Trance, Rave, House Music, Progressive...

[hitman531ph]

FYI:

 

KASKADE Live in Manila

April 12

Coconut Palace

 

This is for real.  See you guys!!!!!

Partee one, Partee all!!!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Any info on ticket prices?

 

Apr 12 is Holy Wednesday

[thermite]

yo hitman!!!..i hope i still live til the scene dies..hehehehehe..

 

"A DJ is a cynic of all music, but first, he is here to make you dance"

-Bob Sinclar

 

you really are a good dj hitman..im sure with that...

by the way you stil mix? i m really interested and just downloaded the songs you post!!!

where do you get those playlists?

 

keep it up hitman!!!

[hitman531ph]

Tedious to check, even more tedious to find and download

 

www.ministryofsound.com

www.di.fm

www.hedkandi.com

www.juno.co.uk

[bigboner]

hey guys, try to check out the club mix of Hale's "THE DAY YOU SAID GOODNIGHT". It is by TravisM

 

Here's the link.

 

http://www.trackupload.com/index.php?act=m...ysong&s_id=1180

[thermite]

I hope a filipino dj will dominate in the international scene too...

kaso coñotic daw ang club dj's sa pinas..mmmm..watever...

 

FILIPINO DJS OF THE BAY AREA

[Why Are They So Successful?]

 

By Dave 'Davey D' Cook

portions of this article first appeared in Rap Dot Com Magazine in July '94.

reprinted and re-edited in October '95

 

Back in 1993 during the New Music Seminar's DJ Battle For World Supremacy, a packed house erupted as Ceaser Aldea wrecked shop and shocked the hip hop world by taking the championship title and belt. Aldea, whose dj name is 8 Ball delivered his crushing blow during the final rounds when he went up against Mr Sinister and through some adroit scratching he skillfully manipulated a recorded tone to sound like the now famous introductary riff to 'Dr Dre's 'Nuthin' But A G Thang'. 8 Ball's move made the crowd go wild and when all was said and done he left those of us who observe hip hop from a journalistic standpoint with lots of questions. Its been a full year a many stellar performances later that 8 Ball, who happens to be a judge for this year's NMS DJ Battle, dropped the 4-1-1 on himself.

 

For starters, 8 Ball explained that he's been committed to mastering the art of turntable trickery for the past 3-4 years. His main influences were not the masterful djs of past who hailed from the East..ie Cash Money, Tad Money, Jazzy Jeff etc. Instead 8 Ball was influenced by DJ Q-Bert another SF Bay Area native who has one the dj world championships on a couple of occassions. ³There are some people try to label me a 'Q-biter', but thats never been the case' he explained. 8 Ball broke it down by noting that Q-Bert has laid down certain foundations that him and many others have built upon. A good example is 8 ball's manipulation of the pitch control to have a tone sound like 'Nuthin' But A G Thang'.... The first time I heard anyone make a song out of record was Q-Bert when he played 'Mary Had A Little Lamb'. I wanted to take it a step further². Nowadays 8 Ball is working on keeping 'real hip hop' by trying to manipulate tones to sound like classic hip hop joints.

 

8 Ball's current success has put him the company of not only his fellow San Fransican natives, DJ Q-Bert and Mixmaster Mike, but the fact that he his Filipino has left many a folks wondering how and why this ethnic group has emerged to become a dominant force in the once predominant African American world of hip hop djs. For folks who aren't familiar with the make up of Northern Cali, they must bear in mind that back around '84-'88 hip hop was starting to grow in the Bay Area. Many of the brothers gravitated toward the rap and production end of things. Most were following the economic success of Too Short, who was at that time the Bay Area's premier rapper. At the same time within the very large Bay Area Filipino community [the largest outside of Manila], the djaying scene was booming. There were more than a few Filipino young men who came together, pooled their money and purchased the best equipment that money could buy. In addition, they spent hours honing their skills as mix masters.. During that time the music of choice was the then dominant frestyle and Latino uptempo dance music..ie Nocera , Nancy Martinez, Cover Girls etc.. And while hip hop wasn't the mainstay, the attitude these djs had was definitely similar to the one that hip hoppers had back in its early days.. Djaying for the Bay Area Filipinos was not spurned on because of its money making potential, although lots of money could be made but instead was driven by a desire to receive 'props' and have bragging rights... 'Who could get the newest jams first?' 'Who had the best sound system?' Who had the fanciest lights?' etc.. This type of attitude sounds remarkably similar to the ones held by early hip hop brethren..

 

Back in the mid 80s there were huge almost legendary DJ Showcases that featured sometimes up to 15 dj groups were attended and dominated by Filipinos...Promoters like AA and Imagine immediately come to mind.. Clubs like City Nights and Club Mirage were the hot spots...DJ groups like Unlimited Sounds, Style Beyond Compare, Dynamic Sounds, Ultimate Creations, and Ladda Sounds were among those who ran the Filipino dj scene.. Folks who were around during the early days of NY's hip hop back in the late 70s may recall the colorful and comic book like flyers that told of upcoming dances and sported the names of all the big rap groups...ie Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, Cold Crush Brothers etc..Well here in Northern Cali there were similar flyers that circulated around the high schools.. It was real bizarre sitting in 8 Ball's room and looking at the old AA flyers he had collected throughout the years..Interestingly enough 8 Ball had never attended one of these huge functions...A little too young I guess, but nevertheless a product of what once was a dominant and vibrant scene...

 

It wouldn't be too far fetched to state that Bay Area Filipinos locked down the dj aspect of hip hop in these parts. This is not to say that there weren't other players...Digital Underground's DJ Fuze was hitting, CJ Flash, LA Sounds, DJ G, Prince Ice, JCutt were other groundbreakers..And no one can forget the grandfathers of them all Dr K of the Palladium which was the Bay Area's premier hip hop night club and Cameron Paul of Studio West and later Club 412, which were the Bay Area's premier dance club spots. However it was among the Filipino clique djaying was taking to another level because of the showcases. Many of the djs in attempt to get ahead and seperate themselves from the rest of the pack...would incorporate aspects of hip hop turntable trickery into their repitoire...Hence back in '87, '88 there were a whole lot of Filipino djs perfecting the art of transforming and the LA fast scratch...8-Ball explained that Bay Area djs weren't exposed to a whole lot of east coast styles, hence they were left to develop their own styles..He attributes this lack of 'guidance' as the reason he has been successful...'When folks like Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike or myself brought our styles back east, it was something new that they hadn't seen before'. Hence folks were suprised and awestruck by djs like 8-Ball...As hip hop continues to emerge, folks may want to keep a close ey out for the 8-Balls of the Bay Area...while he is talented and will undoubtly continue to improve and perfect his skills, there's a few others in the wings waiting to drop bombs.. Among them as 8 Ball pointed out are DJ Kut Throat who was two years ago the reigning Bay Area dj champ, DJ Disc and Apollo who rolls with Q-Bert and Mixmaster Mike as one of the Shadow DJs.

[bigboner]

Man, that is just a long post.

 

Hoooray to them. Hip hop is big, eeeeeeeeverywhere, including here.

 

Congratulations.

 

... electronica scene is slowly catching up towards mainstream, locally.

[hitman531ph]

ERICK MORILLO

 

Within the course of only a few years, Erick Morillo used his world-renown DJ status to propel his own record label, Subliminal, to international prominence. Yet long before Subliminal became one of the most equitable brand names in house music, Morillo had experienced international success. He first tasted fame in 1993 with the chart-topping dancefloor sensation "I Like to Move It" for Strictly Rhythm. At this point in time, Morillo led the Latin house group Reel 2 Real, which recorded several other hits, though none as international in scope as "I Like to Move It." Following the demise of Reel 2 Real, Morillo began focusing his efforts on DJing. He started the Subliminal label in the late '90s and progressively became known as one of New York's top house DJs, not just locally but around the world, particularly London. By the end of the '90s, he held international residencies and operated one of the world's most successful house labels. In subsequent years, he maintained his lofty status as a DJ, and also his label's status, with several volumes in the Subliminal Sessions series and yet more residencies.

Though born in the United States, Morillo spent most of his pre-teen years in Columbia, where he lived with his family and grew accustomed to salsa and merengue music. He moved back to the States at age 11 and lived with his mother in New Yok. Following high school graduation, he studied at Manhattan's Center for Media Arts and began DJing at local clubs. Building upon the studio skills he learned at the Center for Media Arts, Morillo began producing reggae music and collaborated with reggae/rap artist el General on the song "Muevelo" in 1991. The song became a surprise hit and Morillo continued working as a producer. His next big song came in 1993, when New York's premier house label at the time, Strictly Rhythm, released his "The New Anthem"/"Funky Buddha" 12". Later that year, Strictly Rhythm released the "I Like to Move It" single, which became a monumental hit, and not just for Morillo and his Reel 2 Real project, but also for Strictly Rhythm.

 

Few songs reach the hit status that "I Like to Move It" did. It became a global smash hit and the label rushed Morillo into the studio to record a full-length album. The resulting album, Move It!, came out in 1994 and spawned several singles that did particularly well in England. Another Reel 2 Real album arrived shortly after in 1996 and again spawned multiple singles, the most noteworthy being "Mueve la Cadera (Move Your Body)." Despite all his success as Reel 2 Real, Morillo brought the project to an end and concentrated on DJing. He became a favorite in Ibiza and, in turn, built up a substantial reputation throughout Europe.

 

Morillo launched Subliminal Records in 1998 and embarked on a new phase in his brief yet already incredibly successful career. Given his reputation as a DJ, it didn't take long for him to transform Subliminal into a widely recognized outlet for New York-style house music. He earned a coveted residency at Ministry of Sound in London, which helped break the label in Europe, and continued DJing in New York, where he similarly familiarized listeners to his label's style of house. Among many of the producers affiliated with Subliminal are Harry "Choo Choo" Romero, Constipated Monkeys, Bob Sinclar, Richard F, Jose Nunez, and Pete Heller. Most of the producers are from New York and most veer toward the Latin end of the house spectrum. In particular, Morillo expanded his label's reputation during the early 2000s when he held a weekly residency at New York's elite Centro-Fly club called Subliminal Sessions and released a series of mix albums of the same name

[hitman531ph]

BOB SINCLAR

 

The man behind such productions as the Mighty Bop (down-tempo hip-hop), Bob Sinclar (house), and Réminiscence Quartet (acid jazz) is Chris the French Kiss (aka Christophe Le Friant), a Parisian DJ and head of the crucial French label Yellow Productions as well as a producer. Le Friant began DJing in 1987 while still a teenager, and formed Yellow Productions in 1993 with Alain Ho. Several of the first releases on Yellow were by Le Friant: the Mighty Bop's "Messe Pour le Temps Present," Réminiscence Quartet's "Roda Mundo," and his first LP, the French hip-hop summit The Mighty Bop Meet DJ Cam et La Funk Mob. Alongside releases from a parade of excellent French sources, including DJ companions Dimitri from Paris and Kid Loco, Yellow also hosted two more Mighty Bop LPs during 1996-97, La Vague Sensorielles and Autres Voix, Autres Blues.

 

Eager to inject some fun into the burgeoning French house underground, Le Friant borrowed the name Bob Sinclar (from a character in the well-known French film Le Magnifique) and in 1997 produced his first Sinclar EP, A Space Funk Project. Soon enough, he had an entire Bob Sinclar LP ready to go, and Paradise appeared on Yellow just in time for summer 1998. One of the album's tracks, "Gym Tonic," began getting some clubplay in France thanks to its bouncy house vibe and incessant singalong chorus (lifted from a Jane Fonda workout record). A huge anthem during the summer season in Ibiza, "Gym Tonic" looked ready to explode on the charts until Fonda sought legal action for the illegal sample. Perhaps wary of overly burdensome commercial success, the song's co-producer -- Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter, who'd just recorded his own breezy house delight, Stardust's "Music Sounds Better With You" -- refused to have even a remixed version released as a single. Nevertheless, assorted bootlegs cropped up and by October a mysterious artist named Spacedust -- probably just a major-label-fronted cash-in attempt -- hit the top of the charts in Britain with an almost identical remix of the Sinclar-Bangalter original, entitled "Gym and Tonic." (Another crass Spacedust move, covering Bangalter's solo hit with the slimly disguised title "Music Feels Good With You," dropped like a rock.)

 

With all the offending samples removed, Sinclar's Paradise LP was re-released worldwide in 1999. He also worked on remixes, providing tracks by Bangalter himself, Ian Pooley, Second Crusade, and the Yellow project Tom & Joyce with additional production. Le Friant returned to the Mighty Bop alias in 2000 with the retrospective mix collection Spin My Hits. In 2000 Sinclar issued his first US album release, Champs Elysees on Subliminal Records

[hitman531ph]

DAVID GUETTA

 

France's David Guetta belongs to the sparkling wave of DJs that combine Daft Punk's sleek house with a pinch of electroclash's punch. Guetta had been DJing around France playing popular tunes, but his brain was particularly rewired in 1987 when he heard a Farley Jackmaster Funk track on French radio. He taped the track, took it to a gig, and cleared the floor with it during one of his own sets. Things loosened up a year later when acid house came to France and Guetta successfully promoted his own club nights. It was on one of those nights in 1992 that he met Robert Owens during the Chicago house legend's European tour. Guetta played Owens some of his own tracks and Owens picked one he liked enough to sing over. It was "Up and Away," a minor hit that lurked in garage DJ crates for the next four years.

 

Guetta's attitude that he only produces good music while he's having casual fun kept him from releasing anything until 2001's "Just a Little More Love." The track featured American gospel singer Chris Willis, who met Guetta while on vacation in France. Another slow burner, "Just a Little More Love," kept popping up in sets for the next two years, first in an electro version, later in a pumped-up Wally Lopez remix. During this time Guetta snuck out a bootleg remix of David Bowie's "Heroes," retitled "Just for One Day." Bowie gave the go-ahead to release the track officially and Guetta had a massive hit on his hands. Guetta featured the liberated boot on his first mix CD, f#&k Me I'm Famous, named after Guetta's successful Ibiza-based party. The fun-loving slacker DJ finally got around to releasing a collection of his own productions in 2004, Just a Little More Love on Astralwerks.

Edited April 7, 2006 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

ARMIN VAN BUUREN

 

A progressive trance DJ and producer whose cinematic sound is influenced by synth pioneers like Klaus Schulze and Jean-Michel Jarre, Armin van Buuren enjoys worldwide recognition and a frantic schedule that takes him all over the globe. Born on December 25, 1976, in Leiden, Holland, his father was an avid record buyer and Armin became interested in music at an early age. A close friend introduced him to the world of dance music, and the Dutch DJ and remixer Ben Liebrand quickly became his main inspiration. It lead van Buuren to start investigating the roots of the electronic music he was becoming fond of, and numerous Jarre and Schulze CDs were acquired. Computers and turntables were also purchased, and creating his own music became a priority. In 1995 van Buuren attended the Leiden University and a local student club provided the venue for his first DJ gigs. The same year he was fortunate enough to have some demos included on compilations, and when the money came in, it was rolled back into producing 12"s. Cyber Records released his first hit, "Blue Fear," in 1995, and by 1999 his "Communication" was successful enough to get him signed to AM:PM. He also formed his own label, Armid, in 1999 and met Dave Lewis, a man responsible for jump-starting the careers of DJ Tiësto and Ferry Corsten. A collaboration with Tiësto yielded his biggest hit yet on Armid, "Eternity," and marathon five-hour sets brought him more attention. High-profile remixes of Madison Avenue's "Don't Call Me Baby" and Wamdue Project's "King of My Castle" followed, and numerous mix CDs were released on United Recordings. 2002 found him placing number five in DJ Magazine's Top 100 and hosting his own weekly show on the Dutch ID&T radio station. By the end of 2003 he found time to set the worldwide record for longest DJ set (12 and a half hours at a club in The Hague), finish his law degree, and release his first non-mix CD, 76.

[hitman531ph]

ROBBIE RIVERA

 

Growing up in Puerto Rico, Robbie Rivera's successful career spinning house music got off to a rocky start. A fan of the freestyle and Eurobeat that was being imported to the island, Rivera bought two turntables in hopes of learning to DJ. Problem was the turntables didn't have a pitch control, a feature DJs require to blend records. Learning the hard way and teaching himself how to DJ, Rivera got the usual weddings and school party gigs that mobile DJs start off with, but a natural talent for working the crowd had him playing the big clubs by the age of 16. After high school the DJ went to the Art Institute at Fort Lauderdale to study music production and was introduced to many different digital audio tools including the popular Protools program. He was still in college when his first record came out, "Sorulla," a track influenced by the Latin house sound of early C+C Music Factory. The track became popular in New York and Miami and his career was underway. In 2000, Rivera's track "Bang" became a huge hit, making it to number one of the U.K. dance charts. Rivera started his own label, Juicy, and recorded mix CDs for Max Music, Filtered, and others. Widespread exposure to Rivera's deep sound brought him work remixing the likes of Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Moloko, and Sarah Brightman. In 2003, SFP released a collection of Rivera's productions, Wicked

[hitman531ph]

TIESTO

 

Highly regarded by both DJ Magazine and ultra-loyal fans, DJ Tiësto, due in part to his legendary six-hour, energetic live sets, has been elevated to mythical status as one of the world's foremost trance DJs. A native of Breda, Netherlands (born Tijs Verwest on January 17, 1969), Tiësto first starting playing out at a well-known club in his hometown called the Sprock. Discovered there by the GM of Rotterdam-based Basic Beat Recordings, Tiësto released his first of five mix CDs as a part of the label's Forbidden Paradise series.

Coupled by quick success and his accelerated work ethic, Tiësto soon partnered with Arny Bink and, in late 1997, started Black Hole Recordings as a private label for his productions and mixes which became the birthplace for both his Space Age and revered Magik series (volume seven hit during the summer of 2001). In addition to these acclaimed series, Black Hole also brought the world the first mix compilations from artists such as Ferry Corsten, Johan Gielen, and Armin Van Buuren, and introduced yet another prized series called In Trance We Trust.

 

Relentless global touring ensued and, in three short years, the world outside Holland took notice with Nettwerk finally signing him to a stateside deal. Summerbreeze marked Tiësto's U.S. debut, a mix album that showcased his remix of Delerium's "Silence" (featuring Sarah McLachlan), an epic 11 1/2 minute tour de force of throbbing beats cascading within a swirl of sweeping synthesized sounds, all of which cocooned round McLachlan's majestically angelic voice; a call from heaven heard from shore to shore to shore. Aside from reverberating throughout dance clubs everywhere, the remix was massive, spending four weeks in the Top Ten in the U.K., peaking at number three on the Billboard dance charts, and continues to remain one of the most influential tracks of the progressive dance era.

 

With this swell of immediate notoriety, he instantly became one of the most sought after producers/remixers and catapulted a stylized musical fashion, that of weaving threads of ethereal female vocals deep within the ebbs and flows of a tidal wave of pulsating electronic rhythms. As this anointed purveyor of exuberant layered soundscapes, Tiësto has churned out female-fueled remixes that span the gamut, including tracks by Chicane, Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer (on Delerium "Innocente"), and Faithless. And there's more to come. A thorough sonic search in MP3 land unearths several tasty treats of re-workings of SuReal "You Take My Breath Away," Kosheen on their club smash "Hide U," Dave Matthews Band "The Space Between," and a blistering exploration on the theme from A Clockwork Orange.

 

Clockwork it seems to be as Tiësto's star continues to shine bright. November 2001 saw the release of In My Memory (Nettwerk), his first artist album that mixes original compositions-turned club anthems ("Flight 643") with more commercial fare, as evidenced on the title track with vocals by Mandalay's Nicola Hitchcock. April 2002 kept his catalog expanding with the release of the third installment of Tiësto's hypnotically elegant, Ibiza-influenced and aptly named mix compilation entitled In Search of Sunrise.

[hitman531ph]

PETE TONG

 

The don of British dance DJs, Pete Tong has maintained his status as the most influential man in British dance through his weekly Essential Selection radio show on BBC Radio One (broadcast to an estimated one million listeners) as well as his club gigs in front of thousands of people. Born in Dartford, Kent in 1960, Tong played drums in a school band during his teenage years, but later switched to DJing. After leaving school, he worked as a mobile DJ -- playing weddings and parties -- during the late '70s, and did time at small record labels as well. By 1983, Tong had hired in with London Records as an A&R representative, and several years later his position exposed him to the house music coming out of Chicago. After meeting with the owners of DJ International and Trax Records (the two most important Chicago house labels), Tong organized a 1986 compilation entitled The House Sound of Chicago, Vol. 1, the first British release to deal with the sound. He had never given up DJing during his stint with London Records, and he began hyping the style at clubs around London, leading to its breakout during the late '80s. When the BBC began giving airtime to house music, Tong was a natural choice to lead the sessions, and his Essential Selection radio show (broadcast every Friday night) became the place for club-kids -- as well as label executives -- to learn about the latest in dance music. Tong's reputation grew as big and as fast as the world-wide popularity of house music during the early '90s, and he released several collections detailing his mixing skills -- four volumes of the Dance Nation series, as well as compilations from the Essential Selection show.

[hitman531ph]

LAURENT GARNIER

 

A former staffer at the embassy in London, Frenchman Laurent Garnier began DJing in Manchester during the late '80s and became by the following decade one of the best all-around DJs in the world, able to span classic deep house and Detroit techno, the harder side of acid/trance and surprisingly jazzy tracks as well. He added production work to his schedule in the early '90s, and recorded several brilliant LPs with a similar penchant for diversity.

 

One of the first Europeans to begin mixing American house music in Britain, Garnier was one of the prime cogs in the late-'80s Madchester scene. His DJing at Manchester's legendary Haçienda club provided a major inspiration for the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays to begin adding house rhythms to rock music. Garnier shifted his attention back to France in the early '90s, running the Wake Up club in Paris for three years and gradually moving into recording as well. For the FNAC label, Garnier released "French Connection" and the Bout de Souffle EP; after the label went under, though, he formed the F Communications label with Eric Morand (a friend who had also worked for FNAC). He had amassed quite a discography by the mid-'90s, but his first LP Shot in the Dark wasn't launched until 1995. His second, 30, appeared in 1997, followed by the retrospective Early Works. After trotting the globe with multiple DJ appearances during the late '90s, Garnier returned to the production realm with Unreasonable Behaviour, released in early 2000

[hitman531ph]

MARQUES WYATT

 

Critics rave and house heads go weak in the knees over this West Coast phenom. He's one of the few house music DJs who has managed to avoid the mantle of anonymity normally associated with house music: He's a cornerstone of the Los Angeles club scene, but regularly tours on the East Coast, in the Midwest and on other continents. He has played at just about every major electronic conference and festival, and is one of the most respected promoters in Southern California. High-profile gigs at the official Grammy Awards After Party (2000 & 2001) and on the NARAS/Grammy Awards Remixer Craft Committee helped Wyatt shoulder into mainstream music.

 

Wyatt's career started in the late '80s. Unlike many DJs, he did not start out spinning records in his basement; instead he focused on the promoting end of the business. As the LA-based promoter for UK label Acid Jazz, he helped break Jamiroquai and Digable Planets on the US scene. He also was active in the house music scene, both as a promoter and a DJ. From 1992-1999, he held a residency at LA after-hours staple Does Your Mama Know. He also built up a fan base on the opposite coast, performing regularly in New York and annually at the Winter Music Conference in Miami. He started house music party DEEP in 1999 at Hollywood's Viper Room, and continues to throw it in major cosmopolitan centers all over the world. Around the same time as he started DEEP (1999), he started a 3+ year tenure as resident DJ for Release, a famous weekly held in San Francisco.

 

 

Interestingly, Wyatt's discography only stretches as far back as 1998. His production debut, which was released on Yoshitoshi, was a remix of "House Music" by Eddie Amador. Subsequent releases were on Strictly Rhythm, Nervous Records and King Street. Currently Wyatt is signed to OM Records. His first full-length mix CD, Sound Design Volume 1, was released in 2000. He is currently touring in support of For Those Who Like to Get Down, his second full-length CD for OM (released March 2002). "Don't Look Back", the first single off the album, is Wyatt's most visible attempt to shift from a DJ/remixer into a solo artist/producer. If it's as successful as his other ventures, one can expect to see this artist take his rightful place next to DJ Tiesto, Miguel Migs and the few other house DJs who have found recognition on the global scene.

[hitman531ph]

TODD TERRY

 

More than any other producer, Todd Terry defined New York house during the '80s, a varied sampladelic smorgasbord blending the sounds of classic disco, the more introspective Chicago sound pioneered earlier in the decade, plus plenty of hip-hop attitude and sampling piracy. And with two of the most respected crossover remixes of the house era ("I'll House You" by the Jungle Brothers and "Missing" by Everything but the Girl), Terry more than earned his title "Todd the God" (or occasionally, simply "God"). Though he's often been accused of recycling his own beats and effects (in his production work as well as the DJ booth) a bit too often for his own good, Terry's immortality as a dance icon is assured.

Born in Brooklyn, Terry began DJing in the early '80s while still a teenager, spinning hip-hop at school events and on the street with a team called the Scooby Doo Crew. He increasingly listened to Italian disco as well, and when the house sound of Chicago dropped in the mid-'80s, Terry the DJ made an official switch to house music. In league with fellow New York DJ/producer/remixers Little Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, Terry borrowed the Masters at Work guise -- which Vega and Gonzalez would later popularize -- for one of his first big productions, the 1987 single "Alright Alright"; the single became a milestone on New York's early house scene. The Jungle Brothers, another crew of hip-hop heads who were beginning to stray into house, hooked up with Terry and the collaboration resulted in "I'll House You," one of the earliest and most high-profile fusions of hip-hop and house (popularized several years later by C+C Music Factory and Snap!).

 

The added prestige transferred back to his own name for two wildly popular 1988 singles, "Weekend" and "Bango (To the Batmobile)," both released as the Todd Terry Project. Perhaps preferring the adoration of the faithful, Terry later resorted to dozens of aliases for dozens of club hits -- Black Riot's "A Day in the Life," Gypsymen's "Hear the Music," Royal House's "Can You Party," Todd Terry & the Countdown's "Flipside," Torcha's "Feel It," D.O.S.'s "House of Gypsies," Sound Design's "You Can Feel It," Tech Nine's "Slam Jam," and Static's "Dream It." Despite his wealth of released material, Terry remixed dozens of artists as well, including Sting, Björk, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Malcolm McLaren, Annie Lennox, Robert Plant, and Technotronic, among others. The British house boom of the early '90s provided Terry with many an overseas gig, including a high-profile residency at the London superclub Ministry of Sound. His proficiency on the decks became a minor sensation, causing several British journalists to describe him as "God."

 

Terry moved into label entrepreneurship in 1992 when he formed Freeze Records with William Socolov. (Several of Terry's early singles had appeared on Socolov's Fresh/Sleeping Bag label, also the home of rap acts like EPMD, Mantronix, and Nice & Smooth). Freeze became the obvious home for many of Terry's productions, including several volumes of his EP series Unreleased Projects beginning in 1992 and running through 1995.

 

That same year, Terry's remix of the erstwhile pop act Everything but the Girl became a worldwide smash, selling over three million copies and almost single-handedly reviving the duo's flagging career for a sleek new dancefloor incarnation. The British label Hard Times released the DJ gig A Night in the Life of Todd Terry: Live at Hard Times in 1995, while the flip side of the coin, A Day in the Life of Todd Terry (including his best single and remix productions) appeared the following year. His next project, Ready for a New Day, provided more song-oriented fare, though still implicitly dance, with guest vocalists including Martha Wash, Jocelyn Brown, and Bernard Fowler. Terry made another artistic change-up, to LP-oriented drum'n'bass, with his 1999 album Resolutions, recorded for indie/electronica stalwart Astralwerks.

[hitman531ph]

FERRY CORSTEN

 

Otherwise known as System F, Ferry Corsten rose to prominence in the late '90s as one of Europe's top trance DJs, highlighted by an anthem-filled appearance on Ministry of Sound's first Trance Nation album. Before attaining such recognition, Corsten began his DJing at the early age of 15, when he would spin at school parties. By his late teens, he was studying to be an electrical engineer, an ambition that was soon eclipsed by his growing interest in electronic dance music. Soon he was acquiring sound gear to produce his own tracks and started releasing his music under monikers such as Moonman, Pulp Victim, Vera Cocha, Gouryella (with DJ Tiesto), and System F, highlighted by the success of his single "Out of the Blue," which entered the U.K.'s Top 20. Yet his most successful work is undoubtably his track "Air," under the guise of Albion, a track that has been championed by many of the world's top DJs (including Paul Oakenfold and John Digweed on their Global Underground albums) and has since been re-released in 2000 as Air 2000 on Platipus with additional remixes by artists such as Oliver Lieb and Hybrid. Meanwhile, Corsten also won plenty of attention for his high-profile remix of Art of Trance's classic "Madagascar." And even though his appearance as the guest DJ on Ministry of Sound's anthem-filled Trance Nation debut wasn't the sort of well-composed set one would expect from an experienced DJ such as Corsten, it did help propel his name further into his audience's consciousness.

[hitman531ph]

JUNIOR JACK

 

Otherwise known as System F, Ferry Corsten rose to prominence in the late '90s as one of Europe's top trance DJs, highlighted by an anthem-filled appearance on Ministry of Sound's first Trance Nation album. Before attaining such recognition, Corsten began his DJing at the early age of 15, when he would spin at school parties. By his late teens, he was studying to be an electrical engineer, an ambition that was soon eclipsed by his growing interest in electronic dance music. Soon he was acquiring sound gear to produce his own tracks and started releasing his music under monikers such as Moonman, Pulp Victim, Vera Cocha, Gouryella (with DJ Tiesto), and System F, highlighted by the success of his single "Out of the Blue," which entered the U.K.'s Top 20. Yet his most successful work is undoubtably his track "Air," under the guise of Albion, a track that has been championed by many of the world's top DJs (including Paul Oakenfold and John Digweed on their Global Underground albums) and has since been re-released in 2000 as Air 2000 on Platipus with additional remixes by artists such as Oliver Lieb and Hybrid. Meanwhile, Corsten also won plenty of attention for his high-profile remix of Art of Trance's classic "Madagascar." And even though his appearance as the guest DJ on Ministry of Sound's anthem-filled Trance Nation debut wasn't the sort of well-composed set one would expect from an experienced DJ such as Corsten, it did help propel his name further into his audience's consciousness.

[hitman531ph]

STEVE LAWLER

 

Steve Lawler worked his way to the top of the British dance scene before taking his dark, tribal style of progressive house internationally, spinning at all the world's biggest clubs, from Ibiza to Miami. Lawler's mix albums, including reputation-establishing entries in the Global Underground series, consistently included the latest big hits alongside hard-to-find favorites of his that made his sets so unique. More than anything, Lawler's mixing consistently emphasized house music, in particular the progressive side of house. And he was often known for his emphasis on big, dark, tribal drums -- lots and lots of drums -- that anchored his multi-hour DJ sets.

 

Born in the Midlands of England, Lawler took an early interest in electronic music, particularly Depeche Mode. More than anything, however, the bursting late-'80s acid house scene drew him deeper into the music. It no longer was an interest; it was a lifestyle. He began listening to local pirate station PCRL and frequenting warehouse parties. Between 1990 and 1994 he put on a series of illegal parties in a disused tunnel under the M42 and then made the jump to Ibiza, where he met Darren Hughes of the British superclub Cream. Hughes was impressed by Lawler and offered him the chance to spin at Cream. Before long, Lawler held a residency there and, in turn, entered elite status among his British peers.

 

With every passing year, Lawler's popularity grew, and he soon adopted the jet-set lifestyle, spinning everywhere from Space in Ibiza and Zouk in Singapore to Groovejet in Miami and Twilo in New York. He entered the mix CD market in the early 2000s with his Dark Drums series and, more visibly, some entries in the Global Underground series. Moreover, he began producing tracks, one of the most noteworthy being "Rise 'In" for John Digweed's Bedrock label in 2000.

[bigboner]

Geees hitman, that's one hell of a post!

 

My faves:

 

Bob Sinclair

Todd Terry

Dave Guetta

Armin

Steve Lawler

[hitman531ph]

KASKADE

 

Though he was born in Chicago, this DJ found his spiritual and musical home in San Francisco by way of Salt Lake City and New York. He is currently one of the most influential people in the San Francisco house scene, as well as one of the hardest-working: By night he's Kaskade the house music producer/DJ; by day he's Ryan Raddon, A&R director for OM Records. As a producer, Raddon has contributed to several OM compilations including Sounds of OM (Volume 3), which he both contributed tracks to and mixed, and Sound Design. Two standout tracks Raddon wrote, produced and released through OM are “Gonna Make It" and “What I Say". As an A&R man, he has helped kick-start the careers of many artists including much-touted twosome Ming & FS and beloved SF soul-house act Soulstice. OM's current roster also includes J Boogie, Afro Mystic and King Britt, among others.

 

In the early days, Kaskade familiarized himself with the rapidly changing electronic music scene wherever he went, eventually finding that house music was the subgenre he loved best. He started out as a DJ in New York and Salt Lake City clubs. During the tail end of his stay in Salt Lake City, his first attempts to produce tracks were released on his own tiny label Mechanized Records. He also sold a few tracks to Chris Smith, A&R director for an up-and-coming house label in San Francisco. Though no one could have predicted it, this ended up being the precursor to Raddon's most important career move thus far. When family matters initiated a move to San Francisco, Smith hired Raddon to assist him at the label -- which was, of course, OM. He has been there ever since. Kaskade/Raddon's latest efforts as a producer can be found on Om Lounge 6. From behind the A&R desk, he's helped to release Ming & FS's Subway Series as well as the latest volume of the acclaimed Mushroom Jazz series

[hitman531ph]

CARL COX

 

A perennial favorite as the best DJ in the world according to fans as well as the major mixing magazines, Carl Cox has been a part of Britain's dance scene from the heady days of disco through to the global clubland of the '90s, with temporary pit-stops covering hip-hop, the rare-groove movement and the immense rave revolution of the late '80s. That large span of time has undoubtedly affected his choice of records, since Cox routinely detours through breakbeat, Italian house and the dance mainstream during his usual sets of hard techno. Perhaps the best testament to his mixing skills is his immense popularity despite his focus on music much more intense than the brand of arena trance spawned by Oakenfold, Sasha, Digweed, and others.

 

Cox was born in Manchester in 1962, to parents originally from Barbados (they later moved back, after he grew up). Cox began DJing family get-togethers at the age of eight, selecting records from his parents' stack of soul 45s. He was buying his own records soon after, and owned his first pair of turntables at the age of 15. The rest of his teens were spent making spare money at any event he could DJ; though Cox studied electrical engineering in college, he quit after six months and began working various jobs until he could become a full-time DJ.

 

Cox had followed the musical trends from disco to rare-groove on to hip-hop during the late '70s and early '80s, but the introduction of house into Britain during the middle part of the decade convinced him that he had found his niche. After moving to Brighton in 1986, his reputation bloomed during the acid house explosion of 1988-89; Cox played the opening night at Shoom, one of the defining club nights of Britain's house revolution (as well as other legendary hot-spots like Land of Oz and Spectrum). In front of 15,000 at the 1989 open-air event Sunrise, he unveiled his use of three decks on the mix; that signature technique built him into one of the top DJs of the late '80s and early '90s.

 

By 1992 Cox had signed an unheard-of long-term production deal with Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto Records and hit number 23 on the British charts with his debut single, "I Want You (Forever)." His second single "Does It Feel Good to You" also reached the Top 40, and he quickly diversified by setting up his own record label (Worldwide Ultimatum) and an international DJ agency (Ultimate). The onset of a more hardcore rave sound (and the fact that he was increasingly becoming pigeon-holed within it) forced Cox to spend several years re-establishing his niche. In a bit of irony, commercial successes like Cox's own steered him away from high-BPM candy-core and towards the still soulful house and techno scene.

 

Three years after his hit singles, Cox returned with the first volume in what became a genre-defining mix-compilation series, F.A.C.T.: Future Alliance of Communications and Tecknology. After the first volume dropped in 1995, surprisingly high sales figures earned a second two years later (released in America as well). One year later, Cox released his first studio full-length with 1996's At the End of the Cliché. Mix album The Sound of Ultimate B.A.S.E. followed in 1998, with another studio album, Phuture 2000, appearing in 1999. One year later, he released the self-explanatory Mixed Live, recorded at Chicago's Crobar. A second edition of Mixed Live appeared two years later along with the mix CD Global. The DJ's next busy year was 2004 with the Pure Intec mix CD appearing in August and Cox's entry in the Back to Mine series dropping in November.

[hitman531ph]

DEEP DISH

 

Initially pigeon-holed as deep-house producers though their blueprint for house music sweeps across trance, techno, and sub-basement dub, the Iranian-American duo known as Deep Dish produced a multitude of club staples during the 1990s while harvesting a stellar series of productions for their labels (Deep Dish, Yoshitoshi, Fast Food, and Middle East) by members of the ever-growing Washington, D.C. dance community. While most of Dubfire and Sharam's productions have the epic, grandiose feeling that ties many a house track to its disco forebear, the duo's knack for tight programming and genre-blending have carried them above many of their dance-chart compatriots.

Both Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi were born in Iran, though their paths first crossed at a 1991 dance event in Washington, D.C.; both were immersed in the local DJ scene and working part-time at retail jobs they hated. They set up Deep Dish Records in 1992 and debuted with the production "A Feeling" by Moods. In 1993, an old schoolmate of Ali's named Brian Transeau recorded "A Moment of Truth" and "Relativity" for the label; both singles spread the Deep Dish message on dancefloors, and a link with Detroit producer Carl Craig (with whom they swapped mixes) helped the pair's street credibility. By 1994, Dubfire and Sharam were ruling as kings of the D.C. house scene, and had set up the sub-label Yoshitoshi for releases by like-minded compatriots Submarine, Satori, Alcatraz, and Hani. That same year, DJ legend Danny Tenaglia convinced Tribal UK Records to sign Deep Dish for its new Tribal America subsidiary, and the duo hit the dance charts with productions like "High Frequency" and "Casa de X." Deep Dish also made their full-length mix debut in 1995, taking charge of compilations for Tribal America (Penetrate Deeper) and Slip'N'Slide (Undisputed).

 

The 1995 single "Hideaway" by De'lacy practically made Deep Dish's career on a commercial and mainstream-dance level; their remix stormed the pop charts and earned them boatloads of additional remix work for Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Kristine W., Everything But the Girl, the Beloved and the Shamen -- Deep Dish even reworked Brian Transeau's collaboration with Tori Amos, "Blue Skies." Dubfire and Sharam added to their mix-album résumé with another Tribal America collection (1996's In House We Trust) plus one for Deconstruction (Cream Separates) one year later. Just when Deep Dish appeared to be content with releasing a mix album or two each year, the duo recorded their proper studio debut, Junk Science, in 1998. Resuming the schedule, Deep Dish released mix sets in consecutive years: Yoshiesque, Renaissance Ibiza, and a second Yoshieque by 2001.

 

2001 also saw the duo earn their first "Remixer of the Year" Grammy nomination for their work on Madonna's "Music" and Amber's "Sexual (La Da Di)". A remix of Dido's "Thank You" won them the Grammy a year later, the same year their Global Underground: Moscow mix-CD won the Dancestar USA's "Best Compilation" award. A third volume of Yoshiesque followed in 2003 along with three different editions of Global Underground: Toronto, one with the duo spinning together and one solo set each from Dubfire and Sharam.

[hitman531ph]

ARMAND VAN HELDEN

 

Until he began branching out in 1996 with a barrage of album productions and remix classics (several of which were heard by more people than the originals), Armand Van Helden was one of the best-kept secrets in house music, recording for such labels as Strictly Rhythm, Henry St., Logic and ZYX. Afterwards, he became one of the top names in dance music altogether. As one in the steady progression of top in-house producers for Strictly Rhythm during the early '90s, Van Helden joined such names as Todd Terry, Erick Morillo, Roger Sanchez, Masters at Work and George Morel to record scores of club hits. By the late '90s, a clutch of crucial remixes and several albums made Van Helden's name as one of the most popular producers around.

 

Van Helden spent time in Holland, Turkey and Italy while growing up the son of an Air Force man, and listened to music from an early age. He bought a drum machine at the age of 13 and began DJing two years later, mostly hip-hop and freestyle. Based in Boston while attending college, Van Helden proceeded to moonlight as a DJ; though he settled into a legal-review job after graduation, he quit his job in 1991 to begin working on production for the remix service X-Mix Productions (founded by his future manager, Neil Pettricone). Van Helden also owned a residency at Boston's Loft, and soon made it into one of the most popular nightclubs in the city. After playing one of his production demos for the dance A&R guru Gladys Pizarro in 1992, Van Helden released his proper debut single, Deep Creed's "Stay on My Mind," for Nervous Records.

 

Later that year, Van Helden released "Move It to the Left" by Sultans of Swing, his first single for the premiere American dance label Strictly Rhythm. Though a moderate club hit, the single was eclipsed by another Strictly Rhythm offering, 1994's "Witch Doktor." It became a dancefloor hit around the world and introduced him to a larger club audience. Although he had remixed Deee-Lite, Jimmy Somerville, New Order, Deep Forest and Faithless, a reworked version of Tori Amos' "Professional Widow" hit the clubs with the same impact as his "Witchdoktor" single. During 1996-97, Van Helden became the name for forward-thinking pop artists to recruit for remixing duty from the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson and Puff Daddy to Sneaker Pimps, C.J. Bolland and Daft Punk. His own-name singles productions continued unabated, with hits like "Cha Cha" and "The Funk Phenomena," plus the release of his first album, Old School Junkies. Following a 1997 Greatest Hits retrospective, Van Helden returned to his old-school rap roots with the party breakbeat album, Sampleslayer...Enter the Meatmarket. The 2 Future 4 U EP followed in 1998, and in mid-2000 Van Helden returned with Killing Puritans

[hitman531ph]

CHICANE

 

Chicane is the group name for British trance musician and remixer Nick Bracegirdle, who first attracted attention under the name Disco Citizens with the Top 40 U.K. hit "Right Here Right Now" in 1995. Changing to Chicane, he reached the British Top 20 in late 1996 with "Offshore." He then enlisted Clannad's Maire Brennan for a remake of the Clannad hit "The Theme From Harry's Game" under the title "Saltwater," which reached the U.K. Top Ten and became an international hit. The first Chicane album, Far From the Maddening Crowds, was released in 1997. As a remixer, Bracegirdle transformed Bryan Adams' "Cloud #9" for another major hit in most Western countries. Employing Adams as an uncredited vocalist, he then topped the British charts with "Don't Give Up." It was featured on the second Chicane album, Behind the Sun, released in Europe in the spring of 2000. This disc reached the Top Ten in Britain and charted across Europe and in the Far East. Behind the Sun was released in the U.S. in August 2000. Visions of Ibiza appeared the next summer.