where this truly awesome mix was created. Other big highlights for us are Taito Tikaro’s remix of Albert Neve & David Olert’s “She Won’t’ Give Up” featuring vocals from Kaysee, Peter Brown's “I’ll House You” which has been given the Swanky Tunes remix treatment, Rossini Pain’s “I Will Be”, Kaysee back with yet more vivacious vocals, and the Pitron & Sanna masterpiece remix of Kelly Rowland’s “Commander”, Steve even including (how could he leave it out) Zoe Baldwin's epic "Release Me" which draws on his own 2010 twist before treating you to the pure hand's in the air hedonism of the original, magnificent! But in truth the whole mix is a marvel and a must for your collection, so go get it now at http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com/.

However, equally good yet in a delightfully different way, is Brent Nicholls's latest offering “Aural”, a compilation completely full of his now trademark latest music sound “Nu Funk”, but gathering elements of progressive, electro & latin inspired beats with huge chunks of funky house which has had us hooked from the brilliant opener, a re-work of the classic “Tom’s Diner”, cleverly crafted by The Bingo Players, right through to the finish over 120 minutes later with an updated version of Stefy De Cicco’s “Keep On Jumping”, a record that epitomises Brent’s love for the funky hip swaying & groin gyrating sound that you just can’t help but “keep on jumpin jumpin” to. Now, Mr Nicholls has been a busy boy in the studio this year, already laying down 10 compilations including two re-mastered versions of classics from his earlier days behind the decks, our favourite in amongst them being his devotion to the “Beyond Pervert” party back in March, although in “Aural” the mantle for top spot has been stolen from the former and, for us, is not just his best this year, but his best since “Get Busy” in 2008. Gems on this latest brilliance include the Funkagenda vs Mark Knight “Devil Walking” dream of a track, Stefano Azati’s “Fandago”, “So You” by Josh The Funky 1, Yolando Be Cool’s “We Speak No Americano” and the brilliant “Sweet Devil” by Pirupa Pigi, yet if we had to choose two stand-our track’s, it doesn’t get better than Dr Kucho’s breathtaking “The Bassline” and Denzel Park vs Karina Chavez’s amazing “World Go Round”, both which sum up this amazing compilation, the former, which in Brent’s words beg you to “...feel the rhythm and let the music take control...” and the latter screaming “...you really got to taste this vibe, so come on and get it...”. It has certainly taken control of us, we very much getting the vibe from the off and you will too when you get your copy by going to http://djbrentnicholls.com/music, clicking on the “Aural” album cover & following the download option. Mind you, easier access is available via Dropbox, an nifty piece of software (or is that hardware!?!), details of which are available from Brent on request

Well, that’s about it for another music session of ours, but just time to mention Seen Queen’s own music page, which includes over 10 new mixes for this month alone, combined with a comprehensive list of D.J. links, podcasts & even their own top ten choice of tracks, all which you can grab at http://seenqueen.com/music, some of our recommendations sitting proud on their pages, aren’t they darlings!

O.K., next week we mix up our focussing with more fresh faces to our posts, looking in-depth at Sharon O Love & the promised focus on Rob Sykes, while our report will also have a flavour of Beyond, with details of two new compilations from Alan K & Jamie Hammond. In the meantime, we hope you like our choices here (please do make sure you get your Pitron & Nicholls mixes as they are real peaches) and as we love to say “select your sounds, sit back, turn up the volume and let the music play”.

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Viva Espania" - Special Post

2010-07-14T18:32:00.003+01:00

“VIVA ESPANIA”
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER - SPECIAL POST MONDAY 12TH JULY

Without question the weekend was a celebration of all things superbly Spanish for us, as not only did Spain triumph in football’s world cup, but we were in exciting espaniol ecstasy with the magnificence of Matinee London’s “Open Air Summer” party which, for us was best club showing of 2010 in the capital so far. So, in celebration and in a slight change to our planned post, we are devoting the whole of this, our latest Music Is The Answer report, to all things Spanish, focussing on two of its countrymen & shouting for Spain with the latest track & compilation news to hit our desks.

Our first focus goes to London based but the supremely Spanish Gonzalo Rivas, who is thoroughly deserving of his maiden inclusion in our reports, as he has played a massive part in so many clubbing events over the last few years, proving that he remains one of the scene’s biggest talents & very much in demand. To list the gAylist gatherings Gonzalo has been involved in across the capital reads like a never ending gold medal haul & a towering trophy cabinet of achievements, which started back in 1997 when he was touted for a one-off set at the legendary club Trade, having been spotted by promoter Laurence Malice. So good was his performance in the infamous Trade test lounge, that he was immediately signed to play in the main room, becoming one of the biggest stars in the latter years of this amazing afterhours club brand in its only true home, Turnmills, we losing count the amount of times he thrilled us with his tough turbocharged tech (well verging on techno) house. But the list of other residencies & club appearances is endless, Mr Rivas racking up & featuring in a bevy of brands over the years, including, A.M., Action, Beyond, Factor 25, Heaven, Horizon, Juicy, Orange, & Salvation, while the gAylisting bar circuit in the capital always strived for a slice of the Spanish superstar, Barcode, The Box, Escape Lo-Profile & Shadow Lounge fighting over his devotions, a committed to his craft Gonzalo always managing to satisfy their needs & draw in numbers a-plenty with his amazing ability to play to his audience, his music genre range spreading from light & fluffy to tough & chunky.

However, while Gonzalo remains one of the busiest D.J.’s on the scene here in London, a reserved & private Mr Rivas is also a proud & patriotic Spaniard, spending as much time as he can back home in Seville with family & friends and where his D.J.’ing career started back in 1992, trips home intermixed with tours around the globe, touching on virtually every continent & starring in some of the world’s biggest named clubs & largest festivals. Indeed, just this last month he was very much in demand across a selection of Pride events across Europe, fitting in an exhaustive run between London, Seville, & Amsterdam, has featured in Sydney’s Mardi Gras, Miami’s Winter Music Conference, & Barcelona’s Circuit Festival, as well as virtually every big park celebration here in London. But his connections with Trade have seen him tour countries such as Brazil, Japan, Russia & South Africa, while his excursions around the globe have also seen him play alongside the best in the business, including Paul Van Dyk, Sandy Rivera, Frankie Knuckles, Tall Paul & K-Klass to name just a few.

Away from the D.J. decks & Gonzalo is an accomplished producer, having been quite prolific around the turn of the century, with a string of Trade inspired compilations, as well as tracks in conjunction with well known’s such a Paul King, Baby Doc & Alan X, his collaboration with the latter seeing “Let’s Go” hit the big time. Having given his production work a rest, Gonzalo, aka Stereo Man, is back in the studio, his latest hot off the press track “Bootleg Revolution” being a masterpiece & trademark Rivas rapturous percussive, progressive & tech house, this remix piece of work being due for release on label Deviate Records, although a generous Gonzalo has put it up for advance download, which you can grab now at http://soundcloud.com/gonzalo-rivas and we love it. However, he continues to chalk up a collection of compilations, each one reflecting his dynamic & diverse music tastes and while we can’t really single any one particular mix out as they are all superb, we absolutely adore his “Pride 2010” composition, Gonzalo lamenting of his work “...It’s lots of big tunes & big names, happy music for happy people...” he quite rightly concluding that the mix is “...spreading the music, spreading the love...”. Sampling the string of smashing sounds, each one hit a sweet spot of ours, leaving us smiling like a Cheshire cat & only a select single figure of D.J.’s do that to us, so we cannot recommend this enough, which you can grab for yourselves at http://gonzalorivas.podomatic.com/, although check out the others too as they are Gonzalo gems. As for Mr Rivas back behind the decks, well you can catch him regularly at A.M., Barcode, Beyond & Lo-Profile, although if you want a real Gonzalo treat get down to Orange where is now legendary RAW room appearances are a delight, the even better news is the re-joining of the partnership with fellow Spaniard David Jimenez, magic!

Our other focus goes to Ivan Gomez, this Barcelona based bearded bloke having been featured here quite recently, as he was part of the massive international D.J. line up that graced the capital for promoter Alex Erfan’s weekend long London Global Dance Festival of events at the end of May, Mr Gomez featuring large at the LGDF Orange Afterhours outing at Area on the bank holiday Monday. Taking up the mantle of the main room madness from our man above, Gonzalo Rivas, Ivan certainly packed a punch with his progressive & tech tunes, igniting the atmosphere with a rousing rendition of masterful music that left us more than impressed, a rarity for us when it comes to certain Spanish imports who don’t always hit the mark at Matinee or scintillate at SuperMartXe. But it has to be said, Mr Gomez more than held his own that morning, so it was only a matter of time before we would feature his work again. However, not wanting to go over old ground, much of the background to Spaniard Ivan can be found in our “Two Peas In A Pod” LGDF special post at http://discomattmusic.blogspot.com/2010/06/music-is-answer-two-peas-in-pod-lgdf.html, a whistle-stop tour of his career also honing in on his considerable work in the recording studio.

And it is this production work that we want to concentrate on here, as Ivan’s truly exhaustible pace of work away from the live D.J. decks in recent weeks has left us spellbound and magnanimous in our admiration for his energy & enthusiasm for producing mountainous amounts of music. It is difficult to know where to start really, although a track that we had tipped for big things when it was released last September, received Ivan’s treatment recently, his version of “Strings Of Motion” tipping this dance drenched disc into a more tech/tribal fuelled direction which, in truth, we prefer to the original. Since this release about 5 months ago, Mr Gomez has produced no less than 18 tracks, some in collaboration with close working partners Nacho Chapado & Fran Ramirez, others sole productions, two standout pieces being “Work My Beats” which has been included on the official Matinee Summer 2010 compilation, and “SeX” which is literally hot off the press, having been released just three days ago. Add to that his two part full on completion mix volumes, entitled simply “July Promo” to add to his June gem and we reckon he has racked up well over 4 hours of music in as many months, making for one of the busiest producers we know, plus he has also devoted time to setting up tribal & progressive label Guareber Recordings, as well as holding gigs across Spain & Europe, including the full on Pride weekends in is home town Barcelona, as well as Madrid, leaving us wondering where he finds the time & energy to fit all this in. But he does, testament to that, very much reflective through http://soundcloud.com/ivangomezmusic, and http://soundcloud.com/guareber-recordings where you can access all our picks, plus plenty more, both sites well worth a thorough investigation.

Right, what other Espania entrapments are out there at the moment? Well, you may recall we focussed on one Javier Medina a couple of weeks ago and, following our review, the dust has not settled beneath his feet, or the exposure gone to his head, rather this charismatic Catalonian has been busy in the recording studio and his superlative tech/tribal re-work of Kobe vs Hugo Rizzo’s “Bring Back The Drums” has literally just been released on download chart Beatport, the track also out at http://soundcloud.com/javier-medina and is a corker of a track treatment. Add to that his latest project, which is his own remix of Guaraber recordings duo Ivan & Nacho (mentioned above) find Blind Angel’s “Self Delusion”, which Javier is working on as we speak, as well as Israeli D.J./Producer Guy Scheiman’s “My Life”, Mr Medina’s “Addicted To Devotion” remix due out next week, it goes without saying that our Barcelona bright boy is very busy indeed. Plus, on speaking with him a short while ago, he expressed his excitement at a forthcoming gig with Italian stallion, one Francesco Pagano, at Barcelona’s Devotion nightclub where Javier is a resident and will be playing alongside our man from Sicily during the city’s Circuit Festival week. We will be tracking Mr Medina’s progress and will keep you posted on further projects of his, although meanwhile mention goes to his mix crested especially for Barcelona’s pride partying, a camp (for Javier) call to Lady Ga Ga, which is still available direct at http://soundcloud.com/javier-medina/gagaalejandrojaviermedinamashup.

Now, we simply couldn’t complete our special shout to all things Spanish without including a shout for the star of SuperMartXe’s “Wizard of Oz” gay pride party a couple of Saturday’s ago, the hunky Hugo Sanchez (aka Huguito), who treated us to three hours of hypnotic house that saw us dancing delightfully on our privileged balcony spot. Now, the man’s exhaustive season as a SuperMartXe resident, means he rarely gets into the studio, a shame as his performances, certainly in London, have been the most prolific of any and we love his style of music. However, you can get a small slice of Mr Sanchez with samples of his music & video clips of his performances at http://myspace.com/hugosanchezhuguito and we are hoping he will be diving into the studio soon, so watch this space for news on that.

One person who has definitely been in the studio and has laid down two superlative compilations, is Matinee London resident Alessandro Londra, who fought the odds stacked against him this last Sunday at Ministry of Sound, when he drew the short straw of playing inside at Matinee’s massive “Open Air Summer” smash & the first set to boot. However, he really came up trumps with a stunning set, not far removed from the second of these duo of Matinee devotions, very much the soundtrack of this Ibiza inspired alfresco outing, which Mr Londra contributed to in making for, not just the best Matinee of 2010 so far, but probably the best for us since the days of Area three plus years ago. Now, if you missed out on this smash clubbing hit of the year, you can get a slice of the Spanish inspired sounds through Alessandro’s two compilations, part one being a nod towards the tougher side of Matinee’s music, while part two very much mirrors his set on Sunday, both worthy additions to your collection which you can grab at http://soundcloud.com/djalessandrolondra.

Our final mention goes to another Matinee mover, who put up an inspired performance inside at MOS on Sunday too, emerging talent Michel Mizrahi, who played out at the recent Lookbetternaked party at Fire, but was also part of Logan’s D.J. team for the Easter Party “Queen Of Clubs” at the Coronet, when he played an opening stormer of a set laying down the gauntlet for special guest Offer Nissam, definitely a tip for the future, with both ours & Mr Schmitz’s minds thinking alike in this respect. On speaking to Michel both on the day and subsequently, he will be giving us advanced exposure to forthcoming compilation works he has in planned for the near future & given his showing on Sunday, they will be well worth a listen.

Right, that’s virtually it for another week (or few days at least), although no report of ours would be complete without a mention for the music page of clubbing website Seen Queen, which continues to keep a step ahead of us with over 10 new releases already downloaded this month and a lengthy list of others from the scenes biggest D.J. names. With links to podcasts, websites & plenty more, http://seenqueen.com/music is a must visit for music lovers, plus they even have their own top ten dancefloor hits & tips, which includes our favourite track of the moment, the fabulously funky “ The Bassline” by Dr Kucho.

Next time, we throw the doors open on love, with focuses on two D.J.’s with the same first name, first Oliver Mohns, who will be starring on the Cirque Du Salvation stage at Lovebox this Sunday & then look into mystery man, The Oli, who guests for the first time at Lovechild’s “Makin Hay” party on Saturday night, plus we will be shouting for the much anticipated & overdue compilations from scene favourites Brent Nicholls & Steve Pitron.

In the meantime, we trust you enjoy all our splendid sun drenched Spanish inspired selections and in sitting back and succumbing to these superb sounds, like us, simply shout “Viva Espania!”. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Proud To Be Pride Prolific Players" - Pride 2010 Special

2010-07-06T17:46:00.006+01:00

“PROUD TO BE PRIDE PROLIFIC PLAYERS"
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER SPECIAL
PRIDE 2010

Whist Pride in London for many was an opportunity to shout that they are out & proud, we instead looked to music to do our shouting during this year’s celebrations, thus making the decision to devote a special post to Pride an easy one. But with so many protagonists to the pride mantle, we decided to focus on two talents that both played out on dancefloors & venues across London during the weekend, both also being new to our posts. Then we thought it only fair to share the works of D.J.’s that, like these two, played a part in our weekend, or laid down compilation mixes with pride as the central theme, all very much being our “proud to be pride prolific players”.

Our first focus goes to social & club kid turned dynamic D.J. & producer Kris Di Angelis who has really stamped a mark on both the alternative end & the upmarket gAylist come metrosexual circuit in recent years, although this vivacious & energy packed individual has been known to us for many years now, a young & impressionable Mr Di Angelis being part of the mad cap Rupert St posse of Ratch (that’s us), Neil, & Gary, creating hilarious havoc together week in week out, like the carefree social butterflies we were then. But inevitably, Kris would lay down some firm foundations and his lifelong desire to be involved in the music industry saw this charming & good looking man devote himself to a career behind the decks, not just spinning sounds to live audiences, but developing his own productions in the recording studio. Whilst the road to success was a tough one for Kris, drawing on many of the contacts he developed during those wild Soho days, saw him land two solid residencies in his old social backyard, The Shadow Lounge & Barcode, giving him the break he was looking for, both venues still part of the Di Angelis portfolio of play houses today. His latest project with The Shadow Lounge sees Kris headlining their new Tuesday nighter “OMFG”, while he is still recognised for his involvement with popular Friday frolic “Therapy” playing alongside the mighty Paul Heron and in terms of Barcode, Wednesday’s virtually belong to Kris, where is vibrant disco/electro beats go down an absolute treat.

However, the biggest door opening came when Jodie Harsh spotted Mr Di Angelis in alternative Shoreditch scene, securing him a residency with her hip & trendy club brand “Circus”, which has seen him spin the sounds with the likes of Basement Jaxx, William Orbit, Rosin Murphy, Larry Tee & Peaches to mention just a few, the rounded sounds of Kris’s music fitting in perfectly Jodie’s ability to attract the cream of the fashion media & club crowd. But, his love of playing the alternative scene still runs strongly through his veins and a weekly residency at the cool club Caligula in Bishopsgate on Friday’s is one of his favourite, while further up into Shoreditch, The Dalston Superstore & Shoreditch House, host for the prolific & packed “Pooldisco” rooftop parties, are regular slots in the hectic Di Angelis D.J.’ing roster. Saying that, he is never shy to take on bigger challenges, an invite last summer seeing Kris playing out at Space Of Sound’s Ibiza opening fiesta terrace party, the white isle being the inspiration for many of his own musical productions, his “Making Love (Move Closer)” track born out of a beach visit & was quoted recently as being “absolutely massive out there”. And talking of his studio productions, Kris’s collaborations with fellow producer Ben Dobe has seen over eight terrific tunes including that Ibiza smash, not to mention sole Di Angelis remixes of singles by artists such as Kylie Minogue, Beyonce & Rosin Murphy, as well as combo works with Ben on tracks by Groove Armada, Alphabeat, Lilly Allen (“Circus” inspired) & Maria Carey (“Pooldisco” devoted). Compilation mixes include those direct from live sets, having racked up 15 in the series, while his “Pooldisco” mixes are real gems, all available direct at http://soundcloud.com/krisdiangelis. As for Pride, Mr Di Angelis played an intrinsic part in proceedings, spinning the sounds for “Circus”, both in their pre-party at The Bloomsbury Ballrooms then at SuperMartXe’s wonderful “Wizard of Oz” outing, but was also in the thick of the Saturday afternoon activity at Barcode, we adoring our catch up with him in both Soho & Elephant & Castle that day/night, so was definitely one of our “prolific players” over the weekend.

Our other focus goes to Phil Marriot, who like us has been suffering dreadfully from a back injury, although this did not stop him from making a huge contribution to Pride in London this last weekend, playing out to packed audiences at “Onyx” on Friday and the special pride party “Best Of British” on Saturday. Pride apart, Phil’s nonstop schedule includes his weekday evening shows on GaydarRadio which go out live each Monday through Thursday, as well as producing the station’s “Club Nation” mix show each Friday, which he has recently been transmitting direct from London’s swish Profile Bar on Wardour Street, a venue that is part of the massive Gaydar worldwide empire. Indeed, Phil has been an intrinsic part of GaydarRadio since January 2008, first producing the popular drivetime show live from Profile’s previous home on Fifth St, then, after a short break, was offered the prestigious position of head of music for station, although presenting radio shows has always been Phil’s forte, chalking up slots with Virgin Megastores Radio & Q Radio, this charismatic Cornish born & bred boy always dreamed of radio presenting from as far back as his childhood, having revealed in a recent interview “...I spent many hours doing mock radio interviews and broadcasts, and I was always curious about how the industry worked...” adding that “...my first break in radio came in the mid 90s for Radio Victory in Portsmouth, where I used to do a weekly phone-in’s on their Breakfast show to run through the releases that were out that week and predict which singles were likely to chart...”.

And this passion for music as well as predicting forthcoming hits, runs deep in his live sets at “Onyx” as well as on “Club Nation” where Phil’s penchant for dancefloor anthems and vocal house shines bright in his performances, although he loves to drop in slightly tougher & more minimal tunes every now & then, to ensure he maintains plenty of energy & vitality levels for the audiences both dancing & listening to his music, he remarking that “...I do like to shake it up slightly and throw in a darker, more aggressive and dubby sounds to keep it edgy...”. However, as much as he loves his tech pretentions, his pulsating performance at the “Onyx Afterhours” party on 2nd Jan this year testament to this, his D.J.’ing skills diversity sees Phil dipping in & out of pop, previous appearances at Brighton’s Revenge, Charles Street, Funky Budda, as well as London’s Popstarz, & XXL demanding a more mainstream & uplifting sound, as does his residency at Portsmouth’s “Gorgeous” parties which allows him to exercise that “...poppier, more commercial...” slant to his musical direction. So, given all these work commitments, there is no surprise he finds little time to dive into the recording studio & lay down compilation mixes celebrating his depth of talent, although two such recordings are available at http://djphilmarriott.podomatic.com/, both evoking his love for vocal house intermixed with progressive, tech & electro beats and are worthy additions to your collections. Plus, a little birdie tells us that he plans to add episode 3 pretty soon, so watch this space for that.

Right, it’s time to run through some of those pride inspired mixes we talked about, our first shout going to Jamie Hammond, another “Onyx” resident, that had the Blackbox room at Area pumping at the club’s Pride pre-party on Friday and marked the occasion by releasing his latest compilation. Jamie has really found favour both at “Onyx” and Heaven’s “Popcorn” in recent months & thrives on the reactions from his enthusiastic audiences that lap up his uplifting & energetic sets, so if you haven’t sampled Mr Hammond in full flow, grab his latest mix, recorded live at “Onyx”, which is out now at http://d-jamie.podomatic.com/entry/2010-07-03T10_53_49-07_00.

Next up is another Area protagonist, although not at “Onyx”, but the Sunday morning phenomenon that is “Beyond”, where he regularly rips up both the Blackbox & the Terrace with his tough tech tunes, but was sadly missing this last weekend, as his pride devotions were out in Madrid, so we can forgive Hifi Sean for missing out on London this year. However, in true Hifi style, before he left on his travels, he produced the second in his series of “new style Psychedelic House mixes” reflecting his love for playing some of his own productions, edits & bootlegs, although it is his two volume “Madrid Pride” compilation that gets our big shout, each volume full of the deep grooves in true Hifi style. So, go get these pride inspired 157 minutes of music now at http://tinyurl.com/hifiseanpodcasts.

Continuing the pride theme, although again away from London, is adorable French fancy Leomeo, who rounded off his fun filled pride weekend in New York 0n 26th June, with a gig at the city’s Hudson Terrace “Rooftop Pride” party and laid down a mix in celebration. Now it would be fair to say that we have been hooked to this charming Parisian’s music style for well over two years now, he even being part of our exclusive protégé list, so this latest compilation, which is classic Leomeo energetic vocal & tribal house, not surprisingly had us well & truly hooked from start to finish and very much back in Leomeo mode. Therefore this “Rooftop Pride” mix gets our total thumbs up and is available at http://soundcloud.com/djleomeo, while yet more Leomeo New York pride magic is hot off the press at http://leomeo.podomatic.com/entry/2010-07-06T08_01_48-07_00?a, this being so new we haven’t yet listened to it, are sure it will hook us just like the other.

Our last Pride devotion goes to Pagano, who played out not just in London for “Onyx’s” pre-party, but created plenty of drama on the dancefloor at SuperMartXe’s “The Wizard Of Oz” spectacular the following night, then jetted over to Madrid for the “WE Are Heroes” pride closing party at La Riviera, so very much made a dramatic pride splash, as did his latest track “Drama On The Dancefloor”, produced together with Gavin Nicholls and was definitely a massive highlight of his set at The Coronet on Saturday night and surely had a similar reaction in Madrid. We are loving this track, which has already been given the remix treatment by Rosabel & Supernova, as well as by the man himself, who has laid down tribalistic versions of the original, all these available via http://beatport.com/s/t5naqf.

Now we just have time to wish D.J. pal Nick Tcherniak happy birthday and as a sort of pressie want to squeeze in a mention for his latest compilation mix, lifted straight from his set at Logan Schmitz’s exclusive rooftop party “Up”, a couple of Sunday’s ago. The mix includes the first airplay of Nick & Steve Thomas’s "The Answer" feat Lizzie France, Alan X's new mix of their "My People" smash, plus loads of special edits, new tracks and a few classics for good measure, this being another Tcherniak triumph, which you can catch & download now via direct link http://nicktcherniak.podomatic.com/entry/2010-07-01T05_19_58-07_00. Now, admittedly it’s not pride inspired, but surely you can forgive us an indulgence in celebration of Nick’s special day, yes?

Right, that’s it for this special “Proud To be Pride Prolific Players” post, next week seeing us return to normality with focuses on Rob Sykes & Gonzalo Rivas, also including news on the latest works coming out of Ivan Gomez’s & Nacho Chapado’s “Guareber Recordings” label, as well as Ivan’s latest mix compilation. Then the following week, we go a little “Lovebox” on you, with devotions to Sharon O Love & Oliver M, together with a shout for Danny Verde’s new studio release. In the meantime, we hope you like our choices here and as we love to say...”sit back, turn up the volume & let the music play”.

xDM

Music Is The Answer" - "Fresh Faced & Funky"

2010-06-28T20:52:00.003+01:00

Hey Folks,

All too often we take the easy route in life, stay within our comfort zone or stick to a pattern and it can definitely be said for our devotions to D.J.’s & their music, but what is also true is that nothing pleases us more than promoting new & rising stars, our protégé list having included Danny Verde in the past, Andre 1 more recently, and our latest entrant to the Disco Matt circle of devotion being Norbert M, So, whilst scene favourites & established stars are still firmly within our radar, we have once again opted to focus on two names, both new to our posts here and possibly new to you.

First up is talent whose name has been floating on the surface of the scene here in the capital for quite a few months and was, after a couple of brief mentions in sister posts of ours, has been elevated to full focus status and deservedly so, as he is most definitely a rising star and a name for the future. Chris Brogan first grabbed our attention when he was plucked from relative obscurity by club promoter Steve Elliot, the main man responsible for running the current successful string of international parties for globally renowned club brand Salvation, Mr Brogan playing a big part in the rapturous reception the club enjoyed in the carnival capital of the world, Rio de Janiero, played alongside our favourite “foxy lady” Mis-White at the brands auspicious showing in Athens in December and followed it up with a superb set for Salvation at their Swedish spectacular at Malmo’s “Wonk” club. Indeed his connections with Salvation have also seen Chris star on their behalf at Laurence Malice’s (of Trade fame) “Naked Zoo” event at the end of last year and we know that Steve has plans to continue to involve this talented young individual in future parties across the globe. Away from Salvation and Mr Brogan has been noted for visiting the more sexy side of clubbing, appearances at Tim Jones’s “Tonker” and for Recon’s massive “Full Fetish” party on New Year’s day career catalogues, as well as strutting his stuff on the lighter side of clubbing for Love Muscle’s fifteenth birthday earlier this year at The Fridge and popping up at promoter Laurent Chaumet’s Thursday nighter “Hola” at The Shadow Lounge in Soho, the variety of events he has played at, testament to his skills at balancing his electro, funky, yet uplifting sounds to suit the audience he plays to, Chris always very keen to exercise his passion for musical vision.

It was that vision that saw a young fresh faced U.K. based Mr Brogan kick off his career behind the decks in 2002, having been given a huge break to play at the renowned clubbing venue Fabric in London, this getting him spotted and opening doors right across Europe, countries lapping up the Brogan style of light & funky house including France, Belgium & Germany, but like many budding D.J.’s, Chris found it quite tough to break into the big time, with many of the circuit parties & club events relying on established talents and not many promoters having the vision to showcase new talent. However, as has generally proven to be the best route to breaking out on the scene, Chris dived into the recording studio and began to produced promo’s of his mixing work, eventually leading to full on compilations, his first release entitled “Bounce” achieving that all important breakthrough with Salvation, thus leading to a floodgate of collections, an increasingly confident Chris exploring new genre’s of sound, including trance, minimal & future disco, inspiration coming his way from one of the great pioneer’s of the nu-disco sound, Guy Williams. Other compilations in his collections reveal his anglo French origin, in fact his aptly titled “Obey the Frenchie” is a serious nod to his patriotic roots, showcasing some of the country’s best musical talents, although it is his latest work that gets our attention, “Foreplay” demonstrating that amazing ability in Chris to delve into the depths of his musical production to come up with 74 minutes of music that touches on virtually every element of his genre exploration, highlights for us being Marcel Woods’ “Music Is The Answer” (of course!!), David Guetta’s extended mix of Kelis’ “Acapella”, but what looks like, for us, being at worst in the top ten of our records of 2010, Mark Knight’s “Devil Walking” (brilliant!!). Chris explains of his latest work, “...here is yet another inspired mix and one which allows me to showcase my passion for production...” he going on to say of his inspiration “...I’ll leave you to guess who this one is for...”, his latest beau we think (ah bless), “Foreplay” getting better & better as you dive into its delights and, for us is Mr Brogan at his best. So, what are you waiting for? Go add this amazing mix to your collection, which you can grab now at http://djchrisbrogan.podomatic.com/.

Our second devotion goes to a man who resides in our favourite European city, one that will play host to the massive Circuit Festival in August and is a hotbed of D.J. activity with many internationally renowned names choosing it as their ideal base to springboard themselves across Europe, over to Ibiza, & across the globe. The city? Barcelona of course, but the D.J.? well in this case it is the latest addition to our very select list of talents we are touting as future bright stars, but one that has already carved a career in his home city as well as across Spain, France & Germany, but is yet to break into London, although we expect that to change very soon. Javier Medina, like all the other protégé’s in our small camp of collectables, hit our radar while we were innocently sitting connected to our favourite social network site and the subsequent conversation uncovered this talented man’s passion for his D.J’ing & for the music game he finds himself bound within, immediately striking resonance with our own passions for D.J.’s & their work. So with further research in our inimitable style, we found that not only has Javier been mixing in very distinguished circles, but he has been making a name for himself, not just in Barcelona, where he has played at events that have included “Cafe Ole” outings & “Devotion” parties at the city’s Razzmatazz club, as well as the venues “WE” events, for which Mr Medina is a resident jock, not to mention playing his own “Raw Sessions” at the swish G-Star clothes retailer store in the city’s fashionable shopping centre “L’illa Diagonal”, but he hopes over the border into France, playing in Toulouse, Nantes & up in Paris where he has played for “Beardrop”, as well as tripping across to Cologne for their “Xtreme” events, he even making out to Australia for the Mardi Gras season this year, playing at Sydney’s “Extra Dirty” event back in March.

And of those distinguished circles, Javier has rubbed shoulders with the likes of D.J. Luque, Juanjo Martin, Oscar De La Gala & Wayne G, as well as the likes of Carl Cox, & Danny Teneglia, although his closest associations remain with dear D.J. friends Steven Redant & another of our protégé’s, “French fancy” Leomeo, indeed Javier just last weekend shared the stage with Mr Redant at Barcelona’s Pride event and he toured down under for Mardi Gras, in the glorious company of our man Leomeo, Mr Medina also connecting with his French friend whenever he trips across to Paris. So, given all of that & reading the tea leaves in Mr Javier’s cup, the future is definitely looking bright for this bearded beaut behind the decks, although he accomplishes himself in the studio too, laying down dedicated compilations marking his various D.J. gigs, whether it be his Australian escapades or closer to home his “WE” & “Devotion” mixes, very much a-typical of his tech, progressive & tribal slanted genre direction which seems to go down a storm whenever he plays. But he also gets his hands dirty, remixing tracks, pieces including his “Devotion” labelled re-works of D.J. Chus’s “That Feeling & Guy Scheiman’s “My Life”, a tribal triumph being his latest release, a remix of “Bring Back the Drums” by Kobbe vs Hugo Rizzo, all which you can savour (along with his recent compilations – we love them all) at http://soundcloud.com/javier-medina. Plus, with more classic Mr Javier available through http://javiermedina.podomatic.com/, we having well & truly fallen for the tech house trance of “My Sonar”, all this makes Javier Medina our Spanish answer to Nick Tcherniak, that’s how talented we think he is, especially within his music genre band.

Right, while we are in European mode, we want to give a big shout to a new track release by Eduardo de La Torre (yes you guessed it, another man on our list) who has been making a very welcome habit of jetting over to London recently, his last visit marking an incredible set at Beyond, where he took the Terrace room by storm, keeping the party going deep into Sunday afternoon. But returning home to Berlin signalled another success, as he landed a new residency at the city’s “Connection” club and this “Balearic Berlin” six minute splendour out at http://soundcloud.com/eduy2k/dj-edu-de-la-torre-no-scene-balearic-berlin-org-mix is a celebration of that & his progressive house intentions and we love it!

Now, just time to squeeze in our mention to the music links at favourite clubbing website Seen Queen, they having already uploaded 15 mixes for June at http://seenqueen.com/music, including four that we have featured within our own posts, but with direct links to many more, is definitely worth a visit & browse.

Well, that’s it for another week, but watch out for our special “Proud To be Pride” music post with lots of goodies & news, as well as focuses on Kris Di Angelis & Phil Marriot, while we return to post pride normality the following week with devotions to Gonzalo Rivas & Rob Sykes. In the meantime, we hope you crave our choices here and as we now say all too often, “...sit back, turn up the volume & let the music play...”

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "New Breed Boys"

2010-06-22T07:20:00.003+01:00

Hey Folks,

Now you will have probably gathered that apart from clubbing & writing, one of our major passions is promoting D.J’s & their work, we being particularly keen on developing & showcasing new or upcoming stars. So, in this our latest “Music” post, that is exactly what we are doing, as well as celebrating a little bit of “summer” with two dedicated mix compilations of the same name.

First up is JC Christopher, who just over a week ago, laid down a very impressive performance at Lovechild, kicking off the main room in style with some truly uplifting, funky & chunky house sounds, drenched with plenty of latest dancefloor hits that very much set the pace for others to follow and all that fighting off a nasty ear infection. Mind you, this wasn’t Mr JC’s first performance at Lovechild, in fact he has very much shone in the lounge space in previous parties, so is truly deserving of his inclusion in the prestigious resident D.J. line-up in Alex Erfan’s monthly lovey-dovey outing. But this talented young man’s time behind the decks often sees him travel across the world, both Australia & the USA being regular destinations, down under seeing him rub shoulders with the likes of Alan Thompson, The Freemasons, Alex Taylor & Johan Khoury, his attendance to Miami’s Winter Music Conference (WMC) back in March also linked to his position as PR manager for house music event hosting agency Milk N 2 Sugar’s, a company that has boasted the likes of Todd Terry, Joey Negro, Seamus Haji & Dennis Ferrer on their books & is a major sponsor of WMC, as well as hosting a Thursday night at El Divino in the Ibiza summer season.

However, English born & bred and a graduate of Kent University, JC’s career path in the music & entertainment industry has seen him work for Disney in Orlando, T.V.’s Discovery Channel in New York, as well as holding down PR positions in the capital, including that with Blue Cube, his current role keeping him very busy indeed. But it doesn’t stop him diving behind the decks when he can, or indeed showing his face out on the scene, we first coming across this bubbly bloke D.J.’ing at Ku Klub one Saturday, plus have since lost count the amount of times we have bumped into him on the dancefloor somewhere, or not as the case may be, a hilarious moment we enjoyed together being when, despite him being back home in Kent, we were sure he was with us at Trade in Ministry Of Sound (well we do have senility issues from time to time!). So, given his hectic lifestyle & work commitments, his dips into the studio are not as often as he would like, but when he does, the results are quite prolific, his last offering, which is was major nod to his tour to Melbourne & Sydney during the last Mardi Gras short season, a vocal-tastic bouncy collection of 10 tunes encompassing elements of electro, trance & progressive beats, but often returning to those rip roaring vocals that give this sixty minute sampler a real summery feel. So, to get a slice of Mr Jc, check out his “Return To Oz” compilation at http://jcchristopher.podomatic.com/.

Our other focus goes to new & relatively unknown talent Norbert M, a very likeable yet quiet & unassuming Polish guy, whom we have been rubbing social shoulders with for a couple of years, although for most of that time were unaware of his D.J. skills & intentions. But D.J. he does and quite accomplishedly at that, his mixing skills for such a home taught talent standing up impressively well, particularly judging by the mixes he has laid down so far in his shot in the public eye. However, like so many of his D.J. peers, music has been in Norbert’s blood from an early age, although he knew that if he was to make a name for himself and break out onto the circuit, he would need to up sticks from his home country of Poland, seeing the move to London as his best opportunity to make any sort of headway in the disc spinning game. So, to the capital it was and in between holding down demanding shift work, he purchased his own set of decks & equipment and refined the art of mixing, within the limitations of his own four walls, although knowing just how committed & determined a character Norbert is, it was no surprise that he burst out of his own space and landed a series of gigs at his local club Ghetto, an alternative hangout in the very trendy Shoreditch/Hoxton area, his persistence also seeing him take charge on the decks ar Rupert St bar for a short Saturday stint a few months ago.

But, despite these breakthroughs, landing regular gigs has proven difficult in what is a fiercely contested market for a small amount of available gig spots and still very much a “closed shop” gAylist scene, with established D.J. talents hogging the lion’s share of clubs, events & happenings. So, in order to get himself noticed, Norbert has recently dived into the recording studio, producing three fully fledged compilations, each reflecting his style which he describes as “diverse & eclectic aimed at a mixture of audiences & tastes”, the first very much on the tech side of house, the follow-up more electro, progressive & vocal inspired, this paving way for a short 7 track promo, probably his most accessible (and our favourite) piece of work so far. And this a specially commissioned competition mix, has seen him land a slot at club Heaven’s Monday nighter “Popcorn” on 12th July, when he will be part of a special D.J. challenge event in the departure lounge and we will certainly be there, lending our support. So to get a feel of this new talents musical style, check out his compilations now at http://norbertmik.podomatic.com/ where you can also grab his latest mix “Mellow To Harsh”.

Now, what about those “summer” mixes? Well first is Jamie Hammond who recently issued his latest compilation, which is full of vocal infused tracks, combining elevated electro tones with pumping progressive beats, very much the style of his sets at Friday night club of the moment “Onyx”. Jamie’s latest piece of work has definitely got a sunshine feel good factor from the off and is a worthy addition to your collection, so to get your copy, go to http://d-jamie.podomatic.com/.

Our other “summer” devotee is Sicilian sensation Alessandro Londra, who got us “wet” with his last mix, but now gets us warm with his own nod to the sun season of the year, with 54 minutes of a-typical Ale style latin encrusted progressive & tech tainted beats that he deployed to incredible effect in the contact room at Lovechild’s last outing, packing out the place. His style of sound is also sure to win him fans with his up-coming gig at Splash Roma’s “Night Pool Party”, not to mention Matinee London’s “Open Air Summer Party” on 11th July, so his aptly named summer mix definitely gives you a flavour of what will be on offer, which you can check out & download at http://soundcloud.com/djalessandrolondra.

Now, we just have time to mention tip top clubbing website Seen Queen’s music page, which not only has a comprehensive listing & link connections to the scene’s top D.J. names works, but they have details of no less than eight new mixes released this month. Plus, the little darling's have featured our recent focus on Paul Heron, all of which you can catch now at http://seenqueen.com/music.

Right, that’s it for this week, but don’t forget to check out our “Lovechild” special post, plus up-coming focuses on Chris Brogan & Javier Medina, plus Gonzalo Rivas & Rob Sykes as well as a “Pride” special post and much more. In the meantime, as we love to say, “sit back, select our choices, turn up the volume & let the music play”

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Little Lights Of Love" - Lovechild Special Post

2010-06-20T14:12:00.004+01:00

“LITTLE LIGHTS OF LOVE”
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LOVECHILD SPECIAL POST

Well, with it having been our time of the month last weekend, not that we succumb to those sort of tendencies you understand (despite someone claiming that we were going through PMT!), we succumbed to the return of Alex Erfan’s Lovechild and in doing so we thought we would give an extra special nod to the D.J.’s that graced the decks of this erotic & seductive monthly event both last Saturday & at previous parties.

However, with a plethora of talents to choose from, the choice of who was to get our full devotion was a difficult one, although with some already having benefitted from our focus treatment in the recent past, we thought it only fair to pick two who have yet to be subjected to our detailed scrutiny.

So who did we choose? Well first pick of the bunch is a young man that has been present for every single party since moving to new home Fire, but actually missed out on this “summer” affair as he was frolicking around down under, although we have forgiven him, as he was still very much in the “love” mood & mode, playing alongside recent Lovechild guest, Sydney’s Johan Khoury at the cities version of gAylist party Love Muscle. Phil Hewson has been playing at parties for Alex Erfan for a couple of years now and we were well & truly delighted with his uplifting, funky & chunky performance when he first caught our full-on eye at Hustlaball just over a year ago, when he truly delighted us in the VIP room, very much stalling our return to the clutches of Matinee that night. As a result, we were pleased as punch when he turned up in the residency team for Lovechild and has hit our musical sweet spot on each occasion we have been Lovechilding down on South Lambeth Road, whether it be in the lounge, the main floor or the contact room, Phil’s broad musical direction which encompasses electro, funky, latin tainted, tech toned tunes, pumped up progressive beats with uplifting undertones, meaning he is able to play to his audience in whichever space he finds himself.

Phil was raised, schooled & graduated from university in the north east of England, but was drawn to the bright lights of the capital, using his qualifications in computer skills to land him a full time position within the multinational management systems organisation Billback, this providing Mr Hewson with a secure base to expand his vocation in D.J.’ing and further develop his love & interest in music which he has held from a tender age. And such is his devotion & love for his dips behind the decks, that the services of this amiable & cute individual have seen him play at Profile, Lo-Profile, Rupert Street & Barcode, on top of his club appearances for Lovechild Hustlaball & Recon, not to mention that tour down under which has seen him jet between gigs in Sydney & Melbourne. So what with his full time job as well as the ballooning D.J. commitments on his plate, you would think Phil would have little time to dive into the studio, but dive he does, producing full compilation releases from time to time, each indicative of his delivery direction, that he calls “house music London style”, his latest mix entitled “Afterhours Down Under” very much exporting to Oz bucket loads of that London style. However, it is his specially devoted mix to Lovechild that gets our big shout here, his “A Spring Affair” 14 track compilation kicking off as it means to go on with the brilliant “Come Get My Lovin”, but also includes gems “Addicted”, “From The Stars” and a brilliant re-work of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer”, as well as some prolific progressive beats that make for 73 minutes of magical music. So, to grab your slice of Phil in Lovechild mode, go to http://funkylondon.podomatic.com/ and you can catch Phil playing at Lo-Profile this coming Friday (25th June).

Our other special devotion goes to Terry Vietheer, who has made quite an impact on the London scene since moving from his native Australia just two years ago, although he had already built up a formidable career behind the decks in his home city of Sydney, playing out to thousands at the massive Ministry of Sound & Hed Kandi tours which led him to land a residency at the biggest club name down under “Home”, Mr Vietheer stamping his uplifting musical style on the Terrace for the clubs legendary circuit party, supporting names such as Peter Rauhofer & Offer Nissam. All this from a man that starting his fledging D.J. career just a year before that, playing at small time bars in Sydney, having been gripped by music from an early age and very much into clubbing as soon as his age would allow, although he knew that he would be destined to be spinning the sounds rather than swinging to them, his decision to fly the comforts of home, moving to London, a brave yet fruitful one, Terry quickly establishing himself with tip top clubbing brand Pacha, playing for their “Funky4love” parties.

But his big break on the gay scene was to come when he secured a residency at Heaven for hip hop Monday night happening “Popcorn”, which very much threw his name into the limelight, his London base also allowing Terry to expand into Europe, appearances at clubs across Italy including Skylight, “Magazzini & Generali, complimented by gigs in Russia, Switzerland & Spain, the Vietheer vroom vroom even hitting The States with an appearance at MrBlack. But back in the U.K., his name has slowly spread and concurrently Terry not only plays regularly at Heaven, but his busy schedule includes Barcode, Shadow Lounge, Rupert Street & The Dalston Superstore, where he is resident for the new(ish) monthly outing “Mixtape” masterminded by club promoter Laurent Chaumet. Mixing in the East End circles, also brought Mr Vietheer into contact with favourite Swede spinster Per QX, both collaborating in the studio on a track entitled “Old Scholl, Nu School”, which made it big at the 2009 Winter Music Conference in Miami, also getting the remix treatment in the hands of Tom Stephan & Roger Sanchez no less. And that studio work continues with his own compilation works, his latest release “Funky4love” a distinct nod to his current musical direction of funky progressive & tech beats, but like Phil, produced a specially devoted mix to Lovechild, which is of similar style to his latest, but has much more uplifting electro tendencies throughout, being a credible addition to the Lovechild collection of compilations, which you can grab at http://soundcloud.com/terryvietheer along with his other masterful mixes.

Right, so what other specially devoted Lovechild compilations are out there? Well, guest star of the recent “Wet” party, Alan K, has produced a special mix which is drenched with his multi mixing from start to finish & is a worthy addition you your collection which you can grab at http://djlank.podomatic.com/, a true reflection of his awesome performance when he filled the main room to virtual capacity.

Lovechild regular Mattias has also devoted his only compilations to Lovechild, his “Easter 2010 Mix” the fourth in his series of live recordings, which stretch back to February 2009, when he played for the premiere party in Moscow, each devotion available through http://djmattias.podomatic.com/. All these live set recordings are played & saved direct from his computer which is a trademark of Mattias’ performances behind the decks (well he doesn’t need the decks themselves!), a trend which has seen many D.J.’s follow his lead.

Another Lovechild music lover is resident Gabrielle Cutrano, who has laid down two mixes especially for the lovable club brand, his NYD live set recording in the Lovechild room at “As One”, plus his Nov 09 set both still available at http://soundcloud.com/gabrielecutrano, both indicative of his tech verging on techno style of sound, while massive mega international D.J. star & Lovechild resident Paul Heron has also got in on the live set recording game with his own extract from the March 2010 party, which you can grab at http://soundcloud.com/djpaulheron.

So with 10 mixes with Lovechild all over them, that’s about it for our special focus on the music of this lovable club and having just posted our review of the last party titled “Love Shine A Light”, if you missed out on the event, why not take a look in our review section. Moreover, if you have overlooked Alex’s Lovechild parties, don’t miss out on the mesmeric music from the incredible depth of D.J. talent, via these specially dedicated compilations. So, get downloading and/or listening and as we love to say “sit back, turn up the volume & let the music play”. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Friends Indeed"

2010-06-08T00:27:00.006+01:00

Hey Folks,

Well, with much of May having been taken up with reports on the international D.J. stars of The London Global Dance Festival (LGDF) now behind us (ish! – reviews still to do), our music posts can resume some sort of normality. And with the queue of latest recipients of our focussing growing rapidly, June is pretty much mapped out already, although deciding who gets our devotion in our first “back to normal” post was tricky.

So who did? Well first up is a man that has been skirting the mainstream D.J. circuit for a while now, yet was fascinated with music & mixing from an early age and had D.J.’ing in his sights from the informative period in his young adult life. Brought up in leafy Warwickshire, Nick spent his childhood listening to music, so it was no surprise that it would be in his blood and when making the bold move south, he soon got entwined in the club circuit and started rubbing shoulders with people in the know who would eventually be his gateway into what historically has been a very difficult scene in London to crack, especially in the bigger clubs which were very much closed shops with no real opening for new talent. Add to this the challenge of holding down a very demanding full time job, not to mention a loving relationship with his partner Chris, Mr Evans was throwing the proverbial balls in the air to balance these two aspects of his life with his desire to get behind the decks.

But in long standing friend Paul Heron, he had the both the peer and the support he needed and those openings and appearances began to come his way, Nick first grabbing our attention filling the spot for his close friend at Industri, at the time, very much a departure from what the crowd were used to in terms of musical direction, but refreshingly so nevertheless. Since that appearance, we have been tracking Nick’s progress and, when we can, catch up with gigs that he plays in the capital, which have included spots at both Profile & Lo-Profile as well as Rupert Street & Barcode Vauxhall, where his uplifting yet funky filled electro tainted musical choices go down like a storm, the sounds that have the Evans selection theme more often than not hinting towards the vocal injected type that prick up the ears and get the feet more than tapping.

And in his first podcast release, there is a perfect example of the Nick style, a glorious & upbeat 73 minutes of music, simply entitled “Spring 2010 Mix” which includes some of our favourite tunes of 2010 so far, kicking off with the amazingly melodic & meaningful “You & I” by Medina, then immediately raising the tempo with tracks that include a brilliant remix of Candi Station’s “Musical Freedom”, Joey Negro’s “Can’t Get High Without You” and the uplifting & funky “Best Of Me” by Rino Cabrera, not to mention plenty of updated versions of old Hed Kandi style disco tracks, like “Feel For You” & “Believe” and to add to that truly upbeat & dancefloor drenched feel, the track that continues to send the crowds wild & was close to taking top spot in our 2009 music poll, Zoe Baldwin’s “Release Me”, is popped in for good measure. All in all, this is one hell of a compilation and was an immediate addition to our collection when we first heard it back in May and so should be to yours too, so grab your copy now at http://nickevansdj.podomatic.com/, you won’t regret it.

Fittingly so, our other devotion goes to Nick’s close pal and a D.J. that rarely gets a look in on our posts, although with his massive international standing & reputation he hardly needs our humble exposure, but such is the talent of this maestro behind the decks, we felt he deserved it nevertheless. To chronicle Paul Heron’s hectic life and rise to stardom could take well over a page to describe, so in cutting it down, we can think of one word that describes it to a tea, “meteoric”. Ever since he first ditched sensible plans in the eyes of his parents to convert his graduation in fashion, rather to follow his dream emulating the top names at the time that were playing out in the club that influenced him more than any other, Trade, Paul knew that his destiny was to be behind the decks, although he never dreamt that it would start at this legendary club. But with his first gig under him, as they say the rest is history and having established a firm foothold in the London club scene, playing out at mammoth clubs that included Crash, Action, DTPM Discotec & Heaven, he really got our attention back in 2002 when he played in the VIP room at Beyond in the heady days of Colosseum and we have never really taken our eye off his amazing career to this day, always heading to the dancefloor like an excited child to hear him play.

However, keeping track of this very much in demand D.J. is a task & a half, as whilst London is his backyard, the world is his oyster and Paul jets around the globe like it’s a trip between Soho & Vauxhall, with hardly a week going by where he is not abroad somewhere, whether it be as close as France or as far away as Australia, there is no continent that hasn’t sampled a bit of the Heron music magic. And no matter what the size of gig it is, from the intimate social splendour that is London’s Industri, to the massive dance party phenomenon, Barcelona’s Circuit Festival, Paul has been there & done that, pride events at home & across Europe, an exhaustive list of the world’s most famous clubs as well as the more obscure. Such is Mr Heron’s reputation, that despite the capital being his home, he lives much more out of his suitcase, touching on an endless list of destination cities in his truly jet setting life, whether it be Athens & Auckland, Copenhagen & Cape Town, Milan & Montreal or Tel Aviv & Toronto and the fellow D.J. stars he has played with is equally impressive, David Guetta, Frankie Knuckles, Seamus Haji, Pete Tong, Judge Jules, need we say more?!?!

So considering this demanding D.J.’ing schedule you would think he would have time for little else, but there you would be wrong, as 2009 has seen Paul break into the international recording, producing & remixing market, teaming up (as Phax) with close friend and fellow D.J., Alan X, quickly achieving success with their treatment of Aussie duo Empire Of The Sun’s “We Are The People”. Further projects have included Ultra Nate’s “Hey D.J.”, Grace Jones’s “Hurricane” and a specially commissioned version of Stonebridge’s “Take Me Away” for house label Hed Kandi, their latest piece of work being a brilliant one too and should, like the others, hit the big time, we being treated to a first hearing the remix of the Scissor Sisters’ latest single “Fire With Fire”, by the man himself at Industri just a couple of weeks ago. Add to that Paul’s recent compilation works that have included a devotion to club Lovechild, where he is a resident (more on that next week) as well a brilliant nod to the musical mantra he labels “dirty, sexy, fun”, that includes dives into deep, pumping, tribal & progressive house, with a few uplifting tinges, which is superbly displayed by his 80 minute mix entitled “Summer Progressive 2010” which is out now at http://soundcloud.com/djpaulheron and it is clear this man just doesn’t stop. Often drawing on his 15,000 plus record collection not just to put together not just these compilations, & construct the amazing sets he plays week in week out, but to inspire him in his re-mixing works, all ensures Mr Heron remains at the top of his game and someone we feel honoured to call a friend.

Now, with news of their latest studio works hitting our desks just before we threw our music posts into the LGDF string of specials, we have been itching to share the details with you. However, to our extreme delight, while our regular posts have been off air, Nick Tcherniak & Steve Thomas have made it big with their EP “My People” featuring Wilhelm, reaching the playlists of scores of D.J.’s, gaining support from a list of Industry superstars that reads like a who’s who in the music game, as well as having already been targeted for remixing work by nine producers, including Phax. Moreover, it zoomed to number one on the Juno download progressive house chart within days of release, is currently racing up Beatport’s own chart, where it is available to purchase & download via https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/247565/my_people_ep#app=5d8e&a486-index=0 and is well worth adding to your collection.

Right, well that’s it for our selection’s this week, but coming up next week is a devotion to all things Lovechild, focussing on Terry Vietheer & Phil Hewson, but also detailing mix works inspired by the club from other D.J. residents & guests of Alex Erfan’s monthly erotic event. But we also have features on talents, JC Christopher, Norbert Molinski & Chris Brogan planned and plenty more besides, so watch this space for that.

In the meantime, we hope you like & enjoy our choices here and as we love to say “...sit back, turn up the volume and let the music play...”

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Two Peas In A Pod" - LGDF Special Post

2010-06-02T09:36:00.002+01:00

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“TWO PEAS IN A POD”

With The London Global Dance Festival (LGDF) in full swing, what is officially billed as “the closing party”, but what we prefer as a more appropriate term, the afterparty, which will be hosted by Steven Sharp’s “Orange” mega club, has a host of resident stars who will be joined by four international D.J.’s, jetting into London especially for the LGDF, who will be flying the flag for Nightkomm & Spirit Of Star, but three who also have strong connections with record label & agency, Sorry Shoes, but two that have very close connections to each other, having set up their our recording labels & are based very close to each other in Spain. So, in the last of our special LGDF D.J. focuses we look at these two stars which are very much “two peas in a pod” and for good reason.

First up is Ivan Gomez, a native of Barcelona, who is a very much a Spaniard in heart & mind, having all the passion & drive of his fellow country folk and this is no better expressed than through his love of music. Having found himself behind the decks at the tender age of nineteen, mainly seeking opportunities to play at clubs in his home city, also circulating within the vibrant Barcelona scene to get him noticed and having played out at a whole host of small time Catalan clubs in the capital of this Eastern Spanish region, a big break came when he secured residencies at huge gay happenings Bear Factory & Arena and having played for a couple of seasons. Now the floodgate was opened on his D.J. career, not only as he played out at the massive summer festival, Loveball, but was also asked to be involved in the “Bears In Rome” gathering, which was just the exposure he needed, leading onto regular slots at the then new club, Gorgeous I Am, not to mention a whole host of others across the well known gay village in Rome & back in Spain. Ivan has been attracted to the draw of the big festivals as well as the smaller clubs, both Valencia’s summer week & Barcelona’s Bear Farm featuring highly, but whilst he is clearly an accomplished D.J., it is in the studio where Mr Gomez seems to be at his most prolific, the collaboration from 2003 between him & Flaix FM radio station increased his passion for house music, when he regularly presented news slots on the latest releases and then masterminded a slot allowing him to feature some of his home-grown remix & bootleg works.

So, the list of studio works from Ivan is extensive to say the least, having given his treatment to a number of Madonna records including “Give It To Me”, Celebrate” & “Secret”, as well as other big names in the pop scene including Justin Timberlake & The Black Eyed Peas. But it was his own track releases, first “Work My Beats” as well as “So Sexy”, “Turn Me Out” & remix works on a string of Jah Sound records that were getting the major airtime playing, not least on Roger Sanchez’s radio show “Release Me” and with Ivan having taken up production professionally in 2008, having landed a contract with Miami based Southside Recordings, it was that first track that was hailed as one of the most important issues in the Ibiza summer season of the same year, being played right across the white isle & also at all Matinee Group’s parties. More studio work was inevitable & shining examples are Jah Sound’s “La Bruja”, his own “D-Pressed” & the Luca G vocal inspired hit “Love To Survive”, Ivan often working with fellow peers on remixes & tracks, including Ben Manson, Mark Sanchez & both Fran Ramirez & Nacho Chapado who have become close friends of his and both feature in his latest track releases/remixes, many of which can be found at http://soundcloud.com/ivangomezmusic.

So being so active in the studio & producing some quality works, it comes as no surprise that Sorry Shoes creator Mike Kelly saw the potential of Ivan & wanted a piece of the Gomez action, asking him to join the increasing family of D.J’s & producers, to develop the labels depth & potential. Back to the D.J.’ing & Ivan shares his time mainly between Barcelona & Rome, still featuring big at both Gorgeous I Am & Bear Factory, his mixture of various house genres that include tech, progressive, deep, minimal & underground, tinged with uplifting vocals from time to time, go down an absolute treat wherever he plays. Naturally, Ivan will be representing Sorry Shoes at LGDF and brings a wealth of experience not least in the studio, but also from many years behind the D.J. booth. His depth within the genres of house he plays will add a definitive feel to the weekend and indeed his knowledge of playing at large festivals will be a definite plus and he will take to the main floor at Area as part of the Orange afterparty, his music style ideally suited to what looks like the THE party of the weekend.

Our other & final LGDF devotion goes to Jose Ignacio Chapado, better known as Nacho Chapado, who was born in Barcelona, Spain and surrounded himself in music from an early age, not just working as a radio D.J. but also holding down various positions with a number of record companies and soon got the taste for not just D.J.’ing live, but also engrossing himself into the recording studio. As a D.J., his C.V. reads magnificently, the main focus being Italy and, of course, Spain, playing at a host of meets in his home country, including Fascination, Odarko Club, Into The Tank, StrongMatic, Bear Factory, & Ursus Planet, at nearly as many in Italy, places like Hub, The Block, Gorgeous I Am & Gay Village, as well as featuring large at many of the festivals in both countries, highlights being Long Vehicle Week in Italy & Loveball in Spain, although the crowning glory was his appearance at the massive Circuit Festival in Barcelona last year, when he represented not only beartastic brand Megawoof, but also played on behalf of uber club D-Boy. Other destinations in his D.J.’ing career have included Paris for Club Rapido, Zurich’s Selection Party and the Absolut event in Athens.

But like many of his compatriots in the industry, it is in the recording studio where Mr Chapado has been the most active, his first recording dating back to 1999, when he worked with the group, Soldiers Of Dance & with Micky Fortenza, an album that contained remixes of popular songs of the time, spring-boarding a virtual never-ending list of accomplishments, although a six year break meant that it was 2004 before he was back doing what he absolutely loves, producing & remixing records. Delving through the sheer volume of Jose ney Nacho work, is like stepping through a minefield of sensational sounds and outstanding achievements, purple patch years being, first, 2006, when he published his club & electro version of one of the great classics of the eighties: B-Movie’s “Nowhere Girl”, having great success with the first remix in Catalan language, which was an absolute revolution in the electronic music world, further remixes of Gossos & Beth “No Es Nou”, leading to a compilation of 11 remixes under his name with October & Christmas remix releases hitting high notes, then 2007, which was just as successful for him, as a whole plethora of releases came out of the Chapado production factory, including “Let It Fill Your Soul” in two versions: “Put Your Hands Up For Barcelona Mix” & “Electro Handbag Mix”, remix versions of themes by the Catalan group Lexu’s "Amazing & Gorgeous", "Don’t Show The Tears" and a remix made by Juanjo Martin of his record "Coming Up 2007 ". But the amount of releases he has been involved with is staggering, counting well over 60 in his career, recent collaborations with Enrico Arghentini and close friend Ivan Gomez attracting much attention in Spain & particularly on the Barcelona club circuit and already in 2010, he has produced no less than 14 remixes/recordings, nearly half with Mr Gomez and as many released on the Sorry Shoes label, for which Nacho is now part of, real gems in the collection being “Love To Survive” & Dark Beat”, these and a selection of others available to listen to at http://myspace.com/nachochapado as well as being available for download at leading worldwide online store beatport.com as well as D.J download.

Being involved with Sorry Shoes comes as no surprise given his pedigree in the studio and Mike Kelly short of bit his hand off to join, although balancing his work with this spurning record agency, he is also at the centre of a new tribal & progressive house music label, Guareber Recordings, which will see not just his, but close associations works released, which looks like making waves in Spain & beyond, Nacho explaining that “...the Spanish house mafia is here & we will hit the dancefloor with our tribal & progressive beats...” . But, Mr Chapado still loves to get behind the decks live, playing out to packed crowds at Martins Club & StrongMatic in Barcelona, plus zooming across to Italy & Belgium where his services are still in great demand and his style of full on euro style house beats, combining, electro tech & progressive, a hint of tribal, but nearly always with powerful vocals, sounds which are incredibly addictive and dance delirium tempting. There is little doubt, therefore, that his sound will go down an absolute storm at LGDF, the massive euro beats & noticeable records that have been given his remix treatment, very much in tune with striking resonance with the international & discerning crowd that the festival is sure to attract. And Mr Chapado will take his rightful place in the Orange Afterparty flying two flags, Sorry Shoes’ & Nightkomm’s and we cannot wait to sample some of his superb sounds.

So, that’s it, an exhaustive & most comprehensive look at 22 international D.J’s/producers that will have made an indelible impact on London across this massive dance & music festival, none of which would even be possible but were it for the amazing vision & passion of one man, Alex Erfan, who along with the support of Craig Elder and The Orange group, have ventured into the unknown to offer the capital gAylistig clubbing scene something truly different yet in familiar surroundings. What will be the verdict on all these international D.J’s performances? And did the festival meet all expectations? These are just two questions amongst many that we hope to answer in a series of special reviews coming up. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Sorry Shoes Soul's" - LGDF Special Post

2010-05-30T20:30:00.003+01:00

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“SORRY SHOOES SOUL’S”

Well, the big event is here and in just a hour or so, we will be rubbing shoulders with many of the international D.J.’s & artists that have jetted into the capital for The London Global Dance Festival (LGDF) Main event, which takes place tonight (Sunday 30th May) at Fire in Vauxhall, with a super swish reception for VIP’s and press, kick starting proceedings at 9 p.m., all this followed by a massive closing party, hosted by overt & outrageous club brand “Orange”. And the international outfit that will be playing a big part in both events, sports some of its top D.J. names, two who get the focus here.

First up is Shoes Shoes supremo Mike Kelly, a native of Australia who first started experimenting with sounds in the early 1990’s, when the people he was mixing with down under were very much into the sort of music that was mirroring the penchant in London for the hard house genre & following that Trade was spearheading, Mike being in the centre of his hometown Sydney’s vibrant underground & rave scene, initially crafting his disc spinning art, playing for friends at various parties which soon got him noticed, riding the wave of the eclectic music movement & change in dance culture that was gripping the world. Building his foundations from his home city, Mr Kelly soon found himself not only playing to massive audiences at huge festivals, including Sydney Mardi Gras, his distinctive underground style making him quite unique in the wave of more general house hunting D.J.’s and as his services became more in demand, residencies at clubs Indulgence, Manacle, The Barracks, Mars, Soho, & Home only served to cement his reputation as a force to be reckoned with in his profession. And this reputation also saw him often tour around Australia, regularly appearing at gigs in Melbourne, Brisbane, Newcastle & Lismore and his appetite for great parties, underground or otherwise was borne out by his skill in managing a whole host of outdoor events which would attract crowds of up to 8000.

But Mike didn’t stop at that, as he presented radio shows in Sydney for stations 2SER, Beat & Out FM, some of his D.J. sets also featuring on Australia’s premier dance music sessions, Mix Up & The Club, an accolade that was to repeat itself when Mike flew the Sydney nest, heading for the bright lights of Europe & landing in Berlin and once again dabbling in radio with exposure on the city’s BluRadio shows. Moving to Europe also gave Mr Kelly the opportunity to play in London including at the legendary nightclub Heaven as well in Madrid, Milan, Rome, Brussels & Amsterdam, although it was Germany where he concentrated most of his D.J’ing efforts, securing a residency at uber trendy club Greenkomm in Cologne, a city that Mike now calls home and has allowed him to develop further residencies across Western Europe including Naughty in Brussels, Flexx in Zurich, Furball in Amsterdam & Mezzo Giorno in Antwerp, as well as being asked to play at Barcelona’s Circuit Festival, Europride in Madrid & Love Parade in Dortmund. However, home calls occasionally and he jets back to Sydney every now & then, returning to his routes at club Indulgence, where, along with all his other residencies & appearances, allows Mike to exercise his passion for fusing a host of sounds through is underground house direction, combining, progressive, tech, tribal, electro, trance, minimal & even a bit of disco, drawing on influences over the years to energetic & eclectic excellence, Mike explaining that “the past, the present & the future exist in my sets & through my style I create the sounds that allow my audience to dance the skin of their feet”. And Mr Kelly’s influences are drawn from D.J’ing alongside fellow underground enthusiasts such as Antoine 909, Jack Chang, Kurd Maverick, Hardy Heller, Super Zandy & many more, his skills extending being the live decks into studio works collaborations with a whole host of musicians.

His current work with Sorry Shoes record label recruit artist Jean Phillips counts as the most prolific, their debut release “On Demand” being snapped up by cult record labels in the UK & Spain, which was soon followed by further releases & remixes that have included “Tisco”, “In Suspense” &“Something In the Air”, 2010 continuing to be hectic in the studio with Mike as he continues to develop the Sorry Shoes label as well as tackling plenty of other remix work & label releases. Mike will be representing record label & music agency Sorry Shoes at the LGDF main event, this prestigious record label & agency which he established in Cologne, but now serves & recruits artists right across the globe, its primary aim to bring quality music & innovative sound to the forefront of the scene, Mike’s musical philosophy having amazing resonance with the aims of Sorry Shoes and his awesome & unique sound will add something extra special to the London event.

Other focus goes to Jean Phillips, aka (J.P.) who realised from the tender age of 13 that he had a passion for music and mixing sounds and his first ever gig was landed in his home city of Cologne when he was just 16, playing at club End Art which got him well & truly noticed by the cutting edge Cologne Warehouse club Greenkomm, where J.P. had the chance to spin sounds along with the likes of names of the day including Groovemaster K, Dave Angel, & Marc Spoon, also being included in the D.J. teams at clubs Fusion & Cosmic in Munster. J.P. attributes much of his early influences to Germany’s Sven Vath & Underground hero Tiefschwarz, London’s deep house legend Jamie Lewis & god of underground house, Chilean born Ricardo Villalobos, creating a desire within J.P. to not only develop a stylish yet deep sound, selecting tracks that are ahead of their time, but to engender an energetic underground music environment. And this desire has seen J.P. noticed around Germany, having regularly played at gigs that included, Kinkamehameha in Frankfurt, Banaluu in Berlin and, naturally, Greenkomm in Cologne, and also spread his wings to include appearances at Under in Paris, although his residencies at The Pulse, The Velvet, The Saint & The Apt-Apartment in Frankfurt draw much of his time behind the D.J. booth.

However, whilst J.P. is undoubtedly an accomplished live jock, it is in the studio that he can be credited & recognised the most across the global music industry, a whole host of creative musical directions being created in recent years, working with the likes of D.J. Marc Hell on Desert Pearl Projects, with Wollion on Blu Fin & with Saints & Sinners producer Wilfred aka ROC:MA, on top of a whole host of tracks & remixes that included his own remix works on Taylor Squares “Something In The Air” & Rene Raabe’s “Me”, but collaborations with Steven Redant on “Discotheque”, Oliver Mohns on “Strings Of Motion” & Sorry Shoes’ Mike Kelly on “TiSGO” are probably some of his most notable, other works with Mike including Ismael Rivas’s “Clothes Off”, Idriss Chabak & SKG Projects “Capanema” and their latest work, Miguel Rendeiro’s “Journey” is shooting up the D.J. download charts, not to mention increasing the profile of J.P. and of Sorry Shoes recordings which he is firmly connected with. Not just content with track releases, J.P. also devotes time to full compilation mixes which give a real flavour of his live performances & his musical sound, which is very much electro-funk with progressive & tech vibes which create a mesmeric mixture of sounds that draw you in and occasionally combine with heart warming vocals that give his work real depth & an amazing quality which is irresistibly brilliant his podcast release series entitled “House Forecast” being so evocative of J.P.’s style & enthusiasm for his art, which are available through http://jeanphilips.podomatic.com and there is no doubt when you listen to his mixes as well as his tracks, it is unquestionably J.P. and his style.

2010 has already brought some exciting projects his way, both in the studio and D.J’ing, not least being at the heart of Cocoon Club as well as completing an awesome remix of Fady Maalouf’s “Into The Light” along with Lutz Markwirth which he ranks as right up there with his best ever work and truly emulating his love for combining forces with other artists which is quoted as saying “It is not just one person, it’s a bunch of people who make music and that’s what I always want to do. I love to put great gifted people together and create something together as a group” and that very much sums up J.P’s devotion to his art. Being part of the LGDF line up and representing Sorry Shoes will see J.P. make one of his first trips to London and there can be no doubt that his presence behind the D.J. booth will not just be an incredible draw, but his mood heightening style through crescendo building track selections will be a sure fire hit with the international and discerning home audience.

Both of these tip tip D.J./Producer talents will be squaring up with each other within just hours at the LGDF main event and we are told will be joined by our very own Brent Nicholls in what the organisers are calling “The Red Room” and highly suspect that the music & action in the hands of the trio will be red hot and we can’t wait. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Inspiring International's" - LGDF Special Post

2010-05-29T17:07:00.003+01:00

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“INSPIRING INTERNATIONAL’S”

With our D.J’ing focuses taking on supercharged proportions in advance of The London Global Dance Festival (LGDF) main event tomorrow night at Fire in Vauxhall, we continue our look, honing in on two truly international stars that will add some real ingenious injection to the spaces they will be playing out. One of these “Inspiring International’s” has made Barcelona his home, but lives more out of a suitcase, such is the fevered pace of his globetrotting, while the other is a household name in his native Israel, but has definitely trodden the global steps too, both making for ideal partners in this latest LGDF special music post.

First up is that Barcelona resident and a very accomplished artist within the recording studio, the superb talent that is Steven Redant, who first started his career in D.J.’ing at the famous Privilege club in Ibiza at the turn of the millennium, although he had been practising the art of mixing records long before that, playing for friends back home in Belgium. These were more as favours than anything else, although it was these gatherings, sometimes large events, sometimes smaller scale parties, that gave him the bug for the disc spinning game, the white isle debut yet again starting out as a favour for a friend, but developed into a summer long stay as the club asked him to fulfil a whole season playing his style of deep & tribal house infused with a dab of latino. At the time Steven didn’t realise just how big an opportunity it was, but he soon did when, following that fateful summer season, things really began to take off for him, hurtling Mr Redant into the limelight with residencies one of France’s biggest clubs Queen in Paris, at the infamous Black n Blue in Antwerp and at super glamorous club La Demence in Brussels, where he is now part of the stable of core D.J’s that perform to massive 2000 plus crowds each month. However, that said, Steven 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 Moscow, Rome, Eilat, Istanbul, Lausanne, St Tropez, New York, or Toronto just to mention a few destinations, the man hardly ever standing still, he often remarking that his travels are “relaxing after a week in the studio” and entertaining his audience through amazing performances.

His visit to London, back in November last year, when he played at Matinee’s “The Next Chapter” party, was a huge success and other recent appearances at the latest “Scream” event in Paris & at Barcelona’s newest club “Penelope” have gone down exceptionally well, this Gaudi inspired city being his current base, which allows him to not just consume his passions for studio work & D.J.’ing, holding down his weekly radio show “Get It On” as well as his residency behind the decks at swish club “Discotheque”, but also means he can fulfil his other main love, surfing. However, he has also loves trading the surf for the snow and has recently been tearing up the slopes at The European Gay Ski week, which culminated with a massive party in Tignes hosted by London legendary club brand Trade, 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”, this phrase summing up Steven’s incredible vitality & energy. Despite his whirlwind life & hectic D.J. schedules, it is his studio work that grabs a big chunk of his time, as he produces an amazing amount of compilation mixes following his live D.J. performances, the latest editions being available at http://stevenredant.podomatic.com/, each release testament to his latest style of electronic yet progressive sounds intermixed with plenty of tech & tribal house to great effect not to mention other re-mix work and his own track production, “Discotheque” , developed in collaboration with Jean Phillips is a scintillating single that has hit the high spots of many of popular music download charts, has been included in many a D.J.’s playlist and has received major support from the likes of Judge Jules & Axwell. So, it goes without saying that Mr Redant is a huge asset to any party or event involving music of his genres and this is very true of LGDF where his exuberance and style is a real hit and he will be able to really stretch his musical legs, vene more than he did when he starred at the Orange Hustlaball afterparty in Fire at the beginning of May, Mr Redant making a popular & welcome return to the capital.

Our other international devotion goes to that Israeli talent, there being little doubt that Danny Tuval is one of the biggest names in Israel and his base in Tel Aviv allows him to play at some of the largest parties in the city, where Friday seems to be the party night of the weekend and his monthly residencies at the huge events FFF at Powder club & Freedom at Platinum, attract huge numbers that simply crave for his musical style that encompasses pumping tribal sounds with sexy ethnic style vocals that seem evocative of this region of the world, yet his sets have a real euro & anglo American flavour to them that makes his sets quite unique. Apart from his regular residencies in his home city, Danny plays right across Israel and at some of the hugest events in the country, including Love Parade, Dance City and the yearly gay pride events where he is no stranger to crowds exceeding 15,000, also getting the opportunity to play alongside inbound guest D.J’s such as Junior Vasquez, Tom Stephan, Paul Oakenfold & Nick Warren. But Danny doesn’t just restrict himself to his home country, as he has played out in events across Europe, highlights being gigs at Queen Club in Paris, Amsterdam’s IT as well as making regular returns to play at the music festival Navigation in Antwerp, which give him the opportunity to spread the word of his unique & instinctive middle east sound that seems to go down a storm with the Belgian’s.

Back home and Danny also regular gets into the recording studio, having established a firm reputation as a producer of quality tracks alongside his partnership with fellow Israeli, Zigo, the notable ones that often fill the dancefloors across Tel Aviv & beyond being “Over You”, “So Amazing”, & “No Clue” being typical of the Mr Tuval style, delicious vocals intermixed with those tribal & euro sounds, although his most striking pieces tend to be when he adopts his remixing work alongside mix meister Royal and a brilliant re-work of Cinderella’s “Where’s My Shoe” is a hard hitting electro tainted yet booming tribal masterpiece that wouldn’t go amiss in the trendy clubs of New York, London or Paris and indeed when it was released, charted highly in the US, Germany, Italy & even Russia, indeed the latest track release by the duo, “Fallin”, is once again making waves on the dancefloor. In terms of current gigs, part from his huge monthly residencies, Danny continues to play across Tel Aviv at clubs SuperMarket, The Cat & Dog, Pinguein & Living Room as well as popping across to Eilat for their very popular pool parties from time to time. Mr Tuval will definitely be a real asset to the LGDF D.J. line up, adding some real Middle Eastern spice to proceedings for sure and bringing his wonderful Israeli charm & unique sounds to sets & performances that should prove a real hit with the international audience and make him worthy of his place within the main event at Fire tomorrow night.

So, if you’re looking for some international inspiration, we definitely recommend that you search out these two “Inspiring International’s” at the LGDF main event and are sure in doing so you will not be disappointed. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Infinita Invincibles" - LGDF Special Post

2010-05-29T16:34:00.005+01:00

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“INFINITA INVINCIBLES”

With the massive London Global Dance Festival in full swing & the first two parties under our belt, our eyes focus on the main event itself, which is less than thirty hours away now and accelerate our looks at some of the International D.J’s that will be gracing the decks at this amazing event. And here we look at two individuals that are synonymous with massive Spanish clubbing empire, Space Of Sound, but particularly of the huge annual Madrid Pride event Infinitamentegay, both talents representing & flying the S.O.S. flag on the main floor at Fire tomorrow night.

First up is Ismael Rivas, this prestigious D.J. talent has become one of the biggest names in Spain and his career has seen him touch virtually every part of the globe, making him truly international, attracting a similarly stupendous following, whether it be at the live gigs he plays or in the records & compilations he produces. Carving his career in his home city of Madrid, Mr Rivas, aka Riva, started back in 1992 at club Bolshoi, which were soon followed by appearances at Archy, Boccaccio, Empire and OH!, the latter opening a door in their Marbella club, resulting in a four year residency. During this time, Ismael got the opportunity to rub shoulders with great D.J. talents such as David Morales, Pete Heller & Danny Rampling, from whom he learnt a great deal, drawing both musical influences as well as the ability to network his abilities behind the decks, this very skill leading Mr Rivas to one of the biggest and best moves in his career, when he landed a residency with the massive club brand Space Of Sound in 1997, representing their Sunday quintessential matinee outing Maccumba and it was with this club that he really developed & evolved his style which can today be described as a delightful combination of latin, tribal and progressive house, that have been built on with avant-garde electronic sounds but always delving back into the roots of tech that formed the basis of his early D.J.ing career, all creating a style & character that definitely has the Riva stamp on it.

His connections with Space Of Sound have definitely elevated his name & reputation, not only starring beside Eric Morrilo in a yearlong residency in 2002, but having opened doors in his D.J’ing career with a residency at Madrid’s own Ministry Of Sound, playing at summer festivals in Ibiza, playing out in countries that have included relatively untrodden territories like Colombia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Morocco & Tunisia, as well as more familiar destinations such as Brazil, France, Belgium, Switzerland, the USA and of course the UK, but one of his favourite overseas gigs being for Amnesia in Ibiza. With a distinct passion for music, it was clear that Ismael wouldn’t just restrict himself to D.J’ing and is an accomplished producer, having been in the business since 2001 and releasing more than 150 productions for an exhaustive list of labels which was only going to lead to one thing, the creation of his own record label in 2008, FATXL, which in its short life has already seen over 10 track releases, although he continues to also produce quality compilations, in the main for Space of Sound, having released his first volume back in 2001 and has completed ones for virtually every year since.

However, this year has seen him produce his very own, entitled “Face Up” which has already been a highlight in a continual train of track releases and looking at his massive discography, it is difficult to pick out the strongest gems as none of his releases or mixes fail to hit the mark, although probably “The Way Of Love”, “Time Is Over”, “Is Deeper” & “Dig It” being great examples, the latter two compiled with fellow Factomani agency artist Wally Lopez. And it is with this agency that yet more doors have been opened in Ismael’s career, although he continues to play for Space Of Sound, indeed being part of their latest club incarnation “People” in Madrid and his roots with the FSM group remain deeply important to him, which have been the basis of a whole string on award nominations for D.J. mags, as well as best producer/label newcomer after the launch of FATXL. 2010 remains just as busy for Ismael as previous years, with plenty of appearances penned across Spain, besides Madrid, as well gigs in Switzerland, Tunisia & Bulgaria, a big highlight being Space of Sounds anniversary week in May, but also plenty of large up-coming festivals that include the Gay Games in Cologne, the Fun Beach season in Mexico being a feature of his roster. So, Ismael’s inclusion in the LGDF line up is a bit of a coup for the organisers and he will bring his wealth of talent & skills to bear on the festival that will see him represent Space Of Sound at the main event tomorrow night.

Our other Space Of Sound devotee is the energetic D.J. Eros. Born in 1980, Eros spent most of his informative years in London, realising from an early age that playing in clubs as a D.J. was what he wanted to do, his single most impressionable club, like so many peers of a similar age, being the legendary club Trade, where he became addicted to the concoction that was the D.J. connecting with the crowd to produce amazing dancing results to the music choices made, his observations at many a Trade event teaching him that a great night is based on the D.J. understanding what the audience want to hear, thus allowing them to connect with the D.J. & his work. So, knowing that spinning discs was his destiny in life, Eros set about a self taught mixing class at home, having purchased is first set of basic decks that made mixing tracks quite difficult, sometimes resulting in him simply playing one track after the next. But his mixing skills were to take a big leap when he landed gigs at London bars Taboo & Bed, when he selected tunes of the time which had a distinct local London flavour to them, Eros really loving the music at that time which showed through in his performances & his ability to mix.

So, it was inevitable that he would be spotted very soon by club promoters and regular appearances at club nights “Instinct” & “Access” at Colloseum in Vauxhall resulted, allowing Eros to really develop his reputation behind the decks. However, bigger & better things were destined to come his was in the capital, playing out at venues that included Fabric & Pacha, which resulted in string of international appearances, the catalyst being his decision to join the Salvation group at a time when his name & career was emerging, the European parties they held thrusting him into the limelight, meaning that Eros can boast a stunning array of clubs & destinations he has played, like Red & Blue in Antwerp, Wonk in Malmo, Queen in Gothenburg, Heaven in Ibiza, Alter Watersaal in Cologne & Vision in Romania’s version of Monte Carlo, Constantia. But his devotions between London & Madrid have seen him play at a vast array of club nights and venues in both cities, conquests in the Spain’s capital including clubs/nights Adraba, Bash, Sweet, Cool, Strong Centre, Shanghai & Flamingo being just a few, while in London, noteworthy appearances include Lo-Profile, A.M. & Horizon, as well as for Salvation, Madrid being his current residential base, allowing him the ideal base to develop his associations with one of the city’s biggest club parties, Infinita, both playing at the massive Pride festival in Madrid, but also touring with the brand elsewhere.

Away from the his D.J.’ing, Eros gets into the recording studio from time to time, laying down compilation mixes that reflect his musical style, combinations of tribal & electro influences mixed in with deep progressive build ups with the added touch of funk and sexy vocals the Eros proclaims “always gets the crowd going and that’s what keeps me going” his latest offering entitled “I Love Progressive House” available to download at http://megaupload.com/?d=1T2HQ4Y3 and he has even completed his own track, simply entitled “AM” but is so evocative of this man’s style, very euro beat in its make up, but with that progressive journey style drawing on all Eros’s favourite house music genres. There is little doubt that this talented D.J. come producer has carved a pretty outstanding reputation in Madrid and recent gigs have included Lovechild in the city, SG-Matic, & X:cess and he has been privileged to play alongside the likes of Ismael Rivas, Janvier Gonzales & Danny LeBlack and his residency at Flamingo in Madrid currently takes up a lot of his time behind the live decks. So, his inclusion in the LGDF line up, representing Infinita is a worthy choice and his passion for entertaining his audience, combined with his knowledge of the London scene & club infrastructure, should ensure that he will prove very popular and deliver a performance not to be missed. Plus, being familiar with playing at both Fire & Area in Vauxhall, he will be right at home with LGDF.

So, these two immense Spanish talents that are very used to spinning the decks together at SPS parties as well as at Infinita will be definitely worth a listen when they take the LGDF main event by storm and we recommend you book your place on the dancefloor now as, in the hands of these two “Infinita Invincibles”, it will be ram packed. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Saturday Morning Stars" - LGDF Special Post

2010-05-28T20:42:00.003+01:00

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“SATURDAY MORNING STARS”

Well, The London Global Dance Festival (LGDF) is with us and the “official” opening party will take place tonight (Friday 28th May) at Area in Vauxhall, this kick starting event being hosted by “Onyx”, the Friday clubbing phenomenon which was launched back in the summer of 2009 and just seems to be going from strength to strength. So it seems fitting that this award winning brand is where the massive music festival that is LGDF begins and then continues deep into Saturday morning with afterhours club “A.M.” going all international on us and continuing the festivities at Fire where neighbour “Onyx” had left off. And showcasing the global feel to these regular London events will be two D.J.’s, jetting in especially and will both prove a considerable draw and thus deserve our full focus.

First up and playing out at “Onyx” is Dikky Vendatta, a native of The Netherlands and born in Utrecht. Dikky Van Der Van (his real name) started out in the D.J.’ing game back in 2004 and assumed the pseudonym “Vendetta”, not quite an anagram of his surname, but a name that has certainly worked and got him noticed both in his home country and across the border in Belgium, both counties forming the basis of his career behind the decks. Balancing his D.J’ing with a full time desk job with massive European airports handler Avaipartner, which has seen Dikky work in both Amsterdam and now in Brussels, which is his current base, Dikky has been well positioned to carve out a name for himself in the big clubs at both cities, he becoming a virtual household name at both Rapido in Amsterdam and La Demence in Brussels. However, Dikky’s disc spinning had humble beginnings, treading the proverbial boards in the bars of Amsterdam to develop his reputation but the draw of the clubbing scene was too much to resist and with Rapido on his doorstep, he soon started rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in the game, including the internationally acclaimed Chus & Cebellos, Manny Lehman, Fabio White, Juanjo Martin, & Max Morel, as well as names that have truly international careers, but are in themselves household names in London, Gonzalo Rivas & Pagano.

So, in landing a gig at this massive gay club in Holland’s capital city proved to be a real gateway for Dikky, he being a firm favourite with the crowd, more often than not holding down the opening slot in their parties, giving the crowd one of the best reasons to get to the club early and lap up his characteristic uplifting & warm starts to his sets, with groovy uplifting beats, then taking it deeper into more progressive & tech style sounds that work a dream at Rapido, securing him as one of their favourites. And it wasn’t long before he was noticed by club brand Salvation, being swooped up to play at many of their European parties, although when work drew Dikky to Brussels, another major opening was set to supercharge his D.J’ing career, landing a position with massive party La Demence and projecting him to the forefront of the clubbing scene in Brussels, which has since seen him play at virtually every event in the city as well as fitting in parties in Antwerp, which have included Red & Blue and the Gus Deluxe series of events.

However, having firmly established a reputation, his career has seen him travel right across Europe, including Greece, Spain, France, Germany & of course the U.K. where he has guested at London’s Heaven, while, despite having a full time job and all these D.J.’ing commitments, Dikky does also lay down the odd compilation mix here & there, all of which showcase his style of those funky uplifting & groovy sounds with deep dirty beats as well as his talent for mixing, the listening & download figures reading impressively and speaking for themselves, his latest release entitled “Teadance”, which is a nod towards the sets he plays live at La Demence available at http://dikky-vendetta.podomatic.com/. 2010 continues to be busy for Dikky, with regular slots continuing at La Demence & Rapido, playing alongside Steven Redant & Pagano respectively, he has played at Holland’s biggest party weekend Queens Day, is involved with new club night launch Cowboys & Angels in Amsterdam & will be a feature of Zurich’s Pride warm up party Selection-Testosteron, so a busy boy indeed. So, in bringing Dikky across to London for LGDF draws on some of his roots with club brand Salvation of old, yet ties in fantastically with the global feel of the event and the mix of D.J.’s that often play together in clubs across Europe & beyond. Plus, his uplifting style of sound with delightful electro & progressive beats will be an absolute winner and he will definitely play his part in attracting a truly international crowd to London and his top billing at “Onyx” is well deserved.

All focus the turns to “A.M.” when one of Spain’s most talented stars takes Fire by storm. D.J. Luque (first name Juan) is probably one of the country’s best know gay disc jockey’s and has been in the business since 1980, so that’s a staggering 30 years of spinning discs and making music, during which time he has played in pretty much every groundbreaking & important club in his native Madrid, including Pacha, Sundance, Divino, Circus, Empire & of course, Amnesia Madrid, spreading the unique Luque musical word wherever he went and attracting hoards of followers of his very uplifting electro tainted euro style house. In 2002 he secured a long term residency at Heaven in Madrid and whilst many doors had already been opened for the well established Mr Luque, the world suddenly became his veritable oyster, with an amazing list of gigs & appearances which soon followed, not only in a string of clubs, but with the country’s biggest brands, for Pacha, seeing him play for them in Barcelona, Ibiza, & Valencia, for Space in both Barcelona & Ibiza and for Space of Sound back in his home town, other massive clubbing brands on his sparkling C.V. including Salvation & Souvenir. Not surprisingly, the feverish pace of bookings increased yet further, seeing Juan jetting across the globe, playing in destinations like Columbia, Brazil, the USA, Russia, France and also occasionally in the UK, fitting in trips with his tight schedule back home & the ever developing demand for his services on the white isle, where Juan now shares home time with Madrid, his ties with Heaven seeing him play for their weekly summer event at Pacha Ibiza.

All this international exposure has seen him play alongside some real superstars of the D.J. scene, including David Morales, Freddie Le Grand, Hector Romero, Juanjo Martin, J Louis, & Steve Lawler, but it was his building associations with D.J. Vitti and J Velarde that would springboard Juan into the production game with prolific results. 2008 saw the trio experiment on a number of tracks in the studio although one stood head & shoulders above the rest and as soon as it was released stormed up the Spanish dance charts, becoming the biggest hit of the year, “Sundays At Heaven” soon attracting international acclaim and hitting the dancefloors right across the world, the track still stirring up the crowd & getting airplay two years down the line, thus making it an absolute classic. This was always going to be a hard act to follow and the year saw a further four releases with Velardi & Luque breaking out in 2009 with a record which was set to emulate the magic of “Sunday’s”, their new track “Serious Emotions” getting worldwide support and re-capturing the dizzy heights of success of its predecessor, confirming both artists as real tore de forces in the production game. With plenty of future projects, the partnership of Velarde & Luque was assured, even laying down a whole host of remixes, including tracks by pop artists Erasure & The Sugarbabes, working with dance vocal diva’s Jocelyn Brown & Giovanna, as well as even giving our very own combo of Steve Pitron & Max Sanna’s massive Bodyswerve remix track further treatment, their latest promo work entitled “So Lone” which received critical acclaim at this year’s winter music conference in Miami, very indicative of the magical sound of Velardi & Luque, the track drenched with deep vocals and euro beats that should see it become another smash hit for the two and is still available in promo form at http://soundcloud.com/luquedjx/velarde-luque-so-lone-promo-wmc-2010.

Back behind the decks and Mr Luque’s seemingly unstoppable career continues, his insatiable desire to get audiences going with his angelic uplifting, vocal tinged electro & euro style house, seeing him continue to play right across Spain, strong associations remaining with Pacha, seeing him play in Gerona & Valencia, with Space Of Sound, where he continues with a monthly residency for their “Too Much Revolution” night, although it is with Space Ibiza’s Cafe Ole which is getting all the attention at the moment, Juan right in the thick of all the action and not only will he be featuring in the whole summer season on the white isle, but is also touring with the brand, touching on Barcelona in May & Moscow in June, before bedding back down in Ibiza for the rest of the summer. Other projects include tours of Columbia & Bolivia, as well as summer warm up festivals in Alicante & Barcelona, so rather than slowing down, the pace of his career seems, if anything, to be picking up even more. And Juan will be jetting into London on the weekend on the main LGDF festival, squeezing in an appearance among his tight schedule and is going to be a massive draw. You can expect his bag of tune tolls to be full of both new vocal drenched & uplifting sounds as well as nodding back to those classic tunes that made it big in both 2008 & 2009, so his set in amongst the LGDF series of events should prove a real treat.

So, we will definitely be in for a veritable feat of magnificent music in the hands of these two international talents who will both be playing in the early hours of Saturday morning & whom we are sure will shine at both their respective parties, leaving the crowds craving for more and well & truly engrossed in the whole London Global Dance Festival as it progresses to the next set of events on Sunday. Therefore make sure you make it down to both “Onyx” & “A.M” and start your LGDF festivities off in true international style. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Whiter Than White - Supreme Circuit D.J's" - LGDF Special

2010-05-28T11:07:00.002+01:00

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“WHITER THAN WHITE – SUPREME CIRCUIT D.J’S”

Now there is no denying that we love a good party, especially when it comes with that extra little bit of glitz and glamour and then when some extra special VIP treatment is thrown in, we simply can’t resist in a bit of self indulgence, especially when there is the chance of rubbing shoulders with the glitterati of the gAylist scene, lauding it up with club promoters, owners, scene faces and moreover meeting & being entertained by some of the best known D.J.’s on the circuit, yes this is a truly enticing mix of social & clubbing splendour at it best. So add to all those ingredients being in the hands of one of the longest running circuit parties in the world and what do you get? well, The White Party Miami VIP reception & party at the London Global Dance Festival this Sunday 30th May, very much the dream ticket, but one that is not a dream, more a reality and two of those tip top D.J.’s we deluded to will be providing the spectacular musical entertainment, so get our special focus here.

Our first devotion goes to London based Brent Nicholls, a truly internationally travelled & renowned D.J., having played in every continent across the globe (well not Antarctica, although his music is probably played there!) since migrating from his home country of Australia in the late 1990’s and making the capital his home. Brent Nicholls has been entertaining us with his breathlessly dynamic music for as long as we can remember and his illustrious career has seen him play in some of the biggest and best clubs, both in his adopted home country and abroad, destinations touched including Amsterdam, Auckland, Cape Town, Cologne, Ibiza, Madrid, Milan, Montreal, Rio, Singapore & naturally Sydney, audiences ranging from small bar gatherings to massive festival events and everything in between, Brent showing just as much flair & enthusiasm in front of 20 or 20,000, injecting his insatiable appetite for the hottest & hippest sounds of the moment on his audience with remarkable effect.

And talking of those massive audiences, Mr Nicholls often jets home to play at Sydney’s Mardi Gras festival and in 2009 played to thousands alongside Paul Oakenfold, Alan Thompson & Mike Kelly in the Horden Pavilion, the trips also allowing him to catch up with friends & family, although it is fair to say this engaging & intelligent individual finds friends wherever he goes, be it playing at Montreal’s “Black & Blue”, Milan’s “Billy”, Cologne’s massive Pride events, Paris’s “Trick”, Copenhagen’s “Wonk” and even back in good old blightly, where Brent holds down current residencies at clubs Lovechild, Hard-On, Industri, Lo-Profile, Pervert & Sweat, as well as playing regularly of gAylist bar hangouts Barcode, Profile & Rupert Street. Indeed, spreading the good Nicholls musical word throughout London has seen Brent star at some of the biggest clubs of the bunch, including Action, Beyond, Crash, Juicy, Matinee & Trade, as well as some of the capitals largest events including As One, Hustlaball & Soho Pride, in fact there are very few clubs & happenings that this prestigious talent has not touched, he even D.J’s in his local gym!.

Brent casts his musical spell of house heaven wherever he goes, his repertoire covering virtually every genre, from trance to tribal, progressive to pumping, underground to uplifting. the man have a skill unrivalled by anyone we know for pointing the way to the latest musical trend, his sound of now being what he calls “nu-funk”, an infectious blend of disco, latin, electro, progressive & tribal that gets those feet tapping, hips swaying & bodies gyrating to the incredible energy the tracks enthuse, he being quoted as saying of this unique blend of sounds “..I love music, any kind of music, I love music, just as long as it’s groovin...”. However, away from his passion that is music, Mr Nicholls keeps himself very busy indeed, in fact his exhaustive schedule includes web design, scene writing & promotion and even practicing the energy therapy “Reiki”, a philosophy he holds very dear and carries considerable weight in his well being. So, with all that on his plate you would think he would hardly have enough time to get into the recording studio, but he does & with alarming regularity too, having amassed over 18 compilations last year & already having laid down 8 this year (its only May!), his latest dedicated to his upcoming gig at The London Global Dance Festival, when he will dazzle the VIP crowd at The White Party Reception this Sunday (30th May). A glorious collection of over 30 mixed & remixed tracks spread across two compilations, his “White Party VIP Mix” has had us hooked from start to finish, whether it be “Halo”, “Take Me Back”, “La La La Land”, “Hey Hey” or the brilliant “Back On Black”, this is just over two hours of unadulterated “nuFunk” (it even has the best version of our theme tune “Music Is The Answer” blending into “Release Me” stunningly!) and you can get your own copy right here by going to http://speedyshare.com/883139966.html, copies of this & his previous works also available to stream at http://djbrentnicholls.com/music, otherwise make sure you grab your VIP ticket and savour some Brent brilliance on Sunday, we know where we will be.

But hot on Brent’s tails and also flying the White Party Miami flag at LGDF is yet another internationally renowned D.J. that has a glittering C.V. that more than matches the White Party credentials and he even has White in his name! It is, of course, Fabio White, an endearing & enchanting Italian that has had music in his blood & running through his veins since he was a tiny tot, although hit the big time in 1991 when he landed a slot on Italy’s national dance radio station Kiss Kiss network, which soon got him noticed across the European airwaves, seeing the passionate Mr White landing in London and playing out at Spectrum Radio. This opened a veritable feast of doors in the capital, not least the then very vogue Heaven club, The Fridge in Brixton, & The End, which led onto guest slots at clubs that have included Crash, Action, & CocoLatte. And it was London rather than Italy that gave Fabio the major springboard into Europe, which has seen him play at clubs & events such as Barcelona’s “Love Ball” & “Circuit Festival, Paris’s “Red Light” & “Queen” Amsterdam’s “Canal Parade” Copenhagen’s “Pride”, Rome’s “Muccaassassina” Cologne’s , “CSD Colour Festival” and Brussels’ “La Demence” to mention a mere few.

Along the way Mr White has mixed with the crème of the celebrity scene, a perfect example being when he played at the massive Life Ball in Vienna back in 2005, which was the biggest AIDS charity event in the world at that time, an event that was televised across the world and attracted stars like Sir Elton John, Liza Minelli & Donatella Versace, so is no stranger to the big stage & large scale events that have since seen him become part of the huge Hustlaball event in Berlin and, of course The White Party in Miami. However, aside from his D.J.ing Mr White has also dabbled in the club promotions game and will be best known to gAylisters in London for bringing the fabulous event “Rome” to the capital, a series of first class & sophisticated affairs that took place at the super swish CC Club in Piccadilly and literally blew us away when we visited, the good looking & glamorous crowd matching the equally sumptuous surroundings and gorgeous dancers, “Rome” based on the concept of delivering top quality production with a distinct Italian class & Flavour, five sell-out parties being the talk of the town at the time.

Apart from all that, Mr White also gets into the recording studio from time to time and lays down productions which have included “Oh You” which was a chart topping hit in UK & European dance charts, as well as recording compilations of his live sets wherever he plays. He has even laid down a compilation devoted to the massive circuit festival at Miami’s Noche Blanca, Fabio being right in the heat of the action at the weeklong event last November, celebrating the 25th anniversary of The White Party and is very reflective of his eclectic yet uplifting house music style, that draws very much on electronic influences but with powerful progressive undertones, Fabio remarking that “...I have a passion for exploring music to develop a blend of sophisticated melodies, creating a journey of powerful energy...”. And you can get your slice of this impressive energy not just through his compilations, which include that 25th Anniversary mix, a “House Classics comp, as well as live mixes from La Demence, Rapido & Hustlaball, which are available at http://podomatic.com/profile/fabiowhite, but by making sure you make LGDF on 30th May at Fire a date, heading for the Lightbox where the fabulous Fabio will be representing The White Party, you know where to be!

So, whilst you are no obliged to wear white at The London Global Dance Festival, we certainly recommend you sample a bit of White, whether it be masterminded by Mr Fabio White in The Lightbox or being lapped up in the luxury of Brent Nicholls’ sounds at the VIP reception, The White Party Miami should definitely be a part of your LGDF roster and in these two D.J.’s you couldn’t ask to be in more capable hands. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "German Gems" LGDF Special Post

2010-05-25T08:03:00.003+01:00

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)

Music Is The Answer - "Red Hot Russians" - LGDF Special Post

2010-05-22T19:37:00.002+01:00

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“RED HOT RUSSIANS”

With our clubbing focus switching from France to Russia and looking at Propaganda, which hosts a gay night each Sunday, we also move our D.J. focus to the same country and look at two stars that will be landing in London on 30th May, to represent the club at the London Global Dance Festival (LGDF). However, whilst Russia is definitely an emerging ecomony and Moscow an emerging city to the western world, un-earthing these two talents history has been quite tricky, yet the results are quite revealing and given this, their involvement in LGDF is probably the most anticipated of any of the 30 or so talents.

First up is Dimytro Ivanov, known behind the decks as Tin Rotter, or simply D.J. Tin, who is probably considered as one of the biggest names in the Russian D.J./Producer game, although his career in the industry only spans three years or so, but during that time he has made a huge impact on the scene, particularly in capital, where he has secured residencies at clubs that include Chapurinbar, Discoteque & Matinee Moscow, but predominantly at the major player in the clubbing market there, Propaganda which has established an international reputation and through his residency, has propelled Tim onto the world stage. Other regular appearances have included Litchcock, Justo Bandouche, Ikra, Muar, Moloto where he continues to play, but has also featured in Pacha parties when they have visited the city, but Tin also spread his word across a handful of other Moscow clubs and also at the famed Central Station in St Petersburg.

Being part of the core team at Propaganda, Tin has played with some of the industry’s biggest D.J. names that have taken guest slots at the club, which have included Axwell,, David Penn, Mark Night & D Ramirez, while on the Sunday, when the club runs it’s gay night, he rubs shoulders with names such as Paul Heron, Danny Verde, Steven Redant, & Mickey Friedman, all who have taken guest slots there. However, away from the D.J. decks, Tin dives into the recording studio and not only puts together compilations on a virtual monthly basis, a whole series of mixes that evoke his main musical style of tech house which he labels with the titles “Dirty” & “Night” and extend to offerings that include “Berlin”, “Summer”, “Love” & even “Disco”, or at least his slant on it anyway, which he releases in podcast format and are available through http://tin.promodj.ru/, his latest “Dirty Disco” mix also available at http://soundcloud.com/tinrotter/dirty-disco-mix-2010-02.

However, his most recent work on a bootleg track called “El Paso” has seen him dive a little deeper into tinges of techno, a genre that he loves to experiment with, while back behind the decks, Tin’s residency at the newish Moscow club Discoteque will see him perform alongside stars of the music industry that will include Rebeka Brown, Freddie Le Grande & Belocca and having recently returned to Russia from a short trip to Egypt, where he played at club Little Budha in Sharm El Sheikh, Tin certainly now has the appetite to extend his wings beyond his native land. So much so, that he is very much looking forward to making his debut in London and his distinctive tech house sound will give the LGDF festival a distinctive dimension as he, together with Tony Key, takes charge of the Propaganda room, this club being one of the oldest and most popular nightclubs in Moscow. Evocative of the rich & cultural style that has become the by word for the scene in this Russian capital, Propaganda attracts the famous, the rich, whether they be artists, musicians, journalists or designers, especially when the club gives way to its gay night and Tin is excited to be part of that at LGDF.

Our other focus goes to Tony Key, who has developed his D.J’ing & production career from his home country of Russia and being based in the capital city has been recognised as a shining star and one of the best artists within the rich clubbing scene that Moscow enjoys and has been a resident of the ultra trendy and western style club Propaganda, for their gay night on Sunday’s for well over five years, stamping his individual style of music on a very impressionable yet stylish crowd that fashionable club attracts. Having been passionate about house music since an early age, Tony’s collection of all sorts of genres is extensive and throughout his time involved in the music industry has experimented with various aspects of house music from underground, through techno to tribal and onto euro & Us style sounds, the latter being a particular passion of his, which has seen him travel to The States on many occasions. During such trips, Tony has played at several Winter Music conferences in Miami, has been a guest to the special Satellite parties in New York, as well as being invited to play at numerous after parties during Fashion weeks in both New York & Miami.

Back in Russia and Tony’s name is intrinsically connected with the development of the club culture that Moscow benefits from today and together with D.J. Andrei Shuskukin, laid on parties across the city that had a distinct American & New York feel to them, running these events from clubs like Leks, 16 Tons, Territory & Gerzen. However, this was still in the days when Russia was pulling itself out of the massive police style state that the by word of the former Soviet Union, so the crowd that were prepared to indulge in what would, under the old regime of the country would be deemed as inappropriate activity, was pretty limited, although the movement Tony started, which he called “good lookin’ peoples group” gained popularity & momentum as the fashion conscious & trendy end of the social fabric of the city felt the freedom to express themselves. Mr Key also pioneered a unique music hire store on Barikadnaya metro station during the 90’s, which provided all kinds of electronic & techno music to a captive audience and he can be noted for founding & becoming a joint owner of an agency called “ Moscow Underground D.J’s” and through his production work launched an independent record label called “Appetite Music” which has supported over 15 of his compilation releases which includes titles “Chinatown”, Vanilla Ninja” & “Sunrise” although many were simply available as promotions rather than commercial releases.

Tony remains at the centre of activity with Propaganda and continues move with the times, often experimenting with new & exciting sounds that don’t necessarily follow a trend but rather creates his own style, fusing a blend of different house genres that will undoubtedly bring a unique flavour, not just to LGDF, but to the Propaganda room where he will feature alongside Tin Rotter. So, if it’s a big slice of Russian musical magic you are after, then the lounge room at Fire on Sunday 30th May will be the place to be and we will certainly be grabbing our wedge of the action. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Fun Filled French" - LGDF Special

2010-05-20T07:25:00.002+01:00

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
“FUN FILLED FRENCH”

Well, we have just taken a preview look at two French club/outfits that will be flying the tricolore for the country, so now it’s time to focus on two massive D.J. talents that will be doing just the same, one that will be representing Paris based club brand Scream at the London Global Dance Festival (LGDF) and the other, a gorgeous Frenchman through & through, that will be stirring plenty of emotions, raising the spirits (and a few other things) as well as supporting the latest LGDF sponsor, Pleasure X. Now, one of these guys is no stranger to our posts here, while we are thrilled to focus on the other and can’t wait to meet him in the flesh.

First up is Ben Manson, an accomplished D.J. who has established his career & reputation in his native country France & his home city of Paris, where he short of made himself a household name with the city’s clubbing fraternity, a longstanding position within the Walkgroup organisation seeing him land as residency at the massive club party Scream, as well as other spots in Paris that include Mix Club & Cafe Con Leche, all pretty much testament to the fact that he is so well known in his home city, adding to his repertoire of D.J. performances and appearances outside of France. And such is his talent that Ben is in demand right across Europe, with guest slots that have included Drama in Vienna, Nightkomm in Cologne, Souvenir in Barcelona & even Space in Ibiza, and such is his talent that he has been invited to play at some of Europe’s biggest parties, including La Demence in Brussels, The Circuit Festival in Barcelona, Gorgeous I Am in Rome & Panic Room in Cologne. But while Europe may be an oyster for Ben, his travels have also seen him play as far away as Montreal, Rio De Janiero & San Paulo and upcoming gigs will include playing at Fly Club in Toronto & Parking in Montreal although it is fair to say his hub is always France & indeed Paris, where he not only D.J’s but has a weekly radio show on FG DJ Radio.

Add to all that his works in the studio and Ben is certainly a talented individual, a whole host of track releases often climbing up D.J. and other music download charts, he working closely with Teo Moss on many of his remix works, that include D.J Chus’ “That Feeling”, The Free Radicals’ “Reign”, Freddy Marquez’s “Feel You”, Leo Blanco & Santy Lafonte’s “Stay Tonight” as well as their very own track “From Hell To Paradise”, which showcases Ben’s talents in this field,. However, he doesn’t restrict his studio work to singles releases and has recently produced his “Spring 2010 Session” compilation, available at http://soundclound.com/ben-manson-music/ben-manson-spring-2010-session, a glorious 80 minutes of music that includes fabulous tracks from David Penn, Pagano, Pablo Kopanos & Dennis Ferrer, among a whole host of others and which is a typical example of the Manson style, a unique blend of electronic & tribal beats with vocal undertones a touch of minimal sounds, but also ingredients of tech, progressive & a smidge of techno that certainly give not just this mix, but his sets a distinctive feel & direction.

And talking of his sets, Ben continues to go down a storm at Scream in Paris, a club that was the brainchild of David Guetta & Ludo Menard back in 1996, but has seen it develop into one of France’s largest gay parties, attracting thousands from within the country as well as from overseas, not to mention pulling in some of the industry’s biggest D.J. names including Chris Cox, Hector Fonseca, Victor Calderone, Peter Rauhoffer & Offer Nissam, as well as hosting live acts that have included Lady Gaga, Rebeka Brown, Ultra Nate & Giovanna. Mr Manson will be an intrinsic part of the Scream presence at LGDF, this massive French clubbing brand certainly earning its place within the festival, not least as it is probably one of the only French clubs that spreads its word beyond its shores, destinations for its special parties including Madrid, Barcelona, Cologne and now, of course, London and with Ben being their prime resident D.J., he simply had to be included.

Our other focus goes to the drop dead gorgeous Leomeo and if there is a D.J. that is unmistakably French yet has deep veins of his global travelling running through his body, it is Leomeo, there being few that can boost both his whirlwind lifestyle and destination repertoire that has seen this very amiable and handsome young man inspired by music from a tender age, also drawing his eclectic style from experiences during his travels, especially across Asia. However, his tastes were first developed when maturity allowed a young Leomeo to explore the clubbing scene in his home city Paris, drawing influences from the legendary David Guetta & also Laurent Garnier, often observing & admiring their techniques behind the decks as he partied away in clubs like “Le Boy” and Le Palace”. So, it was inevitably that we would soon find himself spinning discs too, but in a period of his life when he decided to up sticks from France & head for the pulsating pace of Singapore, using it as a springboard to not only enrich his culture, venturing across to Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, China Vietnam & back again, a real highlight being when he played in front of 8000 revellers at Singapore’s “Nation Party”.

But Europe was always going to draw him back and at residency at “Le Bains-Douche” in Paris proved a solid base for a host of circuit parties around the continent, including dance music brand Hed Kandi, & Space Of Sound, as well as more regular gigs in both London for “Discotec” & in Rome for “Gorgeous I Am”, also making a name for himself with a full summer season in Ibiza & then fulfilling requests to play as far afield as Montreal & New York, to Moscow & Tel Aviv, with plenty of places in between, Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Cologne, Madrid & Prague as well as back in Paris. Other career highlights have included his D.J.’ing presence at Kylie Minogue’s perfume launch party & the afterparty for Pierre & Giles’s 30th anniversary exhibition at “Jeu De Paume” in the French capital, not to mention a magnificent reception & amazing performance at Greenkomm’s New Year’s Eve celebration. Away from his live D.J’ing, Leomeo still cuts a stride on France’s music radio station Radio FG, his “Underground FG” show getting a twice monthly slot, receiving a healthy audience and he gets into the recording studio as much as he can as well, a whole collection of mix compilations representative of his vast array of musical styles which include electro, progressive, tribal, tech & vocal house, this talented individual often navigating through these different genres to great effect.

Dependant on where he is playing or the influences he gains from his travels , this very much dictates his style, whether it be through his “soft” , “energetic” or “pleasurable” mix series, a selection of which can be found at http://soundcloud.com/djleomeo which includes two amazing extracts from his sets playing for Matinee in Paris. But he also cuts track singles and his release “The New Sound Of C” is a fantastically uplifting & funky electro piece that is destined to be a huge dancefloor hit this spring/summer and his latest, “Give Me Love”, has already been given the remix treatment by Pagano, Aurel Devil & Javier Medina. But while Leomeo is very proud of his studio work, his insatiable appetite for travel continues to draw him out into the limelight & away from home, recent trips including to Australia for Sydney’s Mardi Gras festival, which allowed him to drop in on his beloved Singapore & Bangkok, as well as hitting the snowy slopes of Tignes for the European Gay Ski Week, playing out at the fabulous pool party and with gigs, underpinning his reputation & in demand style. So, with this energetic & talented Frenchman included in the LGDF line up, Leomeo will not only be bringing his incredible good looks to the party, proving a real eye candy attraction, but his skills behind the decks, not least for hip hopping through his genre’s of choice will definitely keep his captive audience on their toes & ensure a rip roaring performance.

So, there will definitely be a serious helping of sensational French sounds to tickle your fancies at LGDF and we will definitely be sampling more than just snippets of both Ben & especially Mr Leomeo at the main event on Sunday 30th May and recommend you do too. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer "Ibiza Ignites London" - LGDF Special Post

2010-05-19T08:32:00.004+01:00

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER
LONDON GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL
THE FACE OF IBIZA

Welcome to the second in our special series looking at the D.J.’s (and in this case also the performers) that will be gracing the massive London Global Dance Festival (LGDF) at the end of the month, our focuses aiming to give you an insight into the international stars that will be getting into the capital to both represent their club brands and showcase the music & visuals that characterise their outfits. So, in association with our latest “preview” post, we focus here on two individuals that will be representative of new clubbing brand The Face Of Ibiza when it takes LGDF by storm on 30th May.

First up is D.J. Oliver who is more often than not labelled “the face of Ibiza” although he was actually born in Barcelona and it was here where he built the foundations of his D.J.’ing career and position within the music industry, although his studying of technical lighting & production was the source of his first job in Ibiza. However before he made tracks to the white isle, Oliver would D.J. at private parties in Barcelona, also securing a residency at the iconic Las Ramblas club Moog, which was the foundation for his springboard to Ibiza, when he secured a position as a light engineer at Privilege which soon got him noticed and it was when he was taken on at Amnesia that his life changed forever and he was thrown into the spotlight. It was at this iconic club in Ibiza that Oliver created not just the legendary terrace, but was also at the forefront of the launch of party La Troya Asesnia which is now one of the most successful party nights at Space, which resulted in scores of awards from various industry magazines & bodies across Spain, Oliver topping D.J. Magazines best Ibiza D.J. poll four years in a row and is still considered as the most accomplished & recognised talent across the isle. Building his reputation also included a number of televised appearances, including on MTV and many of the Spanish music stations, as well as starring in a special news post on Ibiza broadcast right across Spain. And it is this sort of exposure that has seen him dip his toe into the world of film too, a real highlight being the inclusion of Oliver’s works on the score & theme tune composition for the Oscar award winning movie “Mediterraneo” by the prestigious Italian director Gabriele Salvatore, gaining him real recognition, as well as the National Geographic calling upon many of his chill-out themes for their programming, his track “Sa Talaia” being of particular note. His production background has allowed Oliver to express his skills through a whole series of compilation works in the studio, “La Troya Asesina” and “Ibiza Sessions Deluxe” being of particular note, his mix albums being released on record labels such as Azuli, Defected & Addicted, but it is the worldwide sales of his album “Blanco Y Negro- The House Of Funk” that have seen the most success of all. Working with long standing friend Roger Sanchez in 2004 on mega hit “Mysteriosa” is yet another accolade he can add to his sparkling C.V. and with recent exposure on Pete Tong’s Radio One show here in the U.K. D.J. Oliver is definitely a name to conjure with. Whenever he gets the chance, Oliver tours across North & South America as well as Europe & Asia and can count on his appearances at privilege parties in Rio and guest slots at Queen in Paris, & Pacha in London, as some of his favourite, although he has certainly spread the Oliver musical word in the USA including Miami, Los Angeles & San Francisco, in Italy, Germany, Holland and virtually every major city & town in Spain as well as on most of its islands, including Majorca, Tenerife & Lanzarotte. But Ibiza remains his focus, where his hard hitting euro style tech & electro sound makes him the most sought after D.J. throughout the summer season, so it goes without say that throughout the LGDF festival, Oliver will be representing special club area “The Face Of Ibiza” which is a new Saturday night party at Privilege on the white isle, this concept the brainchild of Oliver (along with Baby Marcello), the name of the club inspired & taken straight from the label he has was given by the ardent followers of his work. To get a flavour of this man’s music style and work, check out his official website http://djoliver.com/.

Our other devotion goes to the larger than life character that is Baby Marcelo who remains very much the face of La Troya, the amazing club night that was the brainchild of close friend D.J. Oliver which took Ibiza Wednesday’s by storm and threw Baby Marcello, along with Oliver, into the white isle clubbing scene limelight. Often labelled as the rule breaking & ironical character of La Troya, for a while adopting the name as his own, Baby Marcello is still considered as one of the best known icons across the Balearics & his face is instantly recognisable with all the “La Troya” branding that stretches right around the globe, being renowned for his androgynous, trash-baroque & wholly female masquerades, often using stilts and through his breathtaking make-over’s, thus astonishing and amazing his audience. Of Italian decent, he has always had a sense of theatre in his blood and knew that this would be a large part of his life from an early age, so inevitably fell into this world, studying first as a mime artist and then as a contemporary dancer in his native Rome, followed by several years working in the theatre, where he became not just involved with mime, but appeared in a whole varieties of plays & operas which allowed him to express his overt & artistic side, working under Italy’s finest directors that include Franco Zeffirelli & Mauro Bolognini , as well as boasting a host of appearances & performances at various fashion shows, the most notable being one laid on especially for Kylie Minogue. But when he choreographed & acted on a music video project for Virgin records, Baby Marcelo realised his potential within the music and clubbing scene, which soon lead to him concentrating on producing his own tracks, released over the last few years including “Trabajame”, “Alegria”, Caliente” and “DiscoBaby”, all having that delightful combination of electro & disco beats with big drag queen-esque vocals, he even collaborating with DJ Oliver on two tracks titled “Rimo Pornografica” & “Revolucionaria” both very evocative of baby Marcello’s style & glamour. His base in Ibiza & his popularity there allows him to express himself without the constraints of conformity although he is becoming known right across the globe as he is completing a massive tour throughout Europe, The US, Brazil & Australia with his close friend & record collaborative partner, promoting their new venture The Face Of Ibiza, which is the new smash of Ibiza in iconic club Privilege every Saturday through the summer season. The tour started back in December 2008 and has currently touched Bari & Ferrara in Italy, Moscow, Lyon, Miami, Rio & even Morocco & Egypt, the next port of call being Bilbao but will also include New York, Milan, San Paolo, Barcelona, Rome Madrid & Dubai, on dates yet to be announced, but with such exposure this concept in clubbing looks set to be a worldwide success, securing Baby Marcelo’s position as a prolific & iconic face of Ibiza. And part of this immense tour will be LGDF, when The Face Of Ibiza will land in London, represented by the combo of D.J. Oliver & Baby Marcelo, spreading its glamorous & fresh new word. The specially dedicated room will see Baby Marcello perform along with others that will be evocative of the new club, all appropriately dressed in costumes to thrill, adding a real touch of theatre to proceedings and will no doubt be a massive draw for those that crave a little dramatic excitement. Whilst Baby Marcelo is primarily a performance artist, his voice is inextricably attached to The Face Of Ibiza theme and to get a sample of this sound, check out his website at http://babymarcelo.com/.

We are certainly looking forward to seeing the combo of D.J. Oliver & Baby Marcelo performing close up & personal at LGDF and there is no doubt The Face Of Ibiza room will be a special place to be on 30th May. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Italian Stars Storm London" - LGDF Special Post

2010-05-17T21:16:00.007+01:00

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)

Music Is The Answer - "Breathtaking Beyond" - Special Post

2010-05-09T19:01:00.003+01:00

“BREATHTAKING BEYOND”
MUSIC IS THE ANSWER - SPECIAL POST
SUNDAY 9TH MAY

On a weekend when the outside world seems dominated by volcanos, oil spills, economic disasters & political dramas, what better way to escape than listen to some fabulous music and indeed what better way to do it than visiting probably one of London’s, nay, the countries, best afterhours parties, Beyond.

Conceived back in 2001, this club quickly acquired a solid reputation for mesmeric music, treating massive clubbing crowds that made weekly homage’s to its then home Colloseum, listening to D.J.’s like David Jiminez, Alan X, Brent Nicholls, Paul Heron & Steve Pitron, to mention a few, the club even overtaking the then dominant Trade, in the popularity stakes. Through a series of changes, not just in hands but in venues, Beyond, in its latest incarnation across Vauxhall in Area, has close on attained legendary status, packing out the club week in week out, standing proud as THE place to be on a Sunday morning, often working out as an afterparty to many of the major club brands, but also being just as strong alone, whether it be regular parties or its extended “Belief” sessions. And recent collaborations have also seen this audacious afterhours go from strength to strength, proving just why it deserved the award winning accolades from clubbing website SeenQueen and scene magazine Boyz.

But for all the magnificent people involved directly in the club, from promoter Steven Sharp, through hosts Naomi & Tom, through the whole team who deliver that superb Area magic of tip top lighting, production, pyrotechnics & visuals, there can be no doubt that it is the team of resident D.J.’s & guests who make Beyond so special, so in the second specially dedicated post, we look at three superb talents, one that has been part of the residency team right from the outset, the next a young talent who always packs them in and a third who chalks up his second appearance in three weeks, all who have tremendous new compilations out.

So, where do we start? Well at the beginning is usually a good place and someone who was there at the beginning was the legendary Steve Pitron, probably for us THE face of Beyond and a D.J. that still commands a huge following nine years down the road, packing out Area’s main room in his virtually customary slot of 9 till 11 a.m. each Sunday. Steve, it has to be said, is a reasonable regular in our slots here, but is so well deserving of the exposure as he never fails to delight us, not just with his magnificent mix compilations, but live behind the decks, from the heady & happy days of Crash, through the early days of this mega afterhours at Colloseum, then at special parties including Ultra & Universe, as well as outside Pride events both in London & Brighton, Steve has been there for them all. More recently he was a lynch pin to the success of Juicy, has performed spectacularly at the super sized parties for Logan Presents, he being a real favourite of the crowds at SuperMartXe, both at The Coronet & The 02 Academy, packs in the punters at Orange bank holiday specials and remains a tour de force at many of the group’s events, as well as at the Trade/Orange combo parties that were so successful in 2009. But it is Beyond where Steve really seems to stretch his legs, where he tends to pull those stupendously awe inspiring sets out and we have simply lost count the amount of times he has thrilled & amazed us with his prolific performances. Whilst Steve very much selects the tunes of now and some that others may also be playing, there is something quite magical about what he does with them, where he places them in his stints behind the decks and the reactions he gets from his superbly timed selections, that sets him aside from his peers. And it is this magic that has cemented his legendary status in our eyes, meaning that, for us, there are only a handful of D.J.’s that come close to matching his skills & talents, both live & otherwise. So when he occasionally gets into the studio, his compilation work always gets incredible attention, his latest release being a perfect example and for good reason, as it is a collection of 28 terrific tracks, very much in the Pitron style and marking another album in his “Ibiza” series and a clue that this incredible summer season is just around the corner. Steve describes his mix as not just “...a little something to get you all thinking of the sunshine & the summer that lies ahead...”, but also dedicates the mix to a whole host of people involved in London’s biggest & best afterhours, but most importantly to “...everyone who comes to Beyond every week...” and we are sure plenty more besides. Right from the off, this is yet again classic Pitron personified with heaps of fresh new sounds that are so evocative of his sound, whether it be “My Life Is Music” or the brilliant “Chakalaka”, the vocal drenched & poptastic house works of “Make My Heart” & “Acapella”, the deeper beats of “Automatic” & “This Kind Of Love” or the truly uplifting sounds of “Dance The Light” & “Release Me”, each track choice on this mix has Steve’s style written all over it and we think it’s one of his best yet. So to get your slice of the this legend in action check out “Ibiza Opening Fiestas 2010 – Early Check In” now at http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com/ and like us not jut revel in its brilliance but transport yourself right to the heart of the Beyond main room in his magnificent hands. And just before we move on, watch out later in this post for a mention of Steve’s latest track conquest which looks set to be a huge hit.

Well, how can we follow that? In a good way actually as we were pleased as punch when news hit our desks that a new compilation release was planned by a young talent that caught our eye from the minute we heard him play in The Terrace Room at Beyond and has subsequently entertained us at a handful of later parties as well as Orange outings. However, in truth, Terry Bryan has been delighting audiences for far longer, being one of the jewels in The Orange Group crown and having played out at most of their club branded parties, whether it be those appearances at the Sunday afternoon audacity Later, the Monday morning madness of Orange, the Thursday gyroscopic gathering that is Gravity, or the now too rare an occasion that he kicks off Beyond with his brilliance. And Terry got into D.J.’ing at a very tender age (well he is still a babe in arms!) being drawn into the charms of Fire and before he could blink, found himself playing in amongst some of the scenes biggest D.J. stars and playing out virtually weekly, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Paul Martin, The Oli, Gonzalo Rivas, The Sharp Boys & Alan K. But as much as Terry draws some influences from these talents, he has a distinctive style of his own, every set he plays full of incredible dynamism & energy that definitely sets him aside from his peers. His musical choices & style range from deep percussive house through trance & electro beats but with vocals being central to virtually every record he plays, not in the pop style but definitely more house honed medleys that make the tracks he plays irresistible to dance to, whether it be opening sets or closing stunners, Terry’s infectious sounds always ensure the dancefloor is crammed to capacity wherever he plays. We can definitely speak for both his talents & his following, judging from spectacular performances at Later just three weeks ago, when he kept our weary legs more than going virtually right to the end at 8 p.m. and at Orange’s huge Hustlaball afterparty last weekend, when he treated us to a peach of a performance in the new Raw room. And in his latest Spring 2010 compilation mix, entitled “Music Is Life – Life Without Music Isn’t Just Right", he shares a selection of superb tunes that scream his sound right from the off, 69 minutes of electro, tech infused trance & vocal tinged hard hitting house that will have you hooked right till the last beat of the final track and is an absolute MUST addition to your collection, this brilliant piece of work available to listen & download at http://terrybryan.podomatic.com/ and we absolutely love it!!

Our final full-on devotion goes to a man that has been held responsible for leading us astray on countless occasions, but no surprise, as the music he plays is absolutely magnificent and, as you know, we love our music. From the minute we heard him play in Barcode we knew that Nick Tcherniak had considerable talent behind the decks and indeed many a club has seen it too, the man having racked up a whole host of clubs and events, whether it be for Trade at the Egg, at MOS or in the recent Trade/Orange alliances, with DTPM at Fabric & more recently at The Paramount, The Roof Gardens & Jalouse, with Fiction at the infamous Cross & at the huge return event at The Driver, through to those many appearances at Barcode, as well at slots for Matinee at Colloseum & most recently at The Fridge, not to mention stellar performances at SuperMartXe, yes Mr Nick has stamped his mark on most of the biggies on the gAylist clubbing circuit. But he also dips his foot into the metrosexual clubbing waters too and is just as comfortable playing to straight or mixed audiences as to outright gay ones, his musical style transcending the scenes remarkably and in some ways creating a link that few others can achieve. And unlike many D.J.’s that simply pack up their bags & head home after a gig, Nick can often be found partying with the best of us afterwards, enjoying a boogie as much as the next man, much to the appreciation of his audience and is a fine attribute indeed, although like so many accomplished & successful talents, he works hard to play hard. Away from the clubs and Nick is passionate about his weekly radio show, which goes out every Saturday on Push.FM, in which he showcases the latest tunes about to hit the dancefloor in his hands & others, this being a great medium to get into his style of grove. Then there is his accomplishments in the studio, which are just as prolific as his D.J.’ing, Nick having formed successful working relationships with both Steve Thomas & Jason Gardiner (creating the combo White Knights) and a whole string or releases have resulted, many making the big time and included in the playlists of the top D.J. names in the industry. But it doesn’t stop there as he tirelessly works on superb compilation releases, whether they be part of his regular releases or those dedicated to special club events that he plays at, all evoking his very tech & progressive fuelled hard hitting yet melodic & meaningful house that occasionally gets the funky & electro tainted twist to keep you on your toes. So when Nick was named as part of the massive line up when Beyond combined forces with Trade to create “The Event”, he marked the occasion with a recording lifted direct from his live set in The Blackbox at Area and the result is two hours of terrific Tcherniak at his tech & Trade best and as he so aptly says to all listeners of this masterpiece, “...For all the Trade babies out there, enjoy the journey...” And what a journey it is and we cannot recommend enough that you join this trip fantastic by downloading his “Trade Beyond – The Event” mix which you can grab now at http://nicktcherniak.podomatic.com/.

Now we promised we would run down on a few other links to compilations recorded in honour of Beyond and what a handful we have for you, including the latest offering from Hifi Sean Dickson, one of those resident regulars that always takes it deep & progressive but yet reserves a spot for us under the mirrorball, his devotion well worth a listen and addition to your collection at http://hifisean.podomatic.com/.

Harping back to the early days of Beyond at Colloseum, one talent that always saw the main room pumping right till the end was Alan X and seeing him perform at Orange-Hustla” last weekend reminded us of those good old days. So we were thrilled to find, that in true Alan style, he has laid down two compilation mixes, encapsulating those classic beyond moments, which are just superb and available at http://djalanx.podomatic.com/.

Another resident that always hits our sweet spot is Mikey D, the man that has been responsible for some of the biggest and best sets we have heard at Beyond and he is definitely one that gives Mr Pitron a run for his money. Suffice to say, the two have played back-to-back and have also produced compilations together, although Mikey’s rarely get a look in, but are just as, if not sometimes more deserving. So overlook them no more and grab yours at http://mikeyd.podomatic.com/.

Next is one of our favourite mixes of 2010 and a real corker, marking his first set back at Beyond since those brilliant days in the VIP room at Colloseum. Brent Nicholls was part of the D.J. team when Italian club Pervert joined forces with beyond to rock Area back in March and this mix is drenched in his “nu-funk” style of sounds with old meets new in a string or re-worked classics that you will simply love. Brent’s “Beyond Pervert” which you can stream at http://djbrentnicholls.com/music.

But no Beyond music post would be complete without including multi mixing maestro Alan K, who has really hit a purple patch at Beyond, ensuring like his Alan predecessor, that Beyond’s main room remains packed right till the last minutes every Sunday afternoon and we have become increasing witnesses to the amazing atmosphere he creates through his unique sounds combining two sometimes, three tracks to deliver unforgettable combo’s that keep hoards of revellers coming back for more. Check out all his Beyond devoted mixes at http://djalank.podomatic.com/.

Now, we just have time to squeeze in that news about Steve Pitron’s latest track release and what a brilliant one it is too. Back in the studio and with compatriot Max Sanna, Steve has re-worked Grace Jones’s new single “Love You To Life” which was released in the week at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/love-you-to-life-ep/id367856217, their mix part four in the five track EP release and for us a superb re-work that we really rate and are sure that it will become a feature across dancefloors & in D.J’s playlists very soon, so is well worth checking out.

Right, that’s it for this second Beyond special music post, but just like the club, which keeps coming back for more and getting better & better, we are sure that a third and fourth post will follow, so watch this space. In the meantime, get yourselves in the Beyond mood and check out all our choices.

xDM

Music Is The Answer "Barcode Beauties"

2010-05-09T10:19:00.002+01:00

Hey Folks,

Having devoted a fair amount of time to some special music posts, “Hustlaball’s” out last week and the second “Beyond” devotion due out a little later, we thought we would squeeze in a focus on two D.J.’s & their works that caught our eyes a while back & deserve more than a mention. Plus we will give a nod to a latest track release by one of our favourite Scandinavian’s, who continues to be very busy in the recording studio.

First up is a man who manages to squeeze in his D.J’ing between a hectic social & work life, although with music pretty central to his life, he truly loves his vocation behind the decks. D.J. Saki may well be better know to you as the magnificent Manager of Barcode Vauxhall, and hardly a visit of ours goes by without seeing him at the helm of this most popular venue south of the river. However, Saki has also, during his time both at Barcode and previous positions at Rupert Street in Soho, slowly developed his skills for spinning discs, although his penchant for the art stretches much further back, having dabbled at the tender age of 14 when he entered a competition, which gave him the push he needed to pursue his passion. And this hard work, particularly in recent years, has borne considerable fruit, not only in securing gigs in his own backyard, Barcode, but has seen him spread his wings, becoming a feature of many Matinee parties, both at Colloseeum and at Cable, carding some truly prolific performances over in London Bridge, where his funky electro and tech tainted sounds worked extremely well in the very popular middle space. But it doesn’t just stop at Barcode & Matinee, as Saki is now also part of the residents team for Lovechild, featuring at most of their recent parties in Fire and has also played his part at the massive success of 2010, “As One”, while yet another residency in the Saki portfolio of places is Suzi Krueger’s sporting sexual sidekick to Hard On!, “Sweat”, which takes place monthly at the uber swish Sweatbox up in central London, Saki being the stable force of the musical madness along with scene favourite Brent Nicholls. But it is fair to say that Barcode takes up a sizeable chunk of his devotions and Saki is really proud to be part of what has to be one of THE success stories of Vauxhall and as a measure of his pride in the place, is his commitment to promoting the venue, not least with his very own night, aptly named “Sunday’s At Barcode”, which has slowly re-captured the kind of fabulous feeling of the first weeks & months of its opening, when the space was packed out with people not wanting their weekends to end. Saki has built up a solid team of resident D.J.’s that include Steven Artis, Paul Coals, Gonzalo Rivas, & Danny MacDonald, but he has made recent additions that include Paul Heron, Mattias & Pagano, with, we are told more to come, plus with special signage & production, the night is really going places under his steership. Away from his hectic life you would think all that he would want to do is relax, however Saki also dives into the recording studio and his recent compilation is a typical example of his musical style & direction, progressive & funky with a tech/trance edge which he has dedicated to his own night at Barcode and is entitled “London House”, which you can grab for yourselves at http://djsaki.podomatic.com/ and is a worthy addition to any collection. As for the Greek born Mr Lidianos’s upcoming plans, well Barcode clearly remains a big part of his life, but he has plans to undertake a music production course soon, he continues to forage into other D.J.’ing projects/gigs that have included trips to Manchester, his residencies will see him playing at both “Sweat” & Lovechild’s “Loveball” next weekend and with much more to come, life in Saki land is just as busy as ever.

Our other talent focus goes to the fury friendly Paul Coals, who has been carving a career behind the decks for many years, playing his part in the very diverse scene in London, but also performing at a whole host of parties, both across Britain & internationally. Paul’s roots are firmly based in London and it is in the capital where he devotes most of his time behind the decks, playing at Barcode in both Vauxhall & Soho, for their regular nights as well as specialist clubs like “The Cave” & “Bearcode”, Paul also having links with various parties at Union (formerly Crash), for other club & specialist nights including “Scandal” at the Shadow Lounge and “Tonker” at the Eagle, as well as being involved in many of the big annual outdoor events, he being part of the massive “Milk In The Park” party last August. However it doesn’t just stop at London, as Paul often nips around the U.K., down to Bristol & up to Manchester & Birmingham, playing at various events for bear brand “Come To Daddy”, but it is the international gigs that Paul tends to get most excited about and for good reason, as he has been involved in some pretty big events that have included Antwerp’s massive Gay pride, encapsulating clubs like Navigation & fetish leather gathering “Falcomfair”, Paul also having played at The European Gay Ski week on behalf of giant international club brand Salvation, with whom he has significant connections. Indeed he has played at recent parties for the group, both in Germany & Sweden and will be a centre-piece of the team when it returns to London later this year, not to mention further tours planned for Europe & further afield. Describing Paul’s musical style is fairly tricky, as he has a great skill for judging his audience and then selecting his sounds appropriate to the feel & atmosphere, but overriding elements include deep funky and tech infused house, a direction that is best reflected through his podcast release at http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/paul-coals-podcast/id32090735o, although his ability to mix it up with more accessible vocal tinged & uplifting notes was superbly displayed when he played back-to-back with Industri resident Brent Nicholls at the Minty’s Easter social soiree this year. Over three hours of the duo’s live set was laid down for posterity in two volumes which can be streamed at http://djbrentnicholls.com/music and we challenge you to pick out Paul’s half hour slots within the mixes as the twosome really pulled off a something special that night, which was summed up superbly when Brent commented that “...the direction of the set could have gone anywhere...” but concluding that its resulted in “...two unique styles merging to create a new sound...the end result being an uplifting, funky and pumping house set...”. Paul’s year has continued in the vein of many before it, busy, busy, busy and just this weekend has seen him hold down six separate gigs, including stints at Barcode as well as playing for ladz club, “Rudeboiz” and with plenty of bookings ahead, not least being involved in the summer season in Ibiza, life is definitely looking good for this enigmatic & sociable D.J. talent.

Now, we promised to bring you news on a latest release from a favourite Swede of ours and who else could it be but the fantabulous Per Q.X., who tirelessly works in the studio to produce superb track mixes & remixes. His latest project entitled “The Groove”, which he worked on with fellow artist Rustem Rustem, has been selected by none other than Roger Sanchez as his “...essential tune...” on his weekly “Release Yourself” radio show and is well worth a listen at http://soundcloud.com/rustemrustem/the-groove-rogers-sanchezs-exclusive-tune-of-the-week and whilst the record is yet unsigned, with an endorsement like that, it is sure to be swooped up very soon.

Right, that’s about it for this post, but coming right up is a special look at the D.J’s & music of “Beyond”, focuses going to Terry Bryan, Steve Pitron & Nick Tcherniak, all who have new compilation mixes out there, we also nodding towards other brilliant beyond mixes which are must additions to your collection. Then for the rest of May, we are devoting our music posts to the crème of International talent that will be swooping in on the capital for the massive “London Global Dance Festival”, giving you the most comprehensive insight to their careers & providing links their music compilations and/or track releases.

But, in the meantime, we hope you like our choices here and all that’s left to say is, “kick back, select those tunes, turn up the volume and let the music play”.

xDM