Category Archives: Interviews

  • NICKY SIANO INTERVIEW BY DENNIS KANE

    nickysiano

    A true pioneer of the art of DJing, Nicky Siano started young and burned brightly. His party, the Gallery, along with David Mancuso’s the Loft, set a template for what an underground dance music party could be. Created in a Manhattan loft space, the Gallery was an environment designed and built by Nicky and his brother Joe, an architectural engineer. It was there that Nicky pioneered beat-matching, blending and EQing to create new levels of sonic drama, and he did it on three Thorens turntables and a Bozak mixer (that means no backspinning and limited pitch control). He started going out at an early age and was by his own admission a “music fiend.”

    “I was listening to Montavani,” recalls Nicky. “He was this composer and orchestra leader [who] had very lush arrangements. I was obsessed by his palette of sounds. I was also getting schooled by my brothers in the world of rock music. Laura Nyro’s compositions became a big deal for me.”

    Nicky got his first major gig at a club in midtown called the Roundtable, where he would often DJ five to seven nights a week. [Read More]

  • JOHNNY DYNELL GLORY OF 80S NY CLUB SCENE

    johnny_dynell

    Sean Manning – The Awl

    Mark Kamins died of a heart attack at age 57. The legendary DJ and producer—who worked with David Byrne, the Beastie Boys and Sinéad O’Connor—was best known for producing Madonna’s first single, 1982’s “Everybody,” and helping sign her to Seymour Stein’s Sire Records. Around that same time, Kamins produced another popular single, the dance-rap track “Jam Hot” by Johnny Dynell. (The song was featured in the iconic 1983 graffiti documentary Style Wars, and its lyrics—”Tank Fly Boss Walk Jam Nitty Gritty/You’re listening to the boy from the big bad city”—were sampled in the #1 U.K. single “Dub Be Good To Me” by Beats International, the 1990s electronic group led by Norman Cook, a.k.a. Fatboy Slim.)

    Dynell’s recording career was quickly eclipsed by his work as a DJ. For the last three decades, he’s manned the decks at every New York City club of note—Mudd Club, Danceteria, Limelight, Area, Tunnel, Palladium, Roxy, Crobar, Greenhouse, XL, Le Bain. With wife Chi Chi Valenti, he also operated the iconic clubs Jackie 60 and Mother, helping transform the Meatpacking District into a nightlife mecca. These days Dynell is as busy as ever: DJing four nights a week; providing the soundtrack to such gala events as the AMFAR Cinema Against AIDS party at the Cannes Film Festival; and organizing with Valenti for this year’s Stevie Nicks fan fest “Night of A Thousand Stevies.” We spoke over dinner at Café Orlin on St. Marks Place.

    Sean Manning: Is it inappropriate to ask how old you are?

    Johnny Dynell: Yes. Don’t ever tell anyone your age because they’ll treat you that way. [Read More]

  • A1 RECORD SHOP NEWYORK CITY

    a1_xlr8er

    By Words: Ethan Holben Photo: Francesca Tamse (XLR8R)

    In advance of this Saturday’s Record Store Day happenings around the globe, XLR8R has put together a week-long series of features devoted to taking a closer look at some of our favorite record-selling outlets from around the world. Check out the entire series here.

    In 1996, New York City’s East Village (which was then simply called the Lower East Side) was a much different place than it is today. What’s now one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the Big Apple, an area stuffed with high-rise condos, exorbitantly priced cocktail lounges, and an inordinate number of sports bars, was then a neighborhood on the edge. Marijuana was being sold out of bodegas, heroin addicts occupied the benches and bathrooms of Tompkins Square Park, and cab drivers would sometimes refuse to even take people there. This was the East Village where bookstore owner and flea-market vendor Isaac Kosman opened a new kind of record store, which he named A-1.

    a1_xl8r

    Some 17 years later, hundreds of record stores have both opened and closed in America, but A-1 is still standing—and thriving. “It’s Darwinism,” says store elder Jay Delon, who humbly refers to himself as the “senior guy,” despite clearly leading the staff. “We try to adapt, and not be purists, and stay curious about what people are into.” A-1 keeps things simple, which is surely part of the reason it’s become one of the best-curated record stores in the US. Originally envisioned as both a store for collectors and an alternative to the overpriced classical- and rock-oriented stores in New York’s West Village, A-1 quickly became one of the top destinations in the United States, or perhaps even the world, for jazz, soul, and rare grooves. Producers like Gangstarr’s DJ Premier, Pete Rock, The Alchemist, and Masters at Work were early regulars, buying stacks of obscure records for sampling and use in their own productions, which DJs were in turn buying and playing as soon they were released. Over time, A-1 continued to evolve, expanding its racks to include hip-hop, rock, disco, boogie, house, and techno. With each addition, A-1’s importance to NY’s music scene only grew, a notion that legendary rare-groove DJ Amir (a.k.a. Amir Abdullah, of Kon & Amir, and owner of the reissue label 180 Proof), lays out in more detail. “Hip-Hop owes a lot to A-1 Records,” he says. “Everyone from Lord Finesse to Midi Mafia shopped there and made some of their classic tunes from records they bought there.”
    [Read More]

  • RON MORELLI (L.I.E.S. / A-1 RECORD SHOP)

    LIES_Bunner
    By ANTHONY PAPPALARDO – The Local East Village NY Times

    Since 1996, A-1 Records on Sixth Street has attracted countless vinyl enthusiasts to its bins of hip-hop, jazz, soul, disco, and house music. On any given afternoon, disc diggers discuss what white-label 12-inches they’re going to DJ, tossing out obscure names that are foreign even to the other die-hards flipping through the stacks.

    Ron Morelli, one of the four employees at A-1, has seen dramatic changes in the city’s electronic music scene during his ten years of spinning vinyl. The DJ, whose discovery of punk and hardcore started him on his journey into underground music and culture, started the DIY dance music label, Long Island Electrical Systems, in 2009 to showcase gritty, analog-based techno and house. He’s also used L.I.E.S. as a vehicle to release his own music (along with co-conspirators Jason Letkiewicz and Steve Summers) under the moniker Two Dogs In a House.

    The small-run 12” records that Mr. Morelli releases (many of which feature hand-stamped track listings on the dust jacket) feel intimate: it’s clear they’ve been lovingly assembled by hand. Early releases by Steve Moore and Professor Genius started the buzz that has collectors rushing to buy the releases before they hitDiscogs for quadruple their initial price.

    Despite the sold-out events Mr. Morelli DJs in New York and Brooklyn and the label’s success in Europe, there’s a low-key presence to L.I.E.S. Rather than a lavish release party, L.I.E.S. artist Professor Genius first spun his latest 12″,“Hassan,” at Heathers Bar on a Thursday night. Recently, Mr. Morelli shared his thoughts on the changing face of New York’s electronic music scene and the state of record stores.
    [Read More]

  • DANNY KRIVIT NEWYORK TALE

    by Eric Duncan (The Standard  Culture )

    He grew up in the Village in the 60s and was front & center for the musical super nova of the 70s. Danny takes us back to a very different New York in this interview by Eric Duncan.

    This Friday January 18, Le Bain welcomes two of the New York icons: Danny Krivit and Eric Duncan. While Danny has been part of New York club scene since the 60’s, Eric Duncan (of Rub’N’Tug) has made his mark on the underground parties of the 90’s. We asked Eric if he was up to interview Danny and here it is – Enjoy the trip to the Village, way, way back in the 1970s.

    Eric Duncan: I have heard various stories about you over the years. Is it true you grew up in your family’s bar? When and where was this?

    Danny Krivit: I grew up in Greenwich Village, New York City, in the 1960s and I literally was surrounded by music. My mother was an accomplished jazz singer and my father was the manager of legendary jazz trumpeter Chet Baker before he went on to open up “The Ninth Circle”, a Village hot spot on West 10th Street just west of Greenwich Ave, where I also worked as a boy. It was here that I met some of the most influential people in the music scene: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Mingus, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, amongst others. The Mothers of Invention lived down the hall from me, and Sid Bernstein (Manager of The Rascals) lived upstairs, the Rascals would regularly pop down to our house to practice most of their future hits on our piano. At school, a close friend and classmate of mine was Creed Taylor Jr, son of Creed Taylor, the production genius behind many artists who recorded on the VERVE, C.T.I. and KUDA labels. I remember always hanging out at his house with his father trying to introduce us to his musicians, people like Freddie Hubbard, Hank Crawford, and Stanley Turrentine… I was maybe 11. I didn’t really know who they were yet. [Read More]

  • INTERVIEW: RICKY POWELL LIFELOUNGE

    By Nickj – Lifelounge

    Ricky Powell has lived the 20 years we all wish we had. He’s known the people we only get to see in the movies or read about in books. Our imaginations are his reality. From Cindy Crawford in the bathroom to Andy Warhol on the streets of Brooklyn, the born and bred New Yorker captures lives lived and lost.

    Quitting his job at the Frozen Lemonade stall back in 1985, the iconic hip-hop/street photographer took his Minolta AF down a path of immeasurable proportions where celebrity and downright debauchery make him wonder today how he made it out alive.

    Dubbed the ‘fourth member of the Beastie Boys’, Powell became their unofficial photographer during the late ’80s and early ’90s. He quickly gained notoriety for his uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time and for the photos that followed shortly thereafter.

    His nonchalance shouldn’t be confused with irreverence but with his Jersey drawl, his ‘home-boy’ slouch and his womanising ways, he certainly isn’t a bashful fella.

    Jasmine Phull takes a seat on the balcony of The Cullen hotel to talk about the ‘seven hustles’ with Ricky Powell – the self-proclaimed ‘Lazy Hustler’.

    Jasmine: What’s that?
    Ricky: That’s a transistor radio, baby. It’s my lifeline.

    J: Do you listen to a specific radio station?
    R: I just flip it around. Wherever I go I have a transistor. I need a soundtrack wherever I go.

    J: It’s very ’70s. So this won’t be too much of integration. In fact, I think you may just come out of this alive.
    R: You can ask me whatever you want.

    J: Ok. Let’s talk about the influence of music. During the late ’80s and ’90s you were really ingrained in the music culture and your photos only highlight that. Describe the impact that the ‘evolution’ of the music industry has had on you and your work over the past 15 years?
    R: To me, contemporary music just blows. Culture has just gotten toy. Generally speaking. You gotta look for the good stuff. The shit that’s force-fed from the media is weak. Terrible.

    J: So has the focus of your work changed?
    R: Yea. I don’t go out to clubs anymore. A lot of cornballs have replaced a lot of cool people. I kinda feel resentful about that. Not just cause they’re new people but cause they got a wack sense of self-entitlement. They have no substance. The neighbourhood that I live in, Greenwich Village, is full of that. A lot of the original people are gone and the people that have replaced them are ‘new jacks’ who think they’re cool because of the clothes they’re wearing.  [Read More]

  • RIP GARY STEWART (GARY STEWART AUDIO)

    By Dennis “Citizen” Kane (Disques Sinthomme, Ghost Town)

    With the tragic loss of our friend and colleague Gary Stewart it seemed right to present this interview that I did with him for BPM magazine in 2005. I had the good fortune to play on several systems designed by Gary, and the quality of them was unparalleled. We became friends over the years and although we got together only once in a while, we would check in on the phone regularly. Our chats ranging from the intricacies of sound design, “the business”, and me setting up my own mobile system, to the future of GSA, to life and family. Always engaging, Gary could be supportive, instructive and sardonic in equal measure, bottom line: even when we were both feeling down we laughed a lot . He will be missed .

    BPM Interview #14

    Gary Stewart ( GSA )

    It’s early in the evenings set at LOVE and I am playing a Balearic classic, a Mike Francis record with emblematic 80’s production, rich vocals, acoustic guitar and lush synthesizer washes. I just can’t believe how good it sounds, the warmth of the record, the fidelity of the mid range, the soft weight of the lows. I’m playing the record on a technics 1210 with a modified SME tone arm; it’s passing through a customized Urei mixer and emerging from an analogue sound system designed by this month’s interviewee Gary Stewart.

    GSA (Gary Stewart Audio) has been a premier designer of club sound systems since the early 80’s. He has taken up the mantle of analogue sound design from its principle architect, the late Richard Long. In fact it was the result of an epiphany that occurred to Gary while poring over Richard’s late design notes: The supple and dynamic sonic range he wanted his systems to represent could be found in the modulation of an analogue structure. I recently sat down with Gary to cover his history and see what brought him to that revelatory point.

    DK: OK Gary, how did you get to be the “Sound Guy” (laughter)

    GS: I actually started as a musician; I had studied with a Gene Dell (a jazz guitarist) and was at the Manis College of music for trumpet, it was time for classical theory and the jump to the piano, and I made the jump to Studio 54. (laughter)

    DK: A different kind of schooling…

    GS: I would be there six or seven nights a week, the sound was so dramatic, it was a Richard Long system, they had the 3 way “Waldorf” horn loaded boxes, The “Levan” sub-bass horns, “Z” tweeter arrays and the “Ultima” stacks, with Richards 3-way crossover…it was like nothing I had ever experienced before, the records being played sounded so fresh, above and beyond the way I had heard them prior. Eventually I met Richard there one night, I was like “who are you”? The experience of that system changed the way I felt about music, it was really sublime.

    DK: How did you transition into setting up systems?

    GS: When I was about 19 I had started building Dynaco stereo products from a kit. I did it with my dad as a hobby, we weren’t that good, and invariably would have to take our stuff for repair, but I remember a service guy telling me my soldering work was very tight. I stayed with it, not really projecting a career but just enjoying it. I remember I once tried to test an amplifier with a toaster as a load, (laughter) don’t try that at home. I accrued more and more components over time.  [Read More]

  • INTERVIEW: RON MORELLI (LONG ISLAND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)

    By Little White Earbuds

    Long Island Electrical Systems (L.I.E.S.) is exemplary of the private press label renaissance of recent years. Its releases largely draw upon the output of gifted friends and quintessences, are pressed up with few frills (and occasionally hand-stamped white labels), and have garnered rave reviews and full-throated DJ support with little or no promotion. Yet its founder, Ron Morelli, was initially reluctant to jump into the label game and shows no interest in seeking the spotlight. That hasn’t stopped it from finding him, based on the strength of records by Jason Letkiewicz (aka Steve Summers/Malvoeaux), Legowelt, Willie Burns, Steve Moore, Maxmillion Dunbar, and Marcos Cabral. He’s also introduced the world to the talents of erstwhile unknowns Terekke, Vapauteen, XOSAR, and Svenghalisghost, with more likely to follow. And while L.I.E.S. has hosted a range of techno and house aesthetics, an overarching punk ethos — via bruisingly raw and utterly human sonics — unites its first 12 records. LWE sat down with Morelli to discuss the label’s prolific last year and future plans, his straightforward A&R choices, and his feelings on New York’s contemporary club scene. He also contributed Talking Shopcast 15, an effortlessly diverse and eminently replayable mix recorded before his shift at A1 Records. [Read More]

  • INTERVIEW: BRENDAN M GILLEN

    Lecture: Brendan M. Gillen (Cape Town 2003) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.

    BMG aka Electromorph recounts the stormy history of Detroits musical heritage.

  • INTERVIEW: MASTER AT WORK

    Lecture: Masters at Work (San Francisco, 2012) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.

    Their name says it all – Masters At Work. ‘Little’ Louie Vega and Kenny ‘Dope’ Gonzalez celebrate 20 years together, channeling dance music down new paths with their inventive production style and imaginative feel for different musical forms. The two native New Yorkers have amassed an overwhelming body of work including hundreds of original productions and defiantly mix everything they can find – house, hip hop, funk, disco, Latin, African and jazz – into a universal groove. XLR8R’s Shawn Reynaldo sits down with them on the couch during Red Bull Music Academy’s ‘New York City to SF Bay’ lecture series in San Francisco to discuss the start of their careers and dissolving the barriers between genres.

  • INTERVIEW: STRETCH ARMSTRONG & BOBBITO

    Lecture: Stretch and Bobbito (San Francisco, 2012) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.
    Pioneering college hip hop radio jocks Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito sit down on the couch for an interview with rap scholar Chairman Jefferson Mao, touching down on the beauty of unprofessional radio and the joy of igniting careers for countless artists like Jay Z, Nas, and Mobb Deep. The interview took place during the Red Bull Music Academy’s ‘New York City To the SF Bay’ lecture series in San Francisco. Oh yeah, and the whole thing is also pretty damn funny.

  • INTERVIEW: HANS-PETER LINDSTROM BY DENNIS KANE

    By Dennis Kane (MAGNETIC)

    Six Cups Of Rebel, released today, is the new studio album from Hans-Peter Lindstrom. In addition to his prior effort, 2008’s (Where You Go I Go Too), There are the collaborative full lengths with Christabelle, (Real Life Is No Cool), and three with long time associate Prins Thomas (I, II, and Reinterpretations). Lindstrom also has a seemingly unending list of 12-inches, (including one under the moniker of Six Cups of Rebel), and remixes for a long list on notables including: Tosca, Bryan Ferry, LCD Soundsystem and Franz Ferdinand.

    On the occasion of this new release Magnetic contributor and Disques Sinthomme/Ghost Townhoncho Dennis Kane broke out the iPad and had an extended chat with Hans-Peter about the new work, music and the vertigo induced by the iPad view of two moving subjects.

    DENNIS KANE: YO, SORRY I MISSED YOU YESTERDAY, YOU GOOD? DOING TONS OF PRESS STUFF?

    Hans-Peter Lindstrom: It is not so bad actually, I did some earlier, but things have quieted down a bit. Are you in NYC?
    [Read More]

  • INTERVIEW: DERRICK MAY “DETROIT’S TECHNO”

    By electronicbeats.com

    Electronic Beats sat down and had the opportunity to interview a Detroit Techno Pioneer, Derrick May. Derrick speaks about todays Electronic Music scene, how DJ’s come and go, Who’s responsible for todays “Circus”, and how he still active in the Club scene.

    “Wherever the music comes from, if there is no focus behind it then it’s just noise” – Derrick May

    Derrick recalls when two men confronting him asking “Ya man your into a Dubstep? So happy to see you play this shit man” and let’s them and everyone know he doesn’t stand behind no particular genre. “It’s Music man, i just dig it. I don’t know where the fuck it comes from. It’s just cool shit” and goes on by saying “It’s cool, i like it, i play it. I don’t care where it comes from. Im happy it is part of some particular movement and Im able to jump on board but i didn’t mean to, I just like Music”. [Read More]

  • INTERVIEWS: ANTONIO OCASIO WEPA!

    By Jose Luis Benavides (Gozamos)

    Thanks for your time Antonio. If you don’t mind I’d like to start off by getting to know you. Where you from? How old are you? and what’s one of your first memories of music?
    I’m Puerto Rican. Born in “El Barrio”, NYC and raised in the South Bronx.

    First memories of music were in my home and from neighbors and the community as a whole.  There was always music playing in my home.  My mother played records while she cooked, cleaned and even when we were just lounging.  She mostly played traditional Puerto Rican music, Classic Salsa, Boleros (Daniel Santo, Los Angeles Negro, etc)  and what I call ‘Jibaro’ music which is played by a guitar called a Cuatro (4 string guitar – I love the sound of it).  In Puerto Rico, back in the day, they’d used these songs to tell stories of events that were happening in other villages.  My brother used to also play all of the cool stuff like Osibisa, War, etc and some Rock including Santana when he first came out.


    [Read More]

    Check out his Wepa! Party Mix
    Wepa!

  • MOODYMANN INTERVIEW BY GILLES PETERSON

    By ~n2j3

    [KDJ]Ok..You got a stool or somethin’?

    [GP]Yeah

    [GP]Do you feel it important Kenny to sort of cover yourself up and to play records behind screens and..

    [KDJ] Yeah yeah yeah , most definitely

    [GP]Wear masks and stuff

    [KDJ] Yeah yeah yeah…

    [GP] Why’s that?

    [KDJ] Well people pay too much attention to the damn DJ , you know , the talent is sitting on the turntables , you know. My attitude used to be that so yeah.. I’m not there to put on no little bit of dancing – indecipherable] I’m there to present some talents on the turntable, not , you know, the cat behind the turntable.

    [GP] So you’re kinda reluctant celebrity DJ, you’re just a selecta

    [KDJ] Maybe take celebrity out..and you pretty much got it right.. You know, I’m doing my thing if you’re looking for a hot DJ I’m probably the wrong person to call. There so many hot dj’s , there’s so much talent out there. I didn’t get into all of this to do all that. But it’s a blessing at the same time, you got the opportunity to share to much with so many people at one time. [Read More]

  • INTERVIEWS: NICKY SIANO

    by Alex R. Mayer – EDGE 

    “I never thought of myself as just playing records, but creating atmosphere.” – Nicky Siano

    Think of today’s biggest DJs, the ones that everyone watches and listens to; the DJs of DJing if you will. Think about their tricks and techniques, the way they select and mix their records, and the energy and atmosphere they create on their dancefloors. Now, think about the DJs who came before them, such as Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan. Those DJs who influenced today’s
    spinners, were guided musically and philosophically by a man who pioneered the art of mixing on three turntables, who first got audiences to sing records back to the DJ and who made everyone stop dancing and look up at the DJ booth of Studio 54.

    Nicky Siano heard and saw something in the music and nightlife of the early 1970s that transcended the accepted norms of that time. The dance music community had come together out of a need for expression, and a declaration of their rights. The music reflected the many intense social and political issues of the time, including the Vietnam War and the Stonewall uprising. When people came together to dance, it was a safe haven, if only for the night. It was also a way to communicate collectively, something which DJs such as Siano and David Mancuso realized early on. [Read More]

  • INTERVIEWS: DISCOVERY

    By Bianca Von Baum- Halcyon

    Aaron Davis (aka VDRK) and Joel Fowler (aka Free Magic), the team behind New York’s successful party Discovery, are obsessed with music. Barely two minutes into meeting the duo for a tête-à-tête, they’re already talking shop, dropping names like Chez Damier and M.K., humming tunes and playfully bargaining over a Kerri Chandler record. With this kind of banter going on, you know you’re in the company of good taste. Their shared love for quality Disco and House, combined with their strong bond and passion for DJing are the essential ingredients that have attributed to the party’s success. Currently a monthly affair, Discovery takes place in the Soho basement of Santos Party House where they pack out the place with an enthusiastic, and fun-loving crowd. The event boasts a history of strong headliners, from Detroit’s Deep House maestros, Norm Talley and Scott Grooves to Metro Area, Trus’me and San Soda. With their second anniversary coming up this September, the team is showing no signs of slowing down. Ahead of their monthly hoedown this weekend with headliner Eddie C, we caught up with the team and chatted about Discovery’s early beginnings, party monkeys, and dreaming of Disco palaces. [Read More]

    DISCOVERY 2YEAR ANNIVERSARY W/DJHARVEY&KYLE HALL
    Discovry Mix
    SESSION 1035: EVENT SESSION 08.20.11 DISCOVERY
    SESSION 1034: EVENT SESSION 08.20.11 DISCOVERY

  • INTERVIEWS: Q+A NORM TALLEY

    By Albert Freeman – Halcyon

    While the global view on Detroit within the dance music community retains its emphasis on Techno, Detroit has been one of the most important historical cradles for development of all genres of black urban American music that have enjoyed deep interest and popularity in the city. The city’s influence on Blues, Jazz, Soul, Funk, Disco, House, Hip-Hop, Electro, and Techno stands unchallenged but the global focus on the most avant garde of the city’s electronic artists has always come at some cost to those working in areas that place more emphasis on the continuity of the city’s music culture. House has also been central to the city’s music and been present here almost since its original rise in Chicago, and the transition that led from Disco to House was played out here in nearly equal measure to the nearby Illinois metropolis. Thus figures like Norm Talley and his Beatdown Brotherscrew should be looked upon not as outliers, but as a truly central and essential part of a diverse musical culture. Since the mid 1980s, he and friends Mike “Agent X” Clark and Delano Smith have been pushing a brand of DJing and production that fluidly integrates the Disco, House, and Techno cultures of Motown and has been far too often ignored by the music press at large. In spite of respect earned from people like Eddie Fowlkes, for a long time their profile remained relatively low as the word on Detroit’s unique and diverse House sound was slow to leak out.[Read More]

    Click HERE for the Mix by Norm Talley

  • INTERVIEWS: Q+A DJ HARVEY

    by Bianca Von Baum – Halcyon

    Every disco generation has their hero, and UK’s DJ Harvey is one of today’s most revered musical icons from Honolulu to Sendai. A veteran of the scene for over twenty years, Harvey has taken the worldwide stage by storm from the get-go. Known for being the first to bring NY’s late hero Larry Levan to the UK, Harvey is considered one of the leading figures at the forefront of the country’s Disco revival movement.

    Founder of the Sarcastic Disco parties in Hawaii and label boss of the former Black Cock Records edits imprint (serious collectors drop up to $300 on these babies), Harvey is one of today’s most sought-after producers and DJs. His name alone connotes a certain adventurism, interchangeable with words like eclectic, fearless, obscureand open-minded. Not only do these attributes shine through his music but they are what makes Harvey one of the most favored DJs to see play out. Full of energy and positive spirit, Harvey is known for his infectious vigor behind the decks – go hear him play and you’ll find nothing less than a grinning frenzy of head bobbing and body shaking manning the ones and twos. He is the wild child of today’s Disco movement, a genuinely fun-loving DJ with a true love for the craft, wholly dedicated to sharing his music far and wide through multiple collaborations, both musical and charitable. We could go on and on…

    Come this weekend, DJ Harvey will be gracing the main stage at this year’s Movement Festival in Detroit – a huge honor indeed. Days ahead of his performance, we reached out to the man, the myth, and the legend and chatted about his band, spreading love in Japan and the Rwanda Ice Cream Project.[Read More]

     

  • INTERVIEWS: NUTRITIOUS BY 1200 DREAMS

    by TheBoogielady21 – 1200Dreams

    1200Dreams caught up with Nutritious, one of the most appetizing DJ’s on the scene, to delve deep into his thoughts on the DJ experience and what he is up to now.

    By The Boogielady… always in the boogie.
    He goes by the name Nutritious, sans DJ, and has been one of the most appetizing DJ’s in the New York scene for quite some time. Now, he’s spreading his wings and from the East to the West Coast, he has played at well known events like Jam Cruise Disco, Ultra’s UMF Radio Stage, and WMC, all the while proving himself to be quite the crowd pleaser.

    Born in New York to a music loving family, you can say Nutritious was more than immersed in the art form. By 16 he was skipping class playing drums in a band and gigging locally, having to sneak in to venues such as CBGB because he was underage. [Read More]

     

  • INTERVIEWS: Q+A CARL CRAIG

    By Halcyon

    In the minds of many, the name Carl Craig epitomizes Detroit Techno. Although he was neither the first nor the flashiest of the original Detroit innovators, his 20-plus year production and club career can boast of nearly no wrong turns nor wanderings into inconsistency. If Juan Atkins is credited with the initial push over the top andDerrick May distinguished himself as the best DJ of the famous quartet, from nearly the beginning Craig was present in the background quietly pushing the developments that would lead into the second wave of Detroit music and its spread to the furthest corners of the globe. Although the exact extent of his work behind the scenes will likely never be known, as label aide to both KMS and Transmat he adeptly learned the business end of the trade, and early studio help he received from Derrick May was returned in spades as he joined his older predecessors on their groundbreaking European tours and also for their recording sessions. If early efforts asPsyche, BFC, and 69 revealed a creative mind rapidly progressing and moving through ideas faster than most ever get them, by 1995 his name was synonymous with the best and most bracing Techno the Motor City had to offer that combined deepness, hardness, and a restless futuristic and experimental aesthetic that plowed down everything in its path. [Read More]

  • INTERVIEWS: ELBIN REYES (PRE PARTY RADIO)


    Photo by Masashi Fujumura

    Interviewee – Elbin Reyes
    Interviewer – Sean Bee

    Standard Podcast Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (282)

  • INTERVIEW: LINDA PERRONE (DOWNTOWN 161)


    Photo by Masashi Fujumura

    Interviewee – Linda Perrone
    Interviewer – Sean Bee

    Standard Podcast [ 10:27 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (482)

  • INTERVIEW: JOE D’ESPINOSA (DOWNTOWN 304)


    Photo by Masashi Fujumura

    Interviewee – Joe D’Espinosa
    Interviewer – Sean Bee

    Standard Podcast [ 10:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (324)

  • INTERVIEW: CHARLIE GRAPPONE (VINYLMANIA)


    Photo by Masashi Fujumura

    Interviewee – Charlie Grappone
    Interviewer – Sean Bee

    Standard Podcast [ 18:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (405)

  • INTERVIEWS: JEFF DERRINGER OF OCTAVE

    By  leader of Halcyon

    Although hardly a household name amongst Techno heads as of yet, with his Perc Trax debut “Tarantula” out this week, Oktave’s Jeff Derringer is heading into 2011 with the afterburners on full. A former indie rock drummer who made the jump to producing and eventually DJing Techno some six years ago, Jeff, along with Oktave partner Kevin Gregor, has immersed himself fully in multiple facets of the scene. With his move from NYC back to his hometown of Chicago, he’s taken up the mission of spreading American Techno through education, promotion, marketing and networking… but mostly through making and playing quality music and putting on great artistically uncompromising events. halcyon’s Techno beat reporter Albert Freeman took some time to chat with Jeff about the long, hard road, its twists and turns, and what the crystal ball has in store…

    halcyon: So let’s start at the beginning Jeff. How and when did you become interested in DJing and especially production?

    JD: I’ve been interested in production for a lot longer than DJing. I’ve been making and recording music for about 20 years. It’s only in the last 6 years or so that I’ve been interested in producing dance music, and in particular Techno. I was originally a drummer, so you could call that my native instrument. I think that makes me a better producer, it gives me a feel for rhythm and polyrhythm, but I’m basically a writer at heart. I’ve only been doing Techno for 6 years, and since then I’ve been getting into DJing. [Read More]

  • NEWS: MARCUS VISIONARY-HUMBLE LP-LIONDUB INTERNATIONAL

    The real deal finally arrives! Marcus Visionary’s latest album, released on his own Liondub International imprint, serves as a rich tapestry weaving together the Toronto native’s musical influences, which range from jungle and drum and bass to reggae and dub. Featuring guest appearance from the likes of  the legendary Sugar Minott, Johnny Osbourne, Kandiman, Bunny General, Jahdan and Messenger Selah, there is plenty of old school, dub heavy jungle fire brought to the table here, all mixed down impeccably and presented in an original groundbreaking style.

    PURCHASE THE HUMBLE LP AND GET A FREE 28 TRACK MIX BY MARCUS VISIONARY INCLUDING EXCLUSIVES, DUBPLATES, REMIXES AND UPCOMING RELEASES FROM LIONDUB INTERNATIONAL at   HERE

    MARCUS VISIONARY’S INTERVIEW

    Born and raised in the city of Toronto, Marcus Visionary has helped shape the city’s scene and sound since the early 90s. His first love is jungle / drum & bass but he has deep roots in reggae, dub and bass music in general. With a new album out combining all his musical loves, we got in touch to find out all about it.

    Tell us about Liondub International, the NYC based ragga label, and the Humble album you’re releasing on it?

    I co-run Liondub International with Eric Wise, aka DJ Liondub, out of Brooklyn NYC. We feature all styles of bass culture music but focus mainly on jungle and dubstep. We also have Liondub 45 which is a reggae / dub label.

    I met Liondub a few years back when he came to Toronto to DJ. He told me about his links to Jamaican artists and we set a plan in order to create a label that works directly with Jamaican artists.

    Humble is the first reggae / dub / dancehall influenced jungle LP we’ll be putting out. We decided to put out two EPs spread over five or six months in order to promote the LP which will be dropping January 3rd 2011.

    The music on this album project as very dancefloor friendly and heavily influenced by Jamaican dancehall and soundsystem vibes, but how do you describe your own tracks, and what kind of “genres” would you say they belong to?

    The Humble LP is a tribute to reggae / dancehall and dub influenced jungle. When I first heard jungle in 91/92 I was drawn to the reggae and dub influences in the music.  I had always hoped to one day work with original Jamaican singers and deejays without having to sample them illegally.  This LP is the first step in that direction. [Read More]

  • INTERVIEWS: THE ORIGIN OF GOOD RECORDS NYC

    By James Wells – Waxpoetics.com

    Is New York still a good place to buy records? Jonny Sklute (alternatively known under the handle Jonny Paycheck), owner, clerk, and CEO of Good Records NYC, would like to think that it remains a great place to sell them. A risk management broker turned record dealer, Sklute launched his storefront venture in 2005, right alongside the storied and busy market of East Village/Lower East Side record stores: A-1, the Sound Library, Gimme Gimme. I caught up with Sklute to see how the market was doing.[Read More]

  • NEWS: FRANCOIS.K AUDIO INTERVIEW

    François Kevorkian Audio Interview 20.08.09 by djmixes

    Paul Morley speaks to Francois Kevorkian, legendary DJ at New York’s Paradise Garage and Studio 54, about the emergence of disco, it’s continuing influence, and how he remixed the Smiths…

    François Kevorkian, alias François K, (born January 10, 1954) is a French DJ, remixer, producer and record label owner of Armenian descent living in the US. Having started his career in renowned clubs such as the Paradise Garage and Studio 54, the NYC-resident is widely considered as one of the forefathers of house music.

    Born and raised in France, Kevorkian’s passion for music led to playing the drums during his teen years. He moved to the United States in 1975, where he hoped to find more challenging situations than those back home. Due to the heavy competition for any gig as a drummer in those days, he instead tried his hand at becoming a DJ in underground New York City clubs, around 1976. His career then skyrocketed, and he quickly made this his full-time occupation, although some work was at more commercial venues such as the club New York, New York in 1977. He taught himself tape editing and started making disco medleys, some of which are still popular to this day, such as Rare Earth’s “Happy Song”. He was offered a position doing A&R for a nascent dance indie record label, Prelude Records, which allowed to him to go into the studio and do remixes. His first remix, of a Patrick Adams production, “In The Bush” by Musique became a wild success both in clubs and on the radio. It was the first of many remixes that helped Prelude define the sound of New York’s dance music, including many memorable songs, including “You’re The One For Me’ and “Keep On” by D-Train, and “Beat The Street” by Sharon Redd. His stint at Prelude ended in 1982, the same year where he had the most number one singles in Billboard’s Dance Music Chart, which included his remixes of now-classic songs such as “Situation” by Yazoo, and “Go Bang” by Dinosaur L. [Read More]

  • NEWS: TIMO MAAS INTERVIEW

    By Albert Freeman – halcyonline.com

    Timo Maas is a consummate professional DJ. After getting his start in the ’80s DJing records in top 40 clubs, Maas made the transition to Techno sometime in early ’90s and hasn’t looked back since. After quickly becoming a fixture on the European club scene, it was just a short time before his fame obliged him to enter the studio to put his own name on things. Never one to work alone, Maas enlisted the help of a series of collaborators to steer him on his path towards DJ super-stardom, peaking in the mid-2000s with Martin Buttrich who soon after launched on his own path to stardom. Changes were in the works however. Following the music industry’s near-total breakdown at the beginning of the decade and also changing fortunes in Maas’ own releases, not to mention Maas’ own desires to start a family and change his lifestyle, he took some time off between 2006 and 2007 to reconstruct his life, both professionally and personally, breaking his longtime relationship with Buttrich and moving to a country house to raise his new daughter while releasing only a few remixes to keep his name current. [Read More]

    Timo Maas on dailysession.com SESSION 673: GUEST SESSION 11.12.10

  • INTERVIEWS: STROBE LODGE DJS

    In 2004, Dennis Kane and Darshan Jesrani met during a sound check. A friendship and creative bond grew from that moment and Adult Section and Strobe Lodge eventually began. June 4th will be the next installment of the Strobe Lodge, and DailySession recently sent Darshan and Dennis some questions, via email, to get a better look at what pushes them and delivers such solid parties.

    01. How did the two of you meet and begin playing records together?

    DJ: I think the first time we met was at a sound check downstairs at APT on west 13th st. This was probably back in 2004-5.. Not too long after we did our first Adult Section night at a short-lived place called Opus 22, which was near the West Side Highway, an ill-fated venue which ended up closing because one of the bouncers shot someone right outside. That one good night we did there was enough though, to set the tone for what was to come.

    DK: We went in together to preview and EQ the new funktion 1 system at APT, I think in 2004, shortly after that we did a party at Opus 22, it was a one off really, but we had a great time and thought – why not do it again.

    2. What bonds you both creatively when it comes to playing events together?

    DJ: Probably just that we both aspire to play with the most feeling we can, and that we try to play up to people and make the place happen in the best way we know how at the moment. We try to employ some thought, and overall desire to see something different happen each time, each in our own way.

    DK: Well different but sympathetic approaches, but ultimately the desire to make the night as enjoyable as possible while exploring whatever genres of dance music that inspire us. Drive the bus up the hill, and then floor it down the hill! Seriously the idea of a crazed bus trip sounds like an apt description. The nights have always been full on, and there has been an offhanded and easy rapport with a really great crowd of people.

    Read more

  • DAVID MANCUSO, THE LOFT BY TIM LAWRENCE

    By Tim Lawrence

    Like a soup or a bicycle or Wikipedia, the Loft is an amalgamation of parts that are weak in isolation, but joyful, revelatory and powerful when joined together. The first ingredient is the desire of a group of friends to want to get together and have some fun. The second element is the discovery of a room that has good acoustics and is comfortable for dancing, which means it should have rectangular dimensions, a reasonably high ceiling, a nice wooden floor and the possibility of privacy. The next building block is the sound system, which is most effective when it is simple, clean and warm, and when it isn’t pushed more than a fraction above 100 decibels (so that people’s ears don’t become tired or even damaged). After that, the room should be decorated, with balloons and a mirror ball offering a cheap and timeless solution, and because the party might last a long time, and because some friends might be hungry, a healthy spread of food and drink should also be prepared. Finally ? and this really is the last thing to get right, and can only follow once everything else is in place ? the friends will need someone to bring along some dance records. After that, it’s party time. [Read More]