29 Aralık 2007 Cumartesi

Guest DJ Set

Guest DJ Set end of year round up;

First order of business...Huge thanks to the man who supplies the first Friday of every month mix, DJ ESP aka Woody McBride!! He'll be spinning at Foundation TONIGHT. It might be your first chance to hear him live, but it also might be your last chance to go to the club as they are closing on Tuesday, to 're-evaluate their situation'. They are the only downtown venue that has booked touring DJs that we have featured on this segment, including Kaskade and Mark Farina. It's obviously still hard for a club trying to book progressive dance events to stay in business and we wish them well in what ever moves they make, will someone else pick up the slack?

In addition to Woody, we've also featured more local DJs this year than ever before;
Chuck Love, DJ Eve, Freddy Fresh, David Drone & Bryan Gerrard, ODdio, NyteOwl and Jason Heinrichs from Roomsa
and we'll continue to dig for more in '08...spread the word, or send us a set!

We also featured some of the biggest names in the DJ world...John Digweed, Tiesto and Paul Van Dyke.

We had compilation mixes by some of the bands we play ...Cinematic Orchestra, Hot Chip, Spankrock and LCD Soundsystem.

We discovered some new faves; Cafe Abstrait and Terry Lee Brown on our travels in Europe this summer

We revisited some of my fave compilation series; Stephane Pompougnac's "Hotel Costes", DJ Kicks with Booka Shade and
fabric with Cut Copy, Ralph Lawson, Marc Carola, Ellen Allien, Marcus Intalex, Ricardo Villaldos, and...

Ewan Pearson, tonight's featured artist in the review of the best sets of the year.
We played two parts, the beginning and the end, of his 'fabric 35' in August and tonight we complete it by playing the middle, tracks 6 thru 11.

New Years Eve at Midnight we'll play my fave set of the year in it's entirety...
Bob Sinclar's 'Soundz of Freedom' "My Ultimate Summer of Love Mix".
I love the positive vibe that courses throughout this mix, hopefully it will start the new year in the best possible way and adequately commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the Summer of Love.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

27 Aralık 2007 Perşembe

Downtown L.A. is the heart of the city and the party

LOOKING forward to a cozy, serene New Year's Eve, with a bottle of bubbly and maybe quality time with someone special?

Downtown Los Angeles is definitely not the place for you.

The heart of L.A. on Monday night figures to be ground zero for the West Coast's continuing dance music explosion. Three festivals within a 5-mile radius will attract more than 50,000 revelers. Four of the world's top 10 DJs will perform. And companies that erect mammoth tents will turn a tidy profit.

These communal celebrations -- the 10th annual Together as One at the Sports Arena, Giant Maximus in downtown's financial district and the inaugural Hard NYE in the arts district -- reflect not only the strength of electronica as a franchise but the new energy that has been injected into the scene by the wave of rock-leaning "indie dance" artists like French duo Justice, DJing at Hard NYE. (The event planned for the Paramount Studios lot -- where the Killers headlined Gridlock LA in '07 -- was scotched last week for logistical reasons.)

"Dance music is a global force," says Reza Gerami of Go Ventures, a DJ and co-promoter of Together as One. "Because there's no language, it can reach every market, every genre, every demographic, every ethnicity."

It's also very big business. On a night when posh clubs and restaurants are rolling out their finery, rock venues are putting their best feet forward, special-event promoters are hosting dress-up galas and suburban party planners are throwing family-friendly bashes, dance festivals are luring the most adventurous partygoers.

Because New Year's Eve is one dance number you don't get to remix, here's a look at the major festivals -- as well as a few family-friendlier options:

TOGETHER AS ONE

The L.A. Sports Arena, tourist destination? On New Year's Eve it is. "People come from Spain, Mexico City, Rome, the U.K. -- all over the world," Gerami says. "The last thing we want to do is to turn people away."

So Together as One -- a sellout attraction for 20,000 last year -- is expanding its capacity to 35,000 for Monday night by opening up more of the arena's perimeter and using tented areas outside the structure. About three-quarters of the all-ages event will be indoors, including TAO's traditional laser-light show and fireworks display.

Most of the sizzle, though, is provided by the DJ lineup, including three of the top 10 in the world (as selected by DJ Magazine): Sasha, John Digweed and Ferry Corsten. Sasha and Digweed will be on the main stage together to ring in the new year, with Corsten's set to follow. The lineup of supporting acts could be headliners in their own right: among them are Lee Coombs, Deadmau5, and Junior Sanchez.

HARD NYE

Gary Richards, who is co-promoting this event with Hollywood night life veteran Stephen Hauptfuhr, remembers when only a crazy person -- or somebody who really wanted to be underground -- would mount a festival downtown. "Fifteen years ago, it was dangerous," says Richards, a veteran of the warehouse parties that cropped up in the industrial areas of L.A. in the early '90s. "Now downtown is happening."

Indeed, the warehouse district has been re-christened the arts district, and Hard NYE -- with a capacity for 7,000 attendees 21 and older -- brings a lineup heavy on edgy indie dance acts and live rock to an indoor/outdoor festival laid out in a one-block square just west of the 6th Street bridge, near the Toy Factory Lofts.

Peaches will usher in 2008 on the main stage, but Justice (sure to bring the "D.A.N.C.E.") and 2 Live Crew will be big attractions, along with DJs Jason Bentley, A-Trak, Steve Aoki, Busy P (Pedro Winter, the Daft Punk manager and the man behind Ed Banger Records) and myriad rock bands. The eclectic lineup reflects the mashed-up party techno that has attracted so many rock fans, and figures to continue the momentum started by this fall's Neighborhood Festival at Exposition Park, which was backed by, among others, Aoki's record label, Dim Mak.

"Kids are gonna mix it all together," Richards says. "All of a sudden over the past couple years, there has been this explosion of what I call indietronic. Kids are embracing it."

GIANT MAXIMUS

Dance music stalwart Giant, reconvening its circus-like Giant Maximus for a second year, also is acknowledging the new strain of dance music, bringing in (along with sponsor KROQ-FM) the likes of MSTRKRFT, LA Riots and Franki Chan (Aoki's ex-partner in the club promotion Cinespace Tuesdays)."I call it danceable rock," Giant's Dave Dean says. "It just fits nicely. We had MSTRKRFT at Giant [the weekly club night at Vanguard] with John Digweed and we liked what he did there."

Those side-stage acts might be dwarfed by the main attraction, Tiësto, who graced the Southland with two thundering sets in 2007-- at Coachella and in August at the Sports Arena. "He works hard, and he's very active in the creative process of his gigs," Dean says.

Last year's sellout under the three massive tents seems to have erased any sour taste from the rain-induced cancellation of a Giant street festival two year ago. This year, Dean again expects to reach the capacity of 10,500.

Robbie Rivera precedes Tiësto on the main stage, and Roger Sanchez spins a four-hour set on another. Of course, there will be the requisite midway attractions, including carnival rides and circus performers, stationed in the center of the 7-acre parking lot near 8th and Figueroa streets.

OCNYE

This Orange County event announced itself with a bang two years ago with a celebration capped by an "Orange Drop" -- a giant, pyrotechnic-juiced ball that dropped at midnight. After two years at the Orange County Fairgrounds, OCNYE looked for greener pastures.

After plans for holding the event at the Oaks Blenheim Event Center ran into opposition from the city of San Juan Capistrano ("I was really excited about doing it there -- it would have been a mini-Coachella setting," promoter Rich Goodwin says), organizers moved it to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, where up to 16,000 will get their Orange Drop and music from a nostalgia-heavy lineup that includes Third Eye Blind, the Psychedelic Furs, Berlin and the English Beat (along with notable up-and-comers the Shys and Dusty Rhodes and the River Band).

"We nailed the lineup this year, and it's cohesive with what's going on on our side stages," Goodwin says. "It will be better visually for the festival-goer." Perhaps only the promoter will feel the difference: at Verizon, the venue owns the concession rights.

Another event, the Mardi Gras-themed Carnivale 2008, has slipped in behind OCNYE at the fairgrounds. Carnivale's fare was seeming heavy on the costumes, light on the entertainment, but last week promoters announced the main stage headliners: the Donnas, Louis XIV and Smile Empty Soul.

MORE FOR THE FAMILY

Downtown Fullerton will be alive with music, fireworks and children's activities at the 17th annual First Night Fullerton. James Intveld heads up the lineup at the alcohol-free event. UniversalCityWalk expects a full plaza for its bash, with the countdown on the big screen and music provided by Fast Times. And Christian musicians Aaron Shust and Hawk Nelson (among others) will be at Knott's Berry Farm for Praise 2008.

Eighty Things to Watch in 2008

PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- JWT, the largest advertising agency in the U.S. and the fourth-largest full-service network in the world, today released its list of 80 things to watch in 2008.

"These people, products, places, services and shifts will help to define 2008," says Ann Mack, director of trendspotting at JWT. "By examining what will resonate with people or drive their thinking and behavior, we can identify larger patterns that will shape all of our lives in the years to come."

"Love it or hate it, technology continues to be a common thread on our list," adds Mack. "It drives the serendipitous randomness that throws up chance connections, groundbreaking discoveries and great business ideas."

    JWT's list of 80 Things to Watch in 2008, in alphabetical order:

1. Africa (foreign investment and development in)
2. Antibiotic backlash
3. Assisted marriage
4. Beijing 2008
5. Blue replacing green as the environmental movement's color du jour
6. Brain exercises
7. British actress Keira Knightley
8. Carbon tax
9. Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang
10. Classical musician Gustavo Dudamel
11. Climate sightseeing
12. Continuation of comebacks (Indiana Jones, The Cure, etc.)
13. Cooperative consumption
14. Couch surfing
15. Country branding (Oman, Indonesia, etc.)
16. Designer Phillip Lim
17. De-teching
18. DJ Tiesto
19. DNA-based exercising
20. E-clutter (and e-clutter consultants)
21. Eco-fatigue
22. E-mail etiquette
23. Facebook suicides
24. Fashion label Vena Cava
25. Foreign government investment (e.g., China, UAE) in U.S. companies
26. French President Nicolas Sarkozy
27. Game 3.0 (gamer-generated global gaming)
28. Google's Android
29. Gossip Girl
30. Gphone
31. Green weddings
32. Higher education online
33. Hip-hop's Retro Kids
34. Humbling of the hedge fund manager (anti-excess post sub-prime)
35. Hybrid taxis
36. Indian actress Deepika Padukone
37. Intellectual luxury
38. Investigating ingredients
39. Japanese designs (Tsumori Chisato, Uniqlo, Muji, etc.)
40. Kitchen appliances as new power tools
41. Lifestyle curators
42. Lipstick trumping lip gloss
43. Manga-inspired clothes
44. Mobile technology explosion
45. Mobulimia
46. Music as awareness driver; concerts and other residuals as cash cow
47. Musicovery (music tailored to moods)
48. Myanmar
49. Nollywood (the rise of Nigerian cinema)
50. Outsourcing to Ukraine (and other Eastern European countries)
51. Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto
52. Pantone's 18-3943 (blue iris)
53. Pets in the office
54. Prius homes
55. Radical transparency
56. Radiohead repeats (name-your-own-price music)
57. Recycling into fashion (Nau, Gary Harvey, etc.)
58. Selfless as the new selfish
59. Sex and the City, the movie
60. Shiny Toy Guns (the band)
61. Skiing in novel spots (Kashmir, Japan, Greenland, Russia, Korea,
etc.)
62. Single men saying no to sex
63. Skype sex
64. Smart Cars in American cities
65. SNS (social network service) brand communities
66. Spanish actor Javier Bardem
67. Staycations
68. Sturking
69. Tequila as the new wine
70. The N-11
71. Third screen (the mobile screen) rivaling the first screen (TV: 24.73, +0.08, +0.32%)
72. Trans-ertainment
73. U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson
74. U.S. presidential election
75. Vicarious consumption
76. (Video) Gaming Olympics
77. Virtual gifting
78. Wannabe young Internet entrepreneurs (a.k.a. Mark Zuckerberg
copycats)
79. Weak dollar/strong euro
80. Women juggling men
About JWT JWT ranks as the largest advertising agency brand in the United States and the fourth-largest full-service network in the world. Its parent company is WPP (Nasdaq: WPPGY). JWT's heritage of brand-building excellence extends back to 1864, making us the world's oldest advertising agency brand. In 1939, JWT pioneered the first national consumer research panel. In 1988,

23 Aralık 2007 Pazar

Goa to host first legal electronic dance festival

MUMBAI: Led Zepellin’s reunions show at O2, London earlier this month was Jim Baggot’s last project. He has been producer for Glastonbury’s dance stages over the last decade.

This time, the producer who has also worked with Bruce Springsteen and Nelly Furtado, is a consultant for Sunburn Goa 2007, scheduled to be held over this weekend. The organizers flash him as one of their trump cards over the last music festival Goa saw, the Big Chill in April.

This is the second two day festival that India, and Goa more specifically, will see in 2007. However Devraj Sanyal, the CEO of PDM points out that this will be the first legal electronic dance festival in the country. Raves not counted.

The organisers are quick to highlight other differences. For instance, Nikhil Chinapa, the creative head and co-founder, says that he, “just wanted a party that was completely homegrown. This festival is going to be like that and not imported.” The VJ/DJ/MC is referring to the artist line-up.

Half of the 40 artists performing at Sunburn will be Indian. These include artists like Jalebi Cartel, Shaii’r and Func and the Midival Punditz. The Big Chill on the other hand had almost all their artists flown in, including those of Indian origin. Another key difference is that The Big Chill had a mix of more traditional live performers.

This time, playing the new fangled ‘instruments’ like turn tables and mixers are internationally known names like Carl Cox, Above and Beyond and Axwell. The sounds of these musicians will be boomed across 20,000 square meters with a capacity of 7,000 people.

What Jim Baggot brings with him is the technical knowhow to ensure that the V-dosc line array speaker system spreads 110 decibels evenly across the two dance floors. His expertise extends to the stage decor and lighting as well. “to me, there’s nothing better than being outside,” he says, adding that lighting will play a critical role given the fact that the festival is being filmed. The performance areas of the two main stages are around 200 feet apart.

During sunset, a third stage will come alive on the sands offering the west cost sunset as a backdrop. This stage is accessible to people who are not a part of the festival as well a free-for-all party. The core party is far from free with tickets currently priced at Rs 2,500 for the two days. It will go up to Rs 3,500 during the last few days upto the party. So far 1,800 tickets have been sold online and the organizers are expecting to see another 5000 tickets start moving as soon their publicity campaign begins.

The party, despite other reports does not go on uninterrupted for 48 hours. It begins at 10 in the morning on both days and wraps up by 11pm. With the support of the local police the festival aims to stay clean. Plain clothes police among the party-goers, will ensure the Goa-regulars leave their candy and stamp collections at home. Clean partying is the theme of the season, with the dance community Submerge driving the online buzz. The community aims at bringing together electronic music fans in India.

Also on board is the Ministry of Tourism. Aman Anand, the festival director, says that the festival enjoys support from the Ministry and that they are aware of the revenue potential that such events bring to the state. With the support of the government, the frequency of such events is bound to increase.

The intent is to make it as big as the biggest party Chinapa attended in Amsterdam Dance Valley, which had 13 stages and DJ Tiesto enthralling 85,000 people at the grand finale. Right now with a capacity of 7,000 people and two stages Chinapa says, “We have a long way to go and I’m happy to make the journey no matter how long it takes.”

18 Aralık 2007 Salı

DJ 4 Strings, Paul Oakenfold, Sebastian Bach

DJ 4 Strings, Ultra Trance 07 (Ultra Records)

Ultra Records will continue dictating the modern dance-club paradigm until further notice; the compilations the imprint churns out invariably focus on who’s-who remixes of the world’s biggest songs. In March, to cite just one example, Tommie Sunshine compiled Ultra Rock Remixed, which included techno-fied versions of tunes from Good Charlotte, Glitch, Mindless Self Indulgence and Gang of Four. Sunshine’s a weird guy, with his ZZ Top look and never shutting up about his love for his hot girlfriend, but he’s a go-to guy in that space, as DJ 4 Strings (a 2-man collaborative fronted by Carlo Resoort) is within the realm of progressive trance.

If you’ve been out of the scene for a few years, you’re advised to listen to a few samples before committing to this album. 4 Strings is into progressive trance, a major jump from traditional trance, which is characterized by its hyperactive thumping beats and anthemic melodies. Progressive trance has a much more subtle way of implementing high BPM (beats per minute) counts, thus if you’re expecting crazy-ass stuff like Darude’s “Sandstorm,” you’re going to be bummed.

Thin White Duke retrofits Gwen Stefani’s mid-tempo ghetto-torch “4 in the Morning” with a lot of extra blips and whaps and maybe one or two upticks in overall speed, but it comes off more as a glorified house tune than a laser-blasted mind-blower. More obvious is the Vission vs Aude remix of Hilary Duff’s “Stranger,” which is without question general-issue house.

So it goes through disc 1, the most action coming from Tiesto’s original “Break My Fall.” Disc 2 is more enticing going by the track list alone – Above & Beyond have the progressive trance genre down better than anybody, and their “Good For Me” is a sight for sore ears. Other pay-attention names on disc 2 include Sander van Doorn (with the original “Grasshopper” in all its cataclysmic, system-crashing glory) and Armin van Buuren’s hard-charging “This World is Watching Me.” Speaking of van Buuren, keep in mind that his more traditional State of Trance albums are the ones trance-heads buy up without hesitation; the progressive trance thing is cute and all, but it’s ripe for creating mass confusion, which has indeed happened on more than one occasion.

Eastern Blok, Folk Tales (Eastern Blok Records)

A no-brainer choice for NPR freaks, and in fact the band – formerly the Goran Ivanovic Group – made an appearance recently on the network. Ivanovic is a Croatian guitarist, joined here by flutist/saxophonist Doug Rosenberg to manage all the harmonics, which are in turn backed by top-drawer jazz bass and drums. The deal here is a pastiche of pan-cultural folk music (Middle Eastern and East European, mostly), classical and Spyro Gyra-style jazz-prog, a mishmash broad and Hollywood enough to have gotten the band a few spots on the soundtrack for Angelina Jolie’s Wanted. Being that it’s Ivanovic’s vessel, we steer into Django Reinhardt speed-picking waters first off with “Tango Pajdusko,” a few Borat-like passages sneaking in to spell out “eclectic” for listeners unfamiliar with the concept of polyrhythm. More Borat on “Balkan Healer” didn’t impress me as much as “Sorrow’s Secret,” a slower piece that’s symphonic in scope. You’ll have to pardon a short curmudgeonly segue here. A lot of people would die for this stuff, and it’s won a lot of recognition, but if it was made for anything, it’s NPR program-reminder wallpaper, which bums me out – I’m getting quite weary of the network’s tacit cheerleading of the ongoing Bush crisis, but don’t mind me.

Hurt, Vol II (self-released)

Hurt didn’t hit the New Artist chart at #1 simply because their drummer’s the son of Zep/Van Halen producer Andy Johns; they’re worthwhile because they treat nu-metal like the urinal it is. Best described as a cross between Live and Candlebox, they’re organic without telegraphing such, like a crew of hillbillies out to throw a monkey in the wrench of a Linkin Park listening party, sort of like Dropbox but with real purpose in life and no sourball-puckered Creed vocals. Their entire trip can be grokked for what it is through a few listens to teaser single “Ten Ton Brick,” a drag-and-drop exercise in ringout riffage, Ozzy arpeggios and front-guy J. Loren’s feigned instability. When in ballad mode, they don’t screw things up by playing fist-in-the-air cartoon characters, this demonstrated in “Aftermath” through simple but wonderfully ambient piano/guitar interplay and Loren’s fragile – occasionally croaking – normal-dude vocals; the song works not just on the level of Bic-flick arena-metal-stopper but could have made it onto any modern pop record. Only misstep is “Abuse of Sid,” whose refrain is pure Candlebox filler.


Creature Feature
, The Greatest Show Unearthed (Sumerian Records)
The demographic that goes in big for Corpse Bride can jump right in and start bobbing its collective head to this wholly similar product. Firmly rooted in visual imagery – from say a Maurice Sendak-inspired Tim Burton re-energized for a go at whimsical goth cartoons – it’s comfort food for the ears of pancake-face hallow-teens and people whose collections of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazines are pathetically gigantic (guilty). Old-school kraut-electro outfit Das Ich feinted in this direction with their 2006 album, Cabaret, but couldn’t muster the conceptual nerve to provide the record the constant barrage of honking calliope and carnival barker bullhorn it needed, but Creature Feature (presently on tour with Wednesday 13, goth’s answer to Iggy Pop) are burdened with no such qualms, trotting out all manner of squishy, bony, needle-fanged Muppets doing a lot of Nightmare Before Christmas-like la-la-la-ing accompanied by 80s synth lines straight out of Lost Boys and Fright Night.

Otep, The Ascension (Koch Records)

It’s odd that Otep Shamaya, after being freed from her Capitol Records contract and handing her life over to the world’s biggest indie, chose to skip the glaze-eyed spoken word babblings that put her on the map. Not completely, mind you; she goes into a Saw-vs-martians stream of consciousness soliloquy for the entire length of the hidden track, and she’s still the spookiest person in metal, what with her Lucia Cifarelli-like puma-screeches and beware-the-nutty-chick hiccups hot-linked to every song. But this is a comparatively straightforward screamo/nu-metal exercise, which in turn puts the burden on her to make her (always creepy) poetry heard over fast-chugging KMFDM guitars and double-bass breaks; sometimes it works, sometimes you miss the wigged-out spontaneity. Music-wise the band remains edgier and more slickly produced than anything the Metal Bladers are knocking together between band-member firings; in “Confrontation” she makes a play for the Evanescence kids, blending goth and sheer hardness with riffing you might hear from Megadeth. Similarly, “Noose & Nail” throws its Amy Lee pomposity into an industrial-metal blast-furnace in time to prevent it from becoming completely useless.

Paul Oakenfold, Greatest Hits & Remixes (Ultra Records)

Until recently, a greatest-hits album from someone who spins records for a living would have been near-unthinkable. Oakenfold, however, is held in higher esteem by the mainstream than even Tiesto, never mind guys like Paul van Dyk. A lot of this stuff you’ve heard if you ever watch movies – “Dread Rock” is here in all its Darude-like power-flute glory, as is his remix of David Arnold’s James Bond Theme from Die Another Day (in turn cleverly paired up with the like-minded spaghetti-secret-agent guitar of “Ready Steady Go” from the Korean disco scene in Collateral). Other material here is lesser-known to non-wonk dance-clubbers – English techno band Underworld recently released the hypnotic, very danceable album Oblivion with Bells, and the band’s autobahn-cruising “Born Slippy Nuxx” received an Oakenfold makeover that’s part of this package. Massive Attack’s urban-desperation-opus “Unfinished Sympathy” may not have been my first choice to get remodeled into a deep house joint (just picture “Karmacoma” getting its brains dubbed out), but then again, if rock critics ruled the world you wouldn’t want to be in it.

Raine Maida, The Hunters Lullaby (Kingnoise/Nettwerk Records)

The single nicest surprise so far this music-product off-season is, perplexingly enough, Canadian. Maida, the singer for Our Lady Peace, watched his band run the table at Canadian awards shows and rack up sales everywhere but here in the US, where their biggest exposure came via the song “Whatever,” which, as luck would have it, crazy-murdering steroid-gulper Chris Benoit adopted as his WWE intro song. The band progressively toned down their hard rock, story of everybody’s life, but that didn’t play in Peoria either, so here he’s gone solo to see what American lovin’s in store by edging a little toward the hip-hop side.

That’s not to say he’s decked out in grills nowadays, but the menacing piano loop in album roll-out track “Careful What You Wish For” does forebode gat-fire and hard pipe-hittin’ hood tales. It never deteriorates into in-your-face honky rap, though; Maida mixes a few unobtrusive, natural rhyme-flows up with his Sinex-blasted nu-metal croak, sounding nervous but musically aware. “Yellow Brick Road” is a drop-dead post-Beck hit that seems to have simply slipped out of him; great chorus and enough hip-hop to inspire bursts of table-drumming in the sports bars down here in Bushworld, one would think. Just in case, though, “China Doll” tables a little French-café alt-folk for the home crowd.In sum, the album’s a grower if given half a chance, familiar but a little dark and cold and unsure of itself, although it really needn’t have been.

Sebastian Bach, Angel Down (EMI Records)

No matter what cultural vacuum Sebastian Bach gets sucked into, he always runs back to his beloved Screamy Screamington thrash and axe-demon crunch. There were the Broadway turns, the Gilmore Girls episodes, and the reality TV BFF heart-to-hearts with Kurupt, but you didn’t seriously think that a massive shift of artistic paradigm was taking place in Johann’s head, did you? Plus, for a while there it looked like Guns n Roses were going to get back together, and there was no way Bach was gonna sit still while those guys ran off with all the hot Mensa babes. Besides, we all know that those art-snob departures were heartfelt but overdone atonements for the Homophobic Slur On The Tee Shirt Incident back in ’89. But I won’t mention that.

When Velvet Revolver was forming, Slash gave Bach a tryout but canned the idea, saying that the sessions sounded too much like Skid Row. Jeez, what was he shooting for, Collective Soul? Because that’s the thing – if Bach’s the singer, it’s Skid Row. QED, then, Angel Down is a Skid Row album. When guest screamer Axl Rose trades screams with Bach during the cover of Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle,” he sounds like he’s been helplessly assimilated, stressing to keep up. As usual, there’s polite thrash-metal, blues scales getting beaten to pulps, and Bach’s screaming – nothing new, a fish gotta swim thing.

Shocking Pinks, Shocking Pinks (Astralwerks Records)

This late entry was a stowaway on an Astralwerks care package that included the new Air Traffic LP, which doesn’t hit stores until February. Untested new albums are scarcer than Nintendo Wiis this time of year, so I had three choices: review this, which is old news; review one of the 10 billion Compost releases that I’ve been ignoring for months now (I’m on Ultra’s promo list, so why pretend to be engrossed in unusable Euro-tech acts like Jazzanova?); or do a high-school-book-report-style snoozer on a best-of or live album, which is all that’s been coming out.

For once, luck shone. By going with the most interesting-looking thing (pretty much anyone would give a band called Shocking Pinks at least fifteen seconds to make their case) I can now atone for the Bill Buckner I pulled last year by tossing Cold War Kids’ Robbers and Cowards on the Teensy Bit Too Late To Review stack instead of doing my job and writing it up months before every natural-born-hipster on earth started wearing Cold War Kids tee shirts.

Like Robbers and Cowards, Shocking Pinks is made of parts you’ve heard before, but taken as a whole it’s a jaw-dropper. Nick Harte’s absinthe-drowned voice synchs perfectly with the music’s paisley drone, blurry shoegaze guitars and New Order-like rubber-band bass, but there’s a depth to all of it that can only be described anecdotally – for me, it was like hearing early Cure tunes for the first time; minimalism gone wild. Very nice surprise here.

15 Aralık 2007 Cumartesi

DJ Tiësto Opens Cineac with Soundweb Control

World-famous Dutch DJ Tiësto has opened a new club-restaurant in Amsterdam. Called Cineac, this former cinema (and once Planet Hollywood) is situated in the heart of the city, close to the Rembrandtplein.
The multi-storey venue was taken over last year by the owners of the Mansion — another luxurious club in the Dutch capital — and Tiësto, who was looking to expand his portfolio beyond touring. The new installation features a Harman Pro solution from the ground up, with Soundweb London from BSS Audio at the heart of the control.
Using HiQnet London Architect, the system was designed by Martin van Kouwen from Audio XL, the Harman Pro distributors, using a CobraNet digital backbone and Harman’s proprietary HiQnet communications protocol. The installation was carried out by locally-based audio visual specialists, Vasco Showtechniek to comply with local sound regulations; last year the same company installed a matched Harman Pro system in the prestigious XtraCold Amsterdam complex.
As for Cineac, this serves as both a nightclub with central stage, and high-class Chinese/Dim Sum restaurant — with a VIP/cocktail lounge providing the third area. Audio control of each zone is provided by the reconfigurable BLU-80 processor and BLU-32 I/O expander. Three Soundweb London BLU-10 remote touch-screen controllers provide an intuitive local control interface from which source selection and local volume control can be set in each of the club, restaurant and cocktail lounge areas. Wireless control is also possible allowing each location to be equalised remotely.
The Soundweb DSP is used to optimise a main sound reinforcement system comprising six JBL VRX932LA constant curvature line array enclosures plus a pair of L/R custom subs positioned underneath. The delay system features a further four VRX932LA loudspeakers and two VRX918 subs, powered by Crown I-Tech 6000. For monitors, Vasco Showtechniek has provided a JBL SRX712M/SRX 718S combination, powered by Crown XTi amplifiers.
The balcony and lounge areas are serviced by eight JBL Control 25AV and four Control 29 loudspeakers, assigned to Crown CTs 8200 multi-channel amplifiers, while ten JBL Control 26CT ceiling speakers and three Control 19C subwoofers are likewise driven by CTs 8200’s in the restaurant.
Live acts are serviced by an AKG IVM-4 in-ear monitoring system and other Harman Pro components including a Soundcraft GB8 (16/4/8) live sound mixer, UREI 1603, 4-stereo channel DJ mixer, further JBL DJ monitoring, BSS Audio FCS966 30-band graphic EQ, dbx 1066 compressor/limiter, Lexicon MX400 XL four-channel delay — and various AKG microphones.
Said Martin van Kouwen: “This is an elegant solution which allows Cineac to personalise its music in each of the three zones — while the acoustic treatment and programming of the Soundweb DSP thresholds ensure that the venue is no longer beset with sound leakage and excessive volume, which had always been its problem in the past.”

14 Aralık 2007 Cuma

Mel Cheren, the Godfather of Disco and Mentor to DJs, Dies

"This is the story of my gay generation, the world we built and the world we lost." With those words Mel Cheren began his memoir, "Keep on Dancin’: My Life and the Paradise Garage." It was entirely fitting that Cheren considered his own story to encompass the entire world of gay men, because no one did more to create that world.

When Cheren died at the age of 74 on Friday, Dec. 7, his death was marked by an outpouring of grief unique in New York’s gay nightclubbing universe. Like Andy Warhol or Jacqueline Onassis, Cheren’s life-as large it was-stood for something larger than himself. Dubbed "the godfather of disco" (also the title of a documentary film about his life), Cheren was not only instrumental in creating the dance music that became the soundtrack for our lives. He was also emblematic of that world. And when the AIDS epidemic savaged his world, he became a key player in creating the support network of fund-raising and service organizations that sprang up around the disease.

If he had only written his book, Cheren would have left a lasting legacy. Alongside Gary Shapiro’s "Turn the Beat Around," Tim Lawrence’s "Love Saves the Day" and Anthony Haden- Guests’ "The Last Party," "Keep on Dancin’" is an invaluable account of the transformation of American music, from the white-bread songs of the Pat Boone era of the ’50s into the black-influenced early days of rock-and-roll to the Disco Era and beyond. From the late ’50s on, Cheren was a major figure on the scene.

Cheren was born in humble circumstances, the son of a Jewish flower vendor in Boston. A self-admitted nice Jewish boy, Cheren had wanted to get out from under his parents’ thumb. After college and a stint in the Army, where he had his first tentative relationship with another man, he made his way to New York City.

He rose through the ranks of various record companies to become head of production at ABC Records, where he was instrumental in breaking some of the ’60s most important acts. As a regional account executive, he was based in Cleveland, which was a hotspot in the early days of rock. He immediately began pioneering sales techniques and became good friends with radio DJs and record shop owners.

He was offered a high-up position at ABC, but he didn’t want to move to Los Angeles. So he moved over to a smaller label, Scepter Records, where he and the legendary Florence Greenberg pioneered the girl groups who paved the way for the Motown Sound, and lush female vocals of artists like Dionne Warwick, which would provide the framework for Disco.

In 1976, he co-founded West End Records, which, with Casablanca and Salsoul, became the bedrock of the Disco Era. Along he way, he helped create the 12-inch EP, and he extended a record into a B-side instrumental, both of which made possible the advent of the dance-club DJ. By this time, he had already become a denizen of the burgeoning disco scene. In the first wave of disco, when clubs like Arthur, the Peppermint Lounge and Sanctuary allowed a new form of musician, the DJ, to perfect his technique, Cheren could be found on the dance floor, listening for new sounds and introducing ones of his own.

The catalog of records that Cheren produced or in some cases mixed himself over the years reads like a Greatest Hits of the day, including Taana Gardner’s "Heartbeat" and "Work That Body," Garrett Scott’s "Nah Nah Kiss Him Goodbye" and B.T. Express’ "Do It Till You’re Satisfied." "Sessamato," a remixed instrumental from an Italian film score, became the first record scratched by Grandmaster Flash.

The Garage Sound Takes Over
On a trip to Fire Island, Cheren met a man 12 years his younger who was to become the largest part of his life until death parted them, in good times, as they say, and in bad. Michael Brody was good looking, ambitious and moody. The two men bought and fixed up a home in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, and another building in Manhattan’s Chelsea, which was hardly the gay upscale neighborhood it is today. Cheren’s house became known as Colonial Inn, a guesthouse, his eventual home and the birthplace of another movement, related to but far away from the gay dance floor.

On the music scene, Cheren was a restless genius. Merely breaking new acts, new sounds, and new records wasn’t enough for Cheren’s restless genius. Brody, who now became his partner in life and love, built the Paradise Garage. In an era when black and Hispanic gay men were often made to feel out of place at gay discos, the Soho megaclub opened its doors to everyone.

The feel of the Garage was unlike anything that had come before. Its sound system went beyond state of the art; its lights, a psychedelic phantasmagoria. One entered the huge dance space through a long tunnel up King Street, a nondescript Soho sidestreet. People who came to the garage were young black and Hispanic gay men, women and white men. Artist Keith Haring was a habituee. New songs broke there. It became a training ground for DJs, and eventually the Garage Sound would spread to Europe and Asia via spinners like Tiesto and Paul Oakenfeld.

’Save the last dance for me.’
A young DJ named Larry Levan soon made the "Garage Sound" a byword for cutting-edge club music and mixing. Through his mentoring of Levan and the group of DJ acolytes that surrounded him, Cheren fostered a whole generation of DJs and a spectrum of styles that encompasses Little Louis Vega, Danny Krivit, Frankie Knuckles and Junior Vasquez. Through Knuckles, Cheren effectively became the godfather of House as well as disco; while through Vega and the many scratchers and break dancers who frequented the Garage, the godfather of hip-hop as well. And through Krivit, the godfather of Electroclash. There probably isn’t a sound today that Cheren didn’t influence directly.

Manny Lehman was only 18 when he met Cheren at the Garage. Just a kid from the Bronx, Lehman absorbed the Garage’s music and became a retail clerk at Vinylmania. He remembers the thrill of being on the inside when Cheren would tip him off about a new record or artist. "It was such an exciting time in music," he recalls. "There was no Internet. You had to be there. And Mel was always there, at the center of it.

Eventually, the Garage closed, a victim of finances, personalities, changing times. And something else, something insidious that had begun killing Cheren’s friends and colleagues.

AIDS Brings the Party Crashing to an End
In his book, Cheren describes those dark years. He recalls the last hours of the Saint, the even-larger East Village gay disco that competed with the Garage and survived it just barely until it, too, succumbed to the death of so many of its members: "A world had just come to an end and now we were going to have to find our way in a new world, to survive if we could or, like most of my friends, even many of those who were there that final night, to die."

Cheren came of age at a time when gay men didn’t stay or come out of the closet because there was nothing but the closet. He and Brody had stumbled on the disturbances in June 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, and he, like everyone else, reveled in the sexual freedom of the ’70s. Unlike many others, however, when AIDS came, he didn’t escape but reached out. He tried something called the American Run for the End of AIDS. When that didn’t raise enough money, he turned to what he knew best, the music industry. He founded 24 Hours for Life, which became LIFEbeat, popular music’s AIDS fundraising arm.

Nor did his energy stop there. He donated space in a building he owned in Chelsea so that a group of dedicated volunteers could do the first work of helping people succumbing to the disease. This was the first home of Gay Men’s Health Crisis, today marked by a plaque on the site.

Cheren kept busy with his painting, for which he always had proficiency and became a way of expressing his feelings as friends dropped around him. Many of his artwork adorns album covers. He also had his music. Although he eventually sold West End Records, he remained active in the music world. In the late ’90s, he revived West End and was working on a multi-disk compilation at the time of his death.

Ironically, Cheren himself had not been diagnosed with HIV until shortly before his death. "For a man of his age, he was pretty healthy," said Dr. Frank Spinelli, who cared for him in his final illness. His decline was rapid from initial diagnosis. He spent his last days at a hospice associated with Cabrini Hospital, where a parade of family, friends and admirers bade their farewells.

All his life, Cheren kept a coterie of young people around him. He loved to mentor people in all sorts of ways. When he was spotted at one of his friend Michael Fesco’s dance cruises around Manhattan, or at the occasional Center Dance, or at a Saint at Large party, Cheren would either have been on the dance floor or talking to a gaggle of people. Always interesting and never forbidding, he was always accessible, encouraging and kind. The number of people who fell under his influence is probably beyond measuring. The mark he left will remain as long as people get their groove on on the dance floor.

The LGBT Center, to which Cheren bequeathed the bulk of his estate, is planning a memorial service in his honor. It is tentatively planned for Jan. 21, 2008, which would have been his birthday.

Cheren’s favorite sayings were that everything happened for a reason and "Save me a place on the dance floor." But perhaps the best way to sum up his extraordinary life comes from his book: "There was a time when we had the whole world dancing."

b
y Steve Weinstein
New York Editor-In-Chief

12 Aralık 2007 Çarşamba

Dance scene pulsates with Tiesto

Dutch DJ/producer Tiesto and the return of house music were the highlights of the dance scene in 2007.

Tiesto's spectacular tour -- named after his album "Elements of Life" -- featured sky-high video screens, pyrotechnics and trippy appearances by Blue Man Group. With a lighter-hoisting rock scope and a "concert-style" set programmed to match the visual onslaught, the tour blazed a new trail for DJ performance.

And the fans who attended in droves were dedicated, not casual; singing every word of the vocals and recognizing the instrumentals at first bleep. Even before he took the stage, the enthusiastic twenty-somethings on the floor were so pumped that they erupted into spontaneous soccer chants.

"Tiesto had the most heat (in 2007)," says John Parker, VP of A&R/dance promotion at indie dance label Robbins Entertainment. "The big story was his tour and all the people talking about it for weeks after he left their city. That was very encouraging to see and hear."

A world away from paint-peeling Dutch trance was the still-energetic, yet more sophisticated house of French imports like David Guetta and Bob Sinclar and U.S. originals like Kaskade and Roger Sanchez.

"House tracks laced with vocals are making a smashing comeback, getting airplay and creating quite a buzz," says Jessica Risling-Sholl, director of marketing at New York-based Ultra Records, which handles Tiesto and Guetta.
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Already familiar to existing dance fans, yet willing and able to pen songs in pop structure and length, these DJ/producers are spearheading a new movement that is already merging the old dance factions.

Hosh Gureli of new mainstream-leaning download site Masterbeat.com named Sinclar his artist of the year. And Brad Roulier, founding partner of Beatport.com -- the DJ download site where the most cryptic of dance music gets sold -- predicts "a big comeback for house music and fun" in '08.

Guetta's recent stop at tiny New York club Cielo was a shocking spectacle: The well-heeled crowd -- out on Thanksgiving night, no less -- pawed at the lanky DJ like he was Elvis reincarnated, climbing banquettes to snap his photo, gazing at him with the kind of devotion usually reserved for teen idols.

By Kerri Mason
Reuters/Billboard

11 Aralık 2007 Salı

'Armin Only' coming in 2008

In his manner of dropping bombs on the ITM forums, Future Entertainment managing director Mark James has done it again with the news that the world’s #1 DJ Armin van Buuren will be back again next June for another Australian tour. Only this time he’ll be bringing the whole ‘Armin Only’ show with him.

“Armin Van Buuren remains our priority in 08, as the worlds No 1 DJ,” Mark said in the Melbourne forums HERE. “He will be here in June for ‘Armin Only’ shows, 2 of only 3 in the world filmed live for his new ‘Armin Only’ DVD (massive production). It will be history in the making.”

But it was in the same breath that he shattered the persistent rumours that Tiesto would be touring next year in April when Future Entertainment takes its first Cream tour around the country (check news HERE). “Future will not be touring Tiesto,” he stated frankly. And while this doesn’t answer the question as to who the “really big headliner” will be for the tour, all signs are still pointing to wards Tiesto returning at some stage during 2008, whether it’s Future Entertainment touring him or not.

So what can we expect from an ‘Armin Only’ show? Armin himself hinted in an ITM interview earlier this year that June’s ‘White Party’ tour was the testing grounds for the possibility of bringing the whole elaborate show back at some later stage. Expect over-the-top production, bombastic Euro-style theatrics (dancers, extravagant lighting effects, Armin emerging from behind a silhouetted white sheet) as well as a bunch of guest vocalists and live acts to make sure that it seems like a lot more than just a DJ set.

Behind the velvet rope

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Holly and Molly lean into each other.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss," a man urges on the reality-TV stars of Sunset Tan.

Techno music throbs overhead. Its pulsating rhythm mirrors the exuberant throngs of glossy 20-somethings dancing on stiletto heels. Laser lights paint Mansion nightclub hot pink and purple.

Eyes are on the Olly Girls, otherwise known as Holly and Molly. The E! network stars and aspiring models ponder whether to kiss or not. Mischief wins over, knowing what happens in South Beach stays in South Beach.

During the day, SoBe — as locals know this Miami Beach district — is a three-tier white cake decorated with faded-pastels architecture and Baywatch babes. Rollerbladers and vintage cars glide on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, lined with streamlined Art Deco buildings. With the sun beating down, residents stay inside while tourists turn lobster-red.

But when the sun dips in the west and casts an orange glow onto swaying palm trees and pearlescent sand, drowsy SoBe morphs into party central. Dwellers on the southern tip of Florida revel from sunset to sunrise — once they manage to pass the scrutiny of bouncers at SoBe's exclusive clubs.

The velvet rope

The line at Privé twists around the block. With coiffed hair and dressed in their Saturday night-best, many in line could have fallen off the fashion pages. In this image-conscious town, appearance matters. Excess is the norm.

A Lucy Liu look-alike in a slinky red dress raises doe-brown eyes imploringly at the bouncer. The mass of muscles smiles back and removes the velvet rope. Beaming triumphal, the nymph steps onto the red carpet. But then the bouncer replaces the rope, preventing her friends from following. She looks back at her glum companions, smiles apologetically and waves adieu before continuing her catwalk to Privé.

Created with Hollywood stars and trendsetters in mind, Privé is where action star Vin Deisel celebrated his birthday and Pamela Anderson launched her book. More recently, Justin Timberlake sipped rum-and-coke in the VIP section near the DJ booth.

With cozy subdued interiors, Privé is tailored for snuggling on natural-hide sofas, pushed up against oak walls. Zen glass fixtures illuminate the space. And like all the top South Beach clubs, you spend the evening standing unless you've reserved a table for $200 or more.

From Privé, I spy a cluster of leggy blondes in the Opium Garden nightclub next door. Privé and Opium are owned by the Opium Group, mastermind of four of the hippest SoBe nightspots.

Each club boasts a unique theme. The most whimsical is Opium, a lush oasis with an outdoor dance floor swathed in white drapes. At night, the pagodas shimmer beneath threads of voluptuous Chinese red lanterns.

A platinum blonde, a dead-ringer for music pinup Gwen Stefani, perches on a daybed by the bar. I realize that in South Beach, if you're not star-gazing, you're bumping into people who look like stars.

Starry, starry night

People tell Jessika Rogan that she resembles Stefani all the time.

"Miami has a different energy," the New Yorker observes. "The heat makes everybody hotter, wilder. In New York, we're wild, but it's darker, more conservative."

Club-hopping Rogan has abandoned Opium in favor of Mansion, a palatial venue that can pack in about 2,500 clubbers. On this particular Saturday, followers of the world's pre-eminent DJ Tiesto (who performed during opening ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics) are crammed into Mansion.

Outside the line weaves down the block for the "Lord of the Trance."

"Wherever Tiesto go, I go," says 34-year-old Manolo Seitner. "His music is called mix techno-trance because it puts you in a trance."

A VIP table starts at $500. Cocktails cost $20 a piece.

Machine smoke fills the high-ceiling Mansion. A flow of Versace suits and Prada dresses bypasses the crowd for the VIP section in the middle of the room.

"Everyone is young and everyone is on credit, credit, credit," says 33-year-old Ryan Verxagio. "Most people here tonight are locals. People usually go out just on the weekend. On weekdays, they do something else. Here in South Beach, every day is a weekend."

Music pounds the walls. Pulsating lights illuminate the club as the crowd chimes: "Tiesto! Tiesto!"

White knight

While beautiful people decorate Mansion, its sister nightclub, Set, is eye candy on overdrive. Rich with colors and fixtures, the glam-studded venue attracts Miami Beach's crème de la crème.

Enormous fiberglass and ivory-colored tusks frame the DJ booth. Red chandeliers drip with multicolored fiber optics and thousands of multifaceted Swarovski crystals. Shapely go-go dancers sway suggestively to music in clear tubes that go up and down.

The noise is deafening on the dance floor. But calm pervades the VIP Trophy Room upstairs, where jet-setters Spike Lee and Britney Spears party in private.

It is past 2 a.m. when I weave through the blanket of people on the dance floor. Out the door and into the balmy night, I am about to jump into a taxi when a voice from behind yells, "Where are you going? It's early."

I turn around to face a miniature Elvis Presley with bleached blond hair. Wearing a gold-studded white suit, he is dwarfed by a woman with glistening black hair and dark, mysterious eyes.

"Can you believe these people?" asks David Free as the pint-size Elvis points to the people in line.

"The door guy just said doors close, and these guys are still hanging out, hoping to get in. Exclusivity. It doesn't matter if you're first in line or last. If the door guy likes the way you look. Boom! You're in. They pull people out of the crowd like they did at Studio 54. You have to have the right look; the right attitude."

So what is the right attitude?

"You act like you don't care," Free says. "I'll show you how it's done."

A 10-minute taxi ride brings us to the doorsteps of ultra-hip Mynt club.

Free casually strolls up to the front of the line and nods to the door guy, who smiles with recognition and lets Free and his entourage in.

"Living in Miami, it's all about attitude. Act like you're important and you are," he says. "You can look like a bum, but if you have the right attitude, it will open doors. Now come into our world."

Gun-shy tourists

Music blasts from all sides as longhaired Latin beauties gather around a Viking. Sun-kissed spiked hair frames tanned features, icy blue eyes and a squared jaw. The Viking catches my eyes and stretches out his hand.

"Let's dance," he says, flashing a toothpaste-commercial smile.

"Can't," replies the idiot, pointing to Free who is doing the boogie-woogie with a redhead.

"You should have danced with him," Free admonishes later. "He was cute. You can always tell a tourist from a local. Tourists are so gun-shy. You're in Miami. We're free spirits here; loosen up or lose out."

By 3 o'clock in the morning, I am ready to lose out. Exhausted, I leave Free.

"Tourists," he starts, "they don't know how to pace themselves. They start too early and give up by midnight. We locals start at 10:30 and pace ourselves. We don't guzzle our drinks. We sip our cocktails — one every half-hour. We do this every night. Our body is used to it. I dance until 4 a.m. Go to bed and wake up at 6 a.m. to walk my dog."

Free kisses my forehead and wishes me good luck as he hands over a list of nightclubs and lounges to visit tomorrow.

"South Beach has a routine," he says. "On Tuesday, you go to the Delano. On Wednesday, Glass at the Forge. On Thursday, you go to Vue at Hotel Victor.

"By the way, you haven't experience life until you experience the Rooftop Lounge at Townhouse Hotel on Friday. Instead of chairs, they have king-size waterbeds."

By DAI HUYNH
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

DJ Tiesto to perform in Istanbul

DJ Tiesto to perform in Istanbul

World renowned DJ Tiesto who is on world tour of his album "Elements of Life" will perform at CNR Fair Center in Istanbul on November 16th.

Elements of Life is the fifth solo CD produced by trance artist Tiesto, released on April 16, 2007. The album contains collaborations with Jes of Gabriel & Dresden's project Motorcycle, Julie Thompson of Holden & Thompson, Charlotte Martin, Christian Burns, BT, and Maxi Jazz of Faithless. BT collaborates with Tiesto for the first time since Love Comes Again, and Faithless' rapper/singer Maxi Jazz is featuring on Dance4Life. The album has more tracks featuring vocals than previous albums

Tiesto's career is punctuated by landmark achievements, the first DJ in the world to sell out a solo stadium event for over 25,000 people 2 nights in a row, he scored a number one hit with his single Traffic, the first instrumental track to reach the top spot in his homeland of Holland in 23 years.

He played live in front of billions of people during the Parade of the Athletes at the official opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens. But despite his meteoric success, Tiesto remains grounded about his achievements and clearly loves making and playing music above the accolades it brings.

Tiesto became a DJ because he 'liked to share music with other people.' 10 years down the line his productions consistently bother the charts and frequently reach number one around Europe.

Though known primarily for his pioneering contributions to the trance scene, Tiesto's style is now a mix of everything: 'trance, house, techno - it's the best of all that the dance world has to offer.' Indeed, his brand of trance was always pushing at the constraints of the genre anyway, featuring soaring vocals from the likes of Sarah McLachlan and Jes, spine-tingling breakdowns, and euphoric melodies at every end of the spectrum.

The concept behind his latest album also forms the basis for his current 'Elements of Life World Tour' which takes the DJ all over the globe. At the same time, the tour is of a size not before known in the dance scene. Since the four elements earth, water, air and fire are the unmistakeable necessities to build and maintain life on Earth, they had to be presented in all their greatness, which results in a stunning production that features state of the art special effects, moving water systems in sync with the music and high definition video screens. It requires three semi trucks to transport the equipment. The mere knowledge that Tiesto, as one DJ with two turntables, is entertaining audiences up to 25,000 people or more has silenced even the worst critic. But that his performances can compete with even the largest stadium concerts of the known world artists is something that the industry never held possible.

The future for Tiesto promises yet further success, both as the solo artist he's become and the DJ we know him to be. 'My new 'Elements of Life' album is doing well, 'In Search of Sunrise 6' has just been released and there will be more remixes, definitely,' he agrees, 'but it's hard to look too far into the future. Every couple of months it seems that something new, unexpected and exciting is happening!'

8 Aralık 2007 Cumartesi

Dj Tiesto İstanbul'u Salladı

"Elements Of Life" turnesi kapsamında CNR Expo Center'da Türk hayranları ile buluşan Hollandalı ünlü DJ Tiesto, hayranlarına unutulmaz bir gece yaşattı ancak, geceye organizasyondaki eksiklikler damgasını vurdu. Biletler 80 bin YTL'ye satıldı, 2 bin YTL'den satılmak istenen sahte biletler ise yetkililerin müdahalesiyle toplatıldı. Pınar Altuğ, Yağmur Atacan, Irmak Atuk, Ömer Karacan gibi isimlerin izlediği konserde, 10 bin kişi çılgın bir gece yaşadı. Tarkan beğendiği DJ ile kuliste tanışıp sohbet etti ancak işi olduğu için konseri izlemeden ayrıldı. Üçüncü kez ülkemize gelmekten çok mutlu olduğunu belirten Tiesto, "Çok para kazanıyorum ama harcamaya vaktim yok. Sadece Aston Martin bir araba alabildim" dedi.