"A Year Of Magical Music" - Music Is The Answer Special 2009 Review

A YEAR OF MAGICAL MUSIC
“MUSIC IS THE ANSWER” – SPECIAL EDITION REVIEW
31ST DECEMBER 2009


Well, what a year it has been for music, amidst one of the biggest global economic downturns, we have been privileged to witness not only some superb tracks, compilations but also scintillating sets for a whole host of D.J’s across gAylist/land London. So, this is our look back on 2009, with for us, MUSIC definitely being the answer.

So, where do we start?, Well, probably at the head of 2009, focussing on the years notable D.J. live sets, which kicked off with three parties & performances on New Year’s Day that were to influence our year in more ways than one, as Brent Nicholls, Nick Tcherniak & Paul Heron made an average Matinee good. And these three were set to lead us astray a plenty, with the central theme being Barcode, whether it be outings to Industri, to Soho or to Vauxhall, all three managed to play the sort of music & sets that had us in naughty moods & hedonistic happiness. Indeed, they failed to disappear from our radar all year, with sparkling performances from Paul at many a Matinee party, but especially at the May Bank Holiday event, Nick playing one of the great b2b sets of the year at Trade/Orange with Steve Thomas on August Bank Holiday, then repeating it at Trade’s 19th birthday bash, while Brent excelled even his high standards, first at Matinee’s August Bank Holiday spectacular, then again at “The Next Chapter”.

So, what about the rest, and believe us there are plenty to mention, although real highlights of the year have to be performances from Mikey D at Beyond (more than one), Jamie Head, both alone at Beyond & Profile Bar, but the simply amazing b2b set at Trade/Orange of theirs on August Bank Holiday. Then we have to mention Hi-Fi Sean for an absolutely stupendous set at Orange Summer of Love in May, Phil Hewson for entertaining us with an impeccable performance at Hustlaball and not forgetting the performances of Italian D.J./Producer Danny Verde, who’s career really took off in 2009 & his appearances at Matinee’s August Bank Holiday party & then “The Next Chapter” were real highlights. Other quick mentions have to go to Pagano, Alessandro, Fat Tony, Hugh Stevenson, Steven Artis, Mattias, D’Johnny, The Sharp Boys, Oliver M & Pier Morrocco, all who had an influence on our year through super sets, wherever they were.

Now we come to the two remaining D.J’s yet to be mentioned, with no round up being complete without including the legend that is Steve Pitron and we cannot begin to list the amount of staggeringly incredible sets we have savoured from him over the years, 2009 being no exception. Notable performances were at SuperMartXe’s 1st Anniversary party, at Beyond Belief in September, Orange Summer of Love in May, but the best of his was at Beyond last weekend (20th) when he literally set the main room alight with an outstanding set of perfect proportions, putting him really close to the top of the pile of our choices this year. But the best set of 2009 for us (although it was a close run thing) goes to Guy Williams, who triumphed at DTPM’s “The Bitch Is Back” party, truly rocking Paramount to its foundations. He has had a brilliant year musically and for us remains a real draw at Matinee, has played a major part at Trade, has had measured success with Hoof, Reverse & Black Rabbit, but it his set at DT that really stands out, an awesome experience indeed.

So, with the D.J’s sets covered, what about the tracks that took our musical world by storm this year? Well, there has been such a wealth & array of tracks within the sets of these D.J’s that made it big for us in 2009 and like the sets themselves, the choices were so extensive, we have spent hours deciding which tracks would make it. The best 10 have been difficult to decide upon, but our choices are made and are final. The question is, are they your favourites too? or if not, why not take a listen and see what you think.

Now, most likely the biggest track of 2009 has to have been Serge Devant’s “Addicted”, which has probably been played on every single dancefloor, at every single party/event we have been to this year, without exception and will go down as a classic anthem along with tracks like “Sunday’s At Heaven” & “Miracle”, but despite that it didn’t make our top ten. Oliver M dipped into the studio to produce a great track with Jean Philippe entitled “Strings Of Motion”, but that didn’t make it either, nor did notable remix works from D.J/Producer’s Pagano, Danny Verde & Steven Redant , which whilst made a big impact on the scene, Pagano’s “Back To The Future”, “Danny Verde’s “Let Me See Your Underwear” & “Express Yourself and Steven Redant’s “Discotheque” being biggies in their own right, failed to make it into our top choice as did Hi-Fi Sean Dickson’s remix of our fave 2008 track “Get Busy” even though stood out and still remains our favourite of his work.

So what did? Well, Arno Cost’s “Cyan” is there, as is Laurent Wolf’s “No Stress”, two absolute corkers. Then, Bingo Players vs Chocolate Puma’s “Disco Electrique” really hit the spot during 2009, as did the Velarde; Vitti & Luque track “Serious Emotions”, both which got serious airplay on dancefloors and in some of our favourite compilations, with D.J. Tatana’s “Spring Breeze”, really knocking on the door of our top five tunes of the year. The choice then became really difficult as the next two tracks filled a big part of our year, Julien Jabre’s “Vicious Circle” being a feature of more than one mix in our 2009 collection as was right there, as was Norman Dorat’s “Last Forever”, which looked destined to grab top spot as far back as April, we also wrongly predicting that it would be as huge as “Addicted”, , but in failing to do so, it slipped out of our top three (just).

So, we came down to those top three choices and what were they? Well, after much deliberating and considering all the others, three really did stand out from the rest and were tunes that played the biggest part in our musical journey across the last 12 months, although we can hardly separate them. Truly taking us & indeed the dancefloors by storm in just the last few weeks was Erik Morillo’s “Get Lifted” with the brilliant vocals of Deborah Cooper. Never has a record captured our imagination quite as quickly as this did (well apart from one) and this track looks set to play a major role in D.J’s sets not just over the coming New Year period, but well into 2010, but, after much self debate, it came a close third. So, what two tracks piped it to the post? Well, it just had to be there, a brilliant find by Paul Heron and one that became our favourite “hands in the air” tune of 2009, Zoe Baldwin’s “Release Me”, which we first heard at Industri back in June, but has slowly infiltrated many a set & was played twice by Fat Tony during his set at DTPM in November. We still go absolutely mad when it is played & Messrs Nicholls & Heron really know how to hit our sweet spot with it, selecting it as they do. But, as good as it is & as much as we love this amazing track, it failed to make number 1 (shock, horror!!).

So what amazing record knocked that off top spot? Well, Soul Avengerz’s “Drop The Bomb” did which in some ways was as much a shock for us as anyone. Now, have you scraped yourselves off the floor yet? Well, why did it make it over all those other brilliant tracks? The answer is simple really, it has been THE track which has on virtually every occasion this year, after leaving a club to make our way home, safely & securely kept us entertained, whether the journey was long or short. Since hearing it as far back as January, we have been truly enchanted by it and despite how good “Release Me” has been, how fabulous “Get Lifted” is, how amazing “Last Forever” was, “Drop The Bomb” is something extra special. No, you probably haven’t heard it in D.J’s sets or on dancefloors, it might just empty them, but it has been the one constant, the defining track of our clubbing journey this year and we absolutely love it!! By the way, if any D.J. out there fancies giving it some remix treatment, we will love you forever.

Well, with that shock over, what about the compilations of the year? And where can you find them? Well it goes without saying that many of the D.J’s mentioned in our best sets part, are also feature here, the first mention going to Nick Tcherniak, who we covered quite a lot this year and following one such post, were privileged to have our work included on his music site. We devoted a special post to both him & Steve Thomas, following their brilliant b2b & solo performances at Trade, SuperMartXe & DTPM and we were sent to heaven & back at Barcode on our birthday, as Nick played a ton of terrific tunes. We can’t single out one mix of his, but you can take your choice at http://nicktcherniak.podomatic.com. There was also the wonderful work of Steven Artis, a tore de force at Juicy & Barcode and he was absolutely tireless in the studio recording this year. We absolutely loved the combination of deep & dirty sounds with uplifting & funky house tracks, so typical of his sets, displayed perfectly in a whole series of his compilations, which you can find at http://stevenartis.podomatic.com. Another man really busy in the studio as well as on the dancefloors of our fave gAylist clubs in 2009, was Hi-Fi Sean Dickson, who was a real influence on us during the year, not just for his music, but the ongoing “mirrorball” antics we shared together. His compilation series of mixes, Tech Noir & Psychedelic House never ceased to hit the mark, as did his dedication to Juicy, so you should go take a visit to http://hifisean.podomatic.com

During 2009 we devoted other special music posts to tip top clubs Beyond & Matinee, focussing on talents including D'Johnny, Alan K, Jonny M and Steven Redant, also devoting one to post to the fabled Soho Live event, in which we featured a brilliant mix from Beyond star Mikey D, entitled “Get Lifted”, which was close to reaching our top two choices of the year. We recommended this at the time & continue to do in and short of insist that you add it to your collection, which you can still grab at http://mikeyd.podomatic.com. Other D.J’s we covered were French fancies Leomeo & Gaeten Scott, also including the lovely Eduardo de La Torre in three posts this year, all having produced some fabulous work & making an impact across the dancefloors of Europe.

But ultimately, it came down to two D.J’s and two of their mixes that fought for our attention this year. Interestingly, they were both right in the thick of it during many of the clubs & events we visited in 2009 and will probably continue to be during 2010. We covered their careers in a special post released earlier this month, but one that was well overdue and more than deserved to two unquestionably talented & accomplished names with the world of D.J’ing, especially in gAylist London where they are probably know to you the best. They are of course Brent Nicholls & Steve Pitron and deciding to put these two at the top of our compilation choices tree was one of the easier end of year decisions we had to make. We kind of said everything we needed to in our recent post, so it is now just down to the mixes that made it in, and whilst they have, between them produced a staggering 22 compilations, stretching to a complete 36 separate volumes (incl extended mixes), thus, incredibly racking up over 44 hours of music in the mix!! Steve’s Beyond “Ice” compilation was & is simply incredible, Brent’s Lo-Profile “Live” mix is fantastic, but both couldn’t quite match Mr Pitron’s “Addicted Vol 1 – Part 1”, released in March and Mr Nicholls’ “MMIX – Anthems of 2009” – released this month. Steve’s “Addicted Vol 1 includes two of our top 10 choices, not to mention that tune “Addicted” and Brent’s “Anthems” mix has no less than 6 of our top ten tracks, so the choice was clear, they had to be there. But which one came out on top? Well, to be honest we couldn’t separate them, as both got and still get unstoppable airplay every time we work & play, so it’s a dead heat! Catch Steve's "Addicted" mix at http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com & Brents "Anthems" compilation at http://djbrentnicholls.com/music

Right, well that’s it for our “Music is The Answer” posts for 2009 and we hope you enjoyed this special look back across the year. We cannot begin to describe how much music is a part of our lives and how very grateful we are to each & every D.J. out there who bring it to us. Furthermore, everybody mentioned in this review has a special place in our hearts & minds and we cannot thank them enough for their contributions to what has been a brilliant, fantastic, marvellous, superb & wonderful year of music. And to those that made our top choices, we salute you & long may you entertain us with you musical magic. (DISCO MATT)

Music Is The Answer - "Youth Springs Eternal"

Hey Folks,

Well, as 2009 draws to a close, what a year it has been for music, which has definitely been the answer to our problems and in a “special” round up post due out on Thursday, we look back on some great tracks, compilations & more that made a real impact across dancefloors & in living rooms, also voting for our favourites (will they be yours too?).

But in our last regular post, as promised, we focus on two gifted talents, who have similar tastes in music, although that’s where the comparison ends, although both had an immediate impact of the London scene when they launched their D.J’ing careers here.

First up is the cute & sexy Eduardo de La Torre, who will be best known to Londoners for his performances at Matinee in its days at super club Colosseum. A native of Venezuela with those smokingly sexy South American looks, Eduardo took to the D.J’ing game really early, moving to Miami at the age of 16 and drawing musical inspirations while finishing off his schooling, then moving to Spain experiencing & guesting at some of the best clubs in Barcelona, Seville, Madrid & Valencia. But it was the raw & tough euro sounds coming out of Germany & Holland that grabbed him and it was inevitable that he would again up sticks, moving himself & all his D.J. equipment to Berlin, where he got the opportunity to play regularly at Generation bar. With his name spreading like wild fire, gigs at Hamburg Pride, Gay Happening, & Pearls Of The Night followed, with appearances at clubs United Hamburg, Spundloch Club, Gay Convention & Krefeld to name just a few. However, London was calling & monthly visits soon made the city his permanent home, which thrusted him into the eyes of the capitals club promoters, securing the Matinee residency as well as Future, Revolver, & every Friday at Ku Bar, but with a long list of appearances across the scene. However, London’s loss was Germany’s gain, as he once again returned to his beloved Berlin where he now lives & works, with a regular spot at uber sexy club Ken and plenty more besides at Cologne & Hamburg, but also across northern Europe, where his funky, tribal, Latin inspired, vocal & electro style of music goes down a storm. And this is no better displayed than in his latest mix, “Addicted To Berlin”, classic Edu at its sheer best, which you can listen to & download at http://djdelatorre.podomatic.com, not forgetting that if you are around Berlin, drop into club Ken where he is resident every week & plays on NYE.

Now to our second talent, Tim Mcloone, a name relatively new to many, but in the short time he has been on the scene in London, has definitely made an impact, already racking up guest appearances at Crash, Future, Beyond & Brighton Pride to mention just a few. Music came early to him, as at a young age Tim took to playing instruments, becoming skilled in both the piano & the guitar, but with an ever increasing interest in the music others played, he seemed destined to become a D.J., although his earlier influences were in the indie & metal genre’s, listening to bands like Queens of The Stonehenge & Mars of Volta (heard of them?) and whilst house music was to lead him into his D.J. career, strands of both metal & indie still run through his sets. In 2004, Tim moved to London, where the house scene was well & truly rocking & soon became drawn into gAylist clubbing, where listening to tunes was followed by an ever increasing & developing collection of first vinyl’s and then, following the trend, CD’s, which allowed him to experiment in the D.J. game, first playing at friends parties and then appearing at bars like Barcode & South Central (now The Eagle), where he was noticed & soon signed up to play in some of the clubs he loved dancing in. Tim also loves mixing music and his latest, entitled “Release” is well worth a listen, being a collection of vocal & progressive tracks to get those hands in the air and feet more than just tapping. Catch it now at http://timmcloone.podomatic.com & catch him, regularly at funky, hunky club Megawoof & this NYD at the massive event “As One”.

Well, that’s our music choices up for this time and as 2009 draws to a close, the last of the year when we focus on two talents. However, as mentioned earlier, in a special post due out on 31st, we look back on some of the great compilations of the year, the tunes that made the biggest impact on gAylist dancefloors and the D.J.’s that not only made it big in 2009, but performed exceptional sets. We also cast our vote for the best single of the year, the best mix and the best D.J. set and with the choices available, it’s going to be a tough one for sure, but with so many great mixes, singles & D.J’s out there, you, like us will realise that “Music IS The Answer”.

In the meantime, don’t forget to visit http://seenqueen.com/music where you can get all the latest mixes released by your favourite D.J’s as well as Seenqueen’s very own “Top 10” chart.

So, as we get ready to wave goodbye to the “noughties” and embark on a new musical decade, sit back and enjoy our latest choices & as we love to say, let the music play!

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "The Steven's"

Hey Folks,

Well, after devoting our last couple of “Music Is The Answer” posts to special reports, we return to form for this one & it’s a “Steven” filled edition, as we cover one of Spain’s finest & then a home grown D.J., club promoter & film maker who is barely out of his teens, but has achieved so much already.

So, without further ado, let’s crack on and we first focus on super Spanish talent Steven Redant, who started his career in D.J.’ing at the famous “Privilege” club in Ibiza, where his talents were immediately recognised, following which he secured residencies across Europe, as well as guesting at many events across the globe. Based in Barcelona, he plays regularly at the city’s fab club “Discotheque”, but also jets across to Brussels for “La Demence”. His visit to London, back in November, where he played at Matinee’s “The Next Chapter” party was a huge success and other recent appearances at Barcelona’s newest club “Penelope” & at the latest “Scream” event in Paris have gone down exceptionally well. And as a measure of this man’s diversity, he flies out to Israel this weekend to play at “Forum”, on top of being ever busy recording his weekly Radio show “Get It On!”. All this on top of his regular podcasts, most of which are recorded from his live sets, not to mention his smash single “Discotheque” which has been given the superb remix treatment by Italian stallion Pagano & is racing up the “djdownload” chart. Steven’s superb combination of electronic & tech infused house is neatly displayed in his latest podcast “Scream Paris” which you can check out now at http://stevenredant.podomatic.com & why not check on the progress and grab his single while you’re at it which is out at http://djdownload.com/genreTop100.php?genreID=5.

Our other “Steven” on this post is the ultra talented Mr. Geller, who burst onto the London scene just over two years ago and immediately established himself as a fresh faced & popular D.J. his rise in the game being meteoric, securing residencies, first at Escape in Soho & then for both Barcode’s., which was quickly followed by a residency at the weekly outing “Popcorn” at Heaven. It was during at set at Barcode Vauxhall that he was noticed by the Orange group team & this led to a working relationship & residencies at Later, Open, Gravity & Rudeboys, with the occasional appearance at A.M. Elsewhere, Steven has played at Ministry of Sound, Egg, Scala, Ku-Klub, the Box & Profile, as well as devoting time to his filming, having recorded superb video’s for smash Spanish club SuperMartXe & more. Not content with just that, Steven has also entered the fray as a club promoter, his first project, “Futureproof” grabbing many headlines , but it was at his now beloved venue, Area, that his latest & most successful venture “Onyx”, has not only rejuvenated Friday clubbing, but continues to go from strength to strength, securing his reputation as a smooth operator. However, D.J’ing is still at the heart of his activity and his style of uplifting house with tribal undertones, all intermixed with accessible vocals packs out Area’s main room every week and his latest mix “Warming The Ice” is pure Steven Gellar magic. Catch this superb compilation along with some other gems, including a live recording from “Onyx” at http://djstevengeller.podomatic.com.

Now just a quick mention goes to Per Q.X. who has just released a remix of a brand new Deadmau5 vs Mellefresh single, entitled “Sexslave”, which we think is well worth a listen. Check it out at http://soundcloud.com/nastyhabits/deadmau5-vs-mellefresh-sex-slave-per-qx-mix.

Also, don't forget to visit http://seenqueen.com/music where you can get the widest choice of all your favourite D.J's works, as well as Brent Nicholls' full & exclusive interview with our featured D.J. Steven Geller.

Well, that’s our choices up for this time, but next week we devote our post to another D.J. that had a meteoric rise in the game & is now firmly based in Berlin, the cute & lovely Eduardo de La Torre, also looking at the work of Megawoof’s resident jock Tim Mclone. And, watch out for our end of year music round-up, when we look back on some brilliant D.J. mixes of 2009 & cast our vote for the best compilation & single of the year.

In the meantime, as we now love to say, let the music play, have a great Christmas & catch our next post on Boxing Day.

xDM

Music Is The Answer Special Post- "Nicholls vs. Pitron"

Hey Folks,

Well, the quality & amount of music being produced by some of the scene’s biggest D.J’s continues to thrill us, not least the work form two legendary names that have been an integral part of our clubbing history in gAylist/land London. So in a special post, not only highlighting their superb latest mixes, we also look back across their glittering D.J. careers, to give those of you unaccustomed to their talents, a brief look into the incredible pedigrees that they both have, the paths they have crossed and the reputations they have built, making them two of the biggest names in the game. Always finding it difficult to choose between them when they are playing either at the same clubs or at the same time, we have aptly entitled our post “Nicholls vs. Pitron”.

Steve Pitron began his D.J’ing career in the early nineties in his home county of Essex, playing at a weekly club in Chelmsford called “Esoterica” which gave him a real flavour & passion for the vocation, having been interested since childhood & working in record shops, where he had the opportunity to practice on decks. When he landed a position working for Universal Records, London became a real draw, with his first gig in the capital being at the notorious “Anvil”, which was soon followed by a residency at the popular Soho boozer “Comptons”, sprouting regular appearances at other bars around town, including the infamous “Substation Soho”. But playing in clubs was his big dream and when he added gigs at “Heaven” and the afterhours club “PSP”, his name was becoming more & more familiar across the scene. However, his big break came at the iconic club “Crash”, where an initial showing in the small second room was transformed into a headlining spot on the main floor and probably the club he will always be best known for. When uber afterhours club “Beyond” opened in 2002, Steve was part of the D.J’ing furniture and whenever he played there, the main room was packed to the rafters. Steve has since remained a tore de force across gAylist/land London, being in demand for all the major events in the capital & beyond, which this year included both London’s & Brighton’s Pride events, “Soho Live” & abroad, including Ibiza, Sydney and...well every continent actually!!, he having played at various ski weeks & was famously on the T.V. (in drag! and out) during the summer gay week in Sardinia. He currently holds down superb residencies at “Juicy”, “SuperMartXe”, “Lo-Profile” & (of course) his beloved “Beyond” (now at Area), but also manages to mix his D.J’ing work with his daytime job to great effect both having music central to their themes. Add to that, his recording work in the studio, producing a glittering list of remixes of artists like Kelly Rowland, Grace Jones, The Sugarbabes, Kylie Minogue & Beyonce (he even rubs shoulders with these people when working at Universal – lucky him!) and it is clear this man has incredible talent and well deserves his status of probably the scene’s best ever D.J.

Brent Nicholls hit the London scene at a similar time to Steve, but carved his career & reputation in his home town of Sydney in his early days behind the decks, playing at some of the city’s best known venues, including “The Albury”, “The Exchange”, “DCM”, “Midnight” “Shift”, “Sugar Reef” and “Black Market”, although his real success was always at the Mardi Gras parties & associated events, being a firm favourite, attracting huge crowds of up to 20,000. Internationally Brent has appeared at events in New Zealand, Canada, Ibiza, Holland, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Asia & South Africa, but has truly cemented his career in London, having been a resident from the late nineties. Having arrived in the U.K., he quickly established a residency on “Heaven’s” main floor, with further guest appearances at clubs like “Factor 25”, “Salvation”, “Factory” & “Cocco-Latte”, but was best known at the time for being the founding D.J. & resident of the very popular “PSP”. With underground club “Crash” making a real impact on the scene, it was inevitable that he would be part of the regular line-up, which also led to a residency at “Beyond”, where Brent really made the VIP room space his own, also playing b2b for the first time with Paul Heron, which would prove a magical musical relationship to come. Since then the list of clubs/bars he has played in London is virtually unparalleled & includes “Action”, “Ultra”, “Evolve”, “Universe” “Barcode”, “Essential”, “Juicy”, “Glamorous” “Hustlaball” “Rupert Street”, “Revolver”, Go-Go Brazil”, “Rome”, “Trade” and many more. His current residencies include “Matinee London” “Lo-Profile” “Industri” “Hard On!” and “Sex”, all which he squeezes in with guest appearances across London, Manchester, Brighton & across Europe, as well as keeping very busy as the webmaster for best clubbing website around, “seenqueen.com” and his with his general web designing work.

So, looking at both of their careers you can draw similarities with the clubs they have played at, “PSP”, “Crash”, “Heaven” & “Beyond”. In some ways their music styles are similar too, both shaping their genre’s to fit the club event, whether it be uplifting, funky & chunky, through to deep, progressive, underground & sexy, their ability to play such a varied choice truly make them in the demand that they are. Both are also busy recording and both have fresh new mixes out.

We have already mentioned that Steve Pitron’s favourite club to play is Beyond and this is reflected in his recent work as his latest compilations are tributes to this amazing “afterhours” club. The first mix is a selection from the tracks he played live at a set during October, where he cleverly mixes old & new to great effect, including a true Beyond classic, “In My Life”, which he used to include in his sets as far back as 2003! Then, having performed exceptionally (and believe us, we have been at some awesome sets of his) at Beyond’s Christmas special party “Ice”, he has released another collection of tracks from his set, some which got exclusive play & still can’t be heard anywhere else yet. These mixes are an absolute must addition to your collection and you can find them both at http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com/.

Brent Nicholls has been extremely busy recording this year, with over 15 separate compilations out (some with multiple volumes), chronicling the incredible diversity of his musical talents, from extracts from live sets at Sydney Mardi Gras & Lo-Profile, as well as mixes dedicated to clubs like Hustlaball & Industri, as well as one released especially for London Pride. But the last few weeks have seen frenetic activity, with no less than three new compilations out, first a hint towards summer to warm your winter, entitled “Vamos Jugar En El Sol”, then another club dedication, this time “Hard On!” which is separated into two volumes & finally, hot off the press is “MMIX – Anthems of 2009”, a collection of 30 of the biggest tunes he has played in various sets throughout the year. You can stream all of these mixes now by going to http://djbrentnicholls.com/music and if you are lucky enough, you could win all his 2009 mixes (and there are some real corker’s in there!) or at least, his “MMIX” one by entering the special competition out now at http://seenqueen.com/.

Well, that’s our latest “special” music post up and we couldn’t have chosen two more acclaimed D.J.’s to highlight, also knowing that you will enjoy their latest mixes, just as much as we do/have. In the cases of Steve Pitron & Brent Nicholls, we can say with conviction that definitely, "music is the answer".

Enjoy.

xDM

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

Hey Folks,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

xDM

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

Hey Folks,

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

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

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

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

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

xDM

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

Hey Folks,

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

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

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

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

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

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

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Brilliant Beyond"

Hey Folks,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go There!

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Magnificent Matinee"

Hey Folks,

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

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

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

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

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

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "French Fancy's"

Hey Folks,

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

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

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

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

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

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

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Soho Live Stars"

Hey Folks,

Well, as we enter another hectic weekend which we are sure will be bursting at the seams with magnificent music, Soho Live 09 takes centre stage with all your favourite D.J.'s on duty, including, Steve Pitron, Paul Heron, Per Q.X., Oliver M & Gonzalo Rivas, so we thought it appropriate to give this week's "Music Is The Answer" post, away to Soho Live, focussing on two talents that will be part of the line up.

First up and a newbie to our posts (long overdue we say!) is terrific talent D.J. Mikey D, who has featured across gAylist London's dancefloors for many years now, really carving a name for himself at iconic club Crash, often alongside Steve Pitron on the main floor. With other regular slots at Beyond in the days of Colosseum, Mikey was very much in demand, which spurned a whole host of international appearances, including Muccassasino in Rome, Pacha in Barcelona, Matinee in Madrid, The Temple in San Francisco & even Sydney Mardi Gras, as well as playing across Europe for the massive house music empire Hed Kandi. Back in London, he currently holds down residencies at Fire, Lo-Profile & Beyond (now at Area), performing at the latter amazingly last Sunday and just days afer a phenomenal b2b set with pal Jamie Head at Trade/Orange. So, having savoured so many great performances from the dancefloor, we were excited when news came our way of his new compilation "Get Lifted", a glorious gathering of sizzling summer sounds, very much evoking his musical style, which we love from the first & title track, "Get Lifted", with other favourites "Get Sexy", "Move Your Body" & "Good Life", keeping us hooked right through the mix which ends with the fab "Just Another Sleepless Night". So, if you haven't sampled or been prividledged to any of Mikey's sets, this latest release is a perfect was to do just that, by going to http://mikeyd.podomatic.com and clicking on the "download" option.

Our second choice this week goes to Brent Nicholls, yet another D.J. that cut a stride at Crash & Beyond at Colosseum, but the list of clubs he has played in London is huge, Action, Club Together, Glamourous,Go-Go Brazil, Hustlaball, Lovechild, Revolver, Rome, Sex, Ultra & many more. Whilst this antipodean has made London his home, Brent's talents are often called upon internationally, with apperances across Europe, including, Hamburg, Cologne, Copenhagen and Milan as well as his native Australia, where he played out to thousands of people during the main Mardi Gras 2009 festival in the Horden Pavillion, alongside non other than Paul Oakenfield. So he is no stranger to the big stage as well as the intimate club and his wide range of musical tastes can cater for any occasion. Last year he was in the thick of it at the stupendous Soho Pride, performing to a packed Soho Square, a real highlight and more recently delivered a delectable dance drenched set at Matinee's August Bank Holiday spectacular to a rammed middle room. With other regular residences including Hard On!, Industri & Lo-Profile, we often find it hard to keep up with his musical mood and testament to his diversity, his latest mix has definately kept us on our toes, as he takes us back to not only the seventies, the eighties & the nineties, but even includes some classic's from the naughties, all remixed, rehashed, re-modelled, re-everthing'd, a follow up to his incredibly popular "Last Night A D.J. Saved My Life" mix from about this time a year ago (funny that!). So, to quote the man himself, "Leave your credibility at home, let down your hair and have some fun...you know you want to!", by going to http://djbrentnicholls.com/music, and following the stream instructions.

And the great news is, on top of listening to these fabulous mixes, you can catch Brent & Mikey live at "Soho Live 09" tomorrow (Sun 13th Sept), both playing on the ever popular Q.X. stage in Rupert Street (we can't wait!), Brent on the decks from 1 pm. till 2.30 & Mikey playing out from 4 p.m. till 5.30, both not to be missed. And you never know, they may have copies of their latest mixes on hand!!

Well, thats it for this week, but next time we go all French on you with two amazing artists in their own right, Stephan Gaeten Scott Haler & the gorge Leomeo Carandang.

So we hope you love our music choices, have a great music weekend and maybe catch you at Soho Live.

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Belief Boys Sean & Steve"

Hey Folks,

Well, after a hectic Bank Holiday weekend which filled our heads with music, we enjoyed some superb sets from Guy Williams, Danny Verde & Brent Nicholls at Matinee, Pagano, Lady Bianca & Pete Wardman at Trade/Orange & two stunning back-to-back sets from Nick Tcherniak & Steve Thomas, then Jamie Head & Mickey D, all of which were testatment to the fact that we have some amazing talent here in London town.

But there were plenty of great D.J.'s on duty last weekend and in celebration we focus on two superb talents.

First up is gAylist scene legend Steve Pitron who continues to thrill across London's dancefloors, injecting that extra special amount of excitment into any event and performed magnificently at Trade/Orange to a stifiling & brimming main room at Fire. He also continues to produce top quality remixes of dance tracks which headline his and many fellow D.J's sets, working on artisits tracks that include Kelly Rowland, Kylie Minogue, Anastacia and dancefloor favourite Therese. With current residencies that include Juicy, Beyond, SuperMartXe and Lo-Profile in London, as well as regular appearances acroos Europe, his poplarity continues, having made a real name for himself at iconic club Crash over 10 years ago. His last series of compilations "Addicted" were extremly popular and we still haven't put Vol 1 down, although we suspect it will soon be superceded by his latest release "Ibiza Vibrations" which is a glorious collection of all the biggest anthems played out on the white isle this summer. Split into two volumes, to get your slice of the Steve Pitron magic go to http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com and make sure you download both volumes (we love the album covers too!).

Our other choice goes to Hi-Fi Sean Dickson who is now a regular face across some of London's most popular clubs, but his roots are in his native Scotland where he began in the D.J. game following his early days as a sonwriter, producer and frontman of non other than The Soup Dragons. He certainly made waves with a 5 year residency at "Burly" as well as co-promoting one of Scotland's biggest underground parties "Record Playerz", which cemented his introduction to the scene in London with appearances at Tonker & XXL before making a massive contribution to the very sucessful and still running Juicy where he remains a resident. He still has a passion for club promoting with his latest forray "Ursus Cave" receiving a very popular welcome launch at Barcode Soho and he really enjoys playing both there and at biiger sister Vauxhall. His style of music is very much on the tougher side of house with a hint towards the funky and he has an amazing ability to pick on tracks that others would overlook, making him one of the freshest talents around at the moment. His series of compiliations, Tech Noir & Psychedelic House continue with latest volume releases 5 & 9 out now at http://hifisean.podomatic.com evoking the "Hi-Fi" style, both which get a massive thumbs up from us.

Well, that's our choice for this time, two great D.J.'s with mixes out well worth a listen and you can catch them both playing this weekend at super afterhours club Beyond, with another "Belief" 12 hour spectacular, Steve on the main floor and Sean in the Terrace bar. Mind you, if you can't make it to Beyond you can be there in spirit by downloading & listening to their mixes.

Enjoy!

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Revelling in Re-mixing"

Hey Folks,

With the spotlight on D.J.'s not just being out there playing & entertaining in clubland, but also remixing & producing music, we are proud that the gAylist scene in London sports some great exponents, a whole handfull also having associations both past & present with one of our favourite clubbing brands Matinee, think, Guy Williams, Paul Heron, Nick Tcherniak & Pagano, all who are making waves in the producing market.

So in celebration of D.J. producing, remixing (even mixing) and ofcourse with their Bank Holiday spectacular at Cable this weekend, we are focussing on all things Matinee with two talents that are great exponents of the game.

First up is non other than D.J. Oliver Mohns aka supremo of Evolved Events behind Matinee London as well as spin off clubs Revolver & bpm. With long associations with Matinee over the years, Oliver was out in Barcelona for the Circuit Festival earlier this month, playing at Salvation's VIP pool party and being in the thick of it during Salvation's main party at Space Barcelona, then at the massive Waterpark Festival, the huge Circuit main party in the Olympic Stadium and the incredible La-Leche closing party. His summer has seen a host of other gigs across Europe and moving Matinee London from Colosseum to Cable has been a major part of his focus. But his D.J. talents always shine through & with recent regular appearances at The Box in Covent Garden, our Friday's have never been so good! In celebration of The Circuit Festival, he has released a special mix entitled "Salvation Live at The Circuit Festival" which features some of the summer's biggest house tunes and in his words "Get yourself beamed away again to Barcelona and Ibiza with this compilation before the summer ends". To download go to http://djoliverm.podomatic.com and click on the link. But it doesn't stop there, as Oliver has been busy in the studio producing a new house track "Strings Of Motion", which we were really lucky to priviledge the first public airing in London two weeks ago. Working with D.J/Producer Jean Phillip, this is a truly uplifting house track in true eurostyle fashion which we are sure will become one of 2009's biggest hits, especially when the original vocal version gets released. You can stream the track by going to http://djoliver.com or download at http://download.yousendit.com/MnFqTmZhU1BPSHhFQlE9PQ

The other D.J./Producer to get our attention this week is Italian Danny Verde who has exploded onto the European clubbing scene over the last twelve months, his talents migrating from his native Milan to cities across Europe, including Cologne, Paris, Madrid, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and even here in London where he played at Revolver in February. Danny also starred in the D.J. line up at The Waterpark in Barcelona during the recent Circuit Festival and played a storming set, which resulted in appearances at the iconic DBoy to add to his ever increasing list of venues & gigs. But its in the studio where his meticulous & hard work has really paid off, with some superb tracks produced, including "Pushin To the Top" & "Open Your Heart" which have featured on many D.J.'s playlists across the capital & beyond. He has worked with the likes of Phil Romano & Pagano, his latest collaboration with Phil, "Express Yourself" feat Anna Buckley reaching the top 10 on Masterbeat.com and djdownload.com. Other recent remixes include Pagano & Wayne G feat Peyton "Trapped" and G.Martin & Alex Barroso feat Rebeka Brown "This is my life", to add to Blow Up "Let Me See Your Underwear" and Pagano feat Stewart Who "Back To the Future", which have secured his reputation in the production game. As if that wasn't enough, it looks like he may well make this years top 100 at djmag.com, a true accolade indeed. So, to get your slice of his remixes & music visit http://myspace.com/dannyverde where you can grab download details of his work. What's better, why not hit Matinee at Cable tonight (Sat 29th August) when Danny will headline in the bpm room.

Well, thats our Matinee tainted tip top choices this week, which we hope you will enjoy and don't forget that Oliver M will also be playing at Matinee with a b2b set with Moussa.

Also, don't forget to check out more music choices at http://seenqueen.com/music

Go There!

xDM

Music Is The Answer - "Catch Up Collection"

Hey Folks,

Well, after a long break we are back with our music recommendations and by way of catch up we are covering four artists in this post, although the plan will be to concentrate on just two per newsletter, with releases planned for each Saturday. Anyway, lets crack on with our recommendations this time.

First up is D.J. "Hi-Fi" Sean Dickson, who has cemented a number of residencies across the scene, including Juicy at Fire, Beyond at Area, Hard-On! at Hidden and regualr appearances at Barcode Vauxhall. He performed superbly at the massive Hustlaball party back in May and also featured in the launch of Suzie Kruger's new night "sex" at The Sweatbox. Add to that his forray into club promoting with "Loaded" and it is clear this man has many strings to his bow, not least his reputation for playing out a true mix of tough, raunchy, chunky & funky tech house. His latest two mixes "Pyschedelic House" Vol 8 & "Tech Noir" Vol 4 are trademark Hi-Fi Sean, the latter laid down directly following a recent gig at Beyond, where he played out to an ardent following in the black room. Listening to both mixes transports us back to this magical space where we often "dance under the mirrorball" (camp or what!?!). To get downloads of his compliations go to http://hifisean.podomatic.com and click on the relevant options.

Next up is hard working Italian D.J. talent Micky Galliano who has established a reputation for mixing superb euro style deep & electro house, having been influenced by some of big names in D.J. circles holding down residencies in his home country. Heading to London in 1999, he had the opportunity to play out at clubs including Ministry of Sound, Turnmills, Pacha & Mass, but he really made a name for himself at Vertigo, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Danny Rampling, Pete Heller & David Piccioni, which soon lead to regular appearances at Ibiza's Space & El Divino as well as clubs back in Italy. He has also starred behind the decks of London's clubs recently, most notably at SuperMartXe, where he set the main room alight with his energy and enthusiasm. He continues to tirelessly work in the studio intermixed with trips around the scene across Europe and his mix "Mad Summer 2009" is evocative of his life & music style, being a vibrant mix of everything that is great about euro & deep house at the moment. To grab your slice of Mr Gailliano's music, go to http://mickygalliano.podomatic.com and locate the mix.

Our third choice goes to D.J. Alessandro, another Italian, that has really made a name for himself on the London scene over the last two years and played out regularly at Barcode & Fitladz which secured resident slots at Lo-Profile and Matinee, which have firmly established him a a torre de force in the D.J. scene circles of London. He can be seen playing at premier bar venue Rupert Street every Sunday and is the power behind lining up some great D.J's there on Saturdays, including, Jamie Head, Paul Heron & Robb Sykes. Alessandro is passionate about his style of electro, funky & tech infused house and it is at Matinee where his style has particualr effect, his most recent set at new home Cable being a perfect example. Other apperances include Club Together, Pendulum, & bpm and some of London's biggest club brands are hankering for his services, being testament to this man's talents. He continues to work regularily on compliations and his latest release https://download.yousendit.com/MnFoMFhqQ0NnYU5jR0E9PQ is well worth adding to any collection.

Last up is scene favourite Brent Nicholls who has been busy laying down some new mixes this summer, squeezing this between his D.J. appearances at clubs Industri, Matinee, Hard-On! Sex, Barcode & Lo-Profile, amongst other duties that keep him very busy indeed. To pin down a particular music style within the genre's that this talented D.J. turns his hands to would be difficult, as his mixing skills range from uplifting, comtemporary, dance house, through funky chunky & electro house, to deep & dirty underground house. He seems to have an amazing ability to spot forthcoming dancefloor hits before most others and continues to keep his audiencies instep with the latest sounds. This is definately true of his latest compliation Disco Electrique which parades some superb beats to truly capture the electronic, the uplifiting, the dirty & the disco in us, with surprise 90's pop tracks remodelled, current floor fillers & remixes of recent big house tunes lined up against deep dance tracks, which are blended to perfection. To get a sample of this superb fusion of sounds, spread across two volumes go to http://djbrentnicholls.com/music and follow the stream instructions.

Well, thats our "catch up" choices & some scintilating sounds out while we were on our summer sabactical. Now back on track, our next post will be celebrating everything that is Matinee, with latest single & compilation releases from D.J./Producer Danny Verde & D.J./Club Promoter Oliver M., so keep your eyes peeled for that.

In the meantime download, play or stream our choices and enjoy!

xDM