05.09.2014 – #9
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Nick Curly
After six years of running the respected Cécille Records and establishing it as a go to label for fans of a certain strain of house music, the label is going on something of a hiatus. As such, Nick Curly is now focussing on his other main interest, 8Bit Records, and it will be here that the German DJ and producer will hone in once again on the deep and tracky tech house sound that made him so well known in the first place. As well as releasing more of his own EPs, he will of course continue to A&R new talent for the label at the same time as continuing to work with friends and peers like Johnny D and Marcus Fix, who have been a constant throughout Curly’s musical life.
In 2014 the Nick Curly also enters a pantheon of DJ greats with his entry into Defected’s hallowed In the House mix series. It’s a perfect hook up given his close relationship with the label – not only did Defected re-release his debut artist album, Between The Lines, in 2012, but they also helped serve up some killer remixes of it from seminal acts like Larry Heard. On top of this, of course, Curly is a long time DJ who first cut his teeth during his teens with a residency at the legendary Vibration Club in the Karlsruhe region of Germany.
Since then he has gone on to hold down residencies in Ibiza with Kehakuma at Space, where he helped define that night’s sound for a number of years, as well as turning in an official mix CD for them in the past. He’s also mixed an official CD for Cocoon, another Ibiza night at which he has been a popular guest, whilst outside Ibiza he has played the world’s biggest and best festivals and most connoisseur clubs including Womb in Tokyo, Sonus Festival in Croatia, D-Edge in Brazil, Eastern Electrics Festival In London, Love Family Park in Germany and Gypsy Club in Russia.
Curly’s productions and the music released on his labels has come to be known as the Mannheim sound – a deep and tracky tech house style that is loopy and involving, folding you into the groove with each rotation as various elements of soul and melodic beauty infuse the spaces left behind. Whilst tech house is a genre much maligned; Nick Curly has been, is, and always will be a shining example of just how the genre should sound.
“I have a new EP coming out in that style,” says the man himself. “It’s back to more like the stuff I started with; the Mannheim sound that helped launched my international career. People, especially DJs, expect this from me and I know DJs are playing it already.” With a renewed focus on his boutique 8Bit label, plenty more productions in the pipeline and an ever busier DJ schedule, Nick Curly becomes an ever more essential member of the global house community with every passing week.
Cirillo
Carlo Andrea Raggi, aka Cirillo, is one of the best representatives of the Italian techno sound. In more than 30 years his career has taken him around the world travelling side by side with the biggest names in terms of techno music: Carl Cox, Danny Tenaglia, Fatboy Slim, Sven Vath, Paul Van Dyk, Timo Maas, Luciano, Ricardo Villalobos, Loco Dice and many many others. He has participated in some of the most infamous musical events including Love Parade, Ravecity, NRG, Evolution, Mayday, Universe, Love Nation, Union Rave and Odissey. The last such event was in summer 2004, at the Heineken Jamming Festival, in Italy, where he was joined by the Cicoloco Crew and artists such as Massive Attack, Fatboy Slim and Timo Maas. In Ibiza he is resident dj of Circo Loco at DC10, the party that has been defined as being number 1 in the world. He has become unmissible for all of the DJs and people of the island. With the Circolco World tour he has played in the world’s largest capitals, throughout Europe, America, Australia and Asia. His DJ sets have taken place in some of the biggest world clubs, such as Amnesia, Space and Pacha in Ibiza, Limelight, Shelter and the NY Arc in New York, Roxy in Amsterdam, Omen and Dorian Gray in Frankfurt, Palazzo in Bingen, Tribehouse in Dusserldof, E-Werk and Columbia Hallee in Berlin, Heinzkaftwerk, Babalù and Pacha in Munich, Park Cafè in Wiesbaden, Ministry of Sound and The End in London, OXA in Zurich, Warehouse in Tokyo, Zouk in Singapore, Drop in Shangai and Hong Kong to name but a few, all are well remembered by everyone for their great energy, perfect technique and high musical quality. In Riccione, Italy, Cirillo is resident inside the Cocoricò, club that he has launch in the 1990.
Cirillo is also a successful producer. His releases and remixes have travelled around the world thanks to the multiplicity of the musical genres of his productions: techno, progressive trance, acid and house. His individual productions are known as well as the famous musical collaborations he has taken part in. For example let’s remember the collaborations with Lenny Dee AKA Lenny Desiderio; PCP, aka Mark Arcadipane; with the Datura, Italian known duo formed in 1991 by Ciro Pagano and Stefano Mazzavillani; with DJ Ricci Cirillo has produced a series of hits, like the first single from summer 1991 “Nu Style”, “Yerba del Diablo” and “Eternity”; Save the Vinyl Project from Logic Record; Eye Q Record first Sven Vath label. Not forgetting The Pogo, the first name of the Italian group Sensoria, of which the alias was used for hardcore and techno productions, on which Cirillo occasionally collaborated. Cirillo’s last huge success was the tune “Accelerator”, made together with Ricky Montanari for Anodyne Records, it became an essential part of the summer 2002 soundtrack. And now, after 30 years o career, togheter with Athletic Duo will coming out on label LED the relase “Por Obaluae”, with the remixes of Andrew Grant, Renè and Sossa, Luca Baldini.
PAST EVENTS
03.09.2014
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Sasha Carassi
Sasha Carassi is one of those artists who exudes the air of a seasoned veteran, but this is not just because of the years he has been making noise in the industry; it’s his unparalleled skill and work ethic that places him in such a revered position.
2010 was a seminal year for Sasha, as he managed to rise above the flux of producers hailing from his native Napoli. By leaving his mark on labels such as Drumcode, Harthouse, Sleaze, Weave and many others, he established himself firmly in the world of serious Techno which nods slyly to the dark side.
All of this well-deserved hype brought on remixes and collaborations with the most important world techno artists who, along with Sasha, lead the way in this scene.
Sasha Carassi’s plan could not be complete without his Techno love-children, Globox Recordings and Phobiq Recordings. Artists such as Jerome Sydenham, The Advent & Industrialyzer, Secret Cinema, Slam, Samuel L Session, Mikael Jonasson, Space Djz, Matador and a slew of talented producers pushing the Techno envelope have all graced the labels over the past few years.
No stranger to the road, Sasha has been a staple in major festivals and prestigious clubs worldwide, with the added bonus that you can catch him showing off his skills on the decks with actual vinyl, since he himself has been an avid collector since the late 80s.
30.08.2014
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29.08.2014 – #8
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Hito
Hito is a Berlin-based electronic music artist and vinyl DJ with a unique style and aesthetic. Full of colour and character, she was born and raised in Himeji, Japan, and is loved for her sophisticated record collection, her deep techno style, and her incredible ability to entertain crowds with charm and energy.
After moving to the German capital in 1999, she developed her passion for minimal and emotional music pressed on vinyl. Hito connected with electronic music icon Richie Hawtin and became a resident and integral part of his ENTER. experience at Space Ibiza from 2012, the island’s most forward-thinking party concept.
Hito took full ownership of the ENTER.Sake Bar at the outdoor Space terrace with epic sets – sometimes playing all-night long to an incredulous response. The room was modelled on a Japanese Sake Bar and her performances, both in sound and vision, added huge authenticity to the concept, performing in formal dress with a beautiful range of kimonos.
Hito has now evolved into a unique artist of her own right, in-demand around the world for the touch of class she delivers. Her contribution to the Minus release “ENTER.IBIZA 2013” combined with a series of live streams from Ibiza on the Resident Advisor / ENTER. channel resulted in this fascination in her career.
People don’t just like Hito – they LOVE Hito. She recently completed a tour of North American Soho House’s with Hawtin to present the ENTER.Sake concept and she has become an unofficial ambassador for Japan. Her background has seen her strive to share her culture, defining a palette of sounds which she relates to the five senses that have coloured and shaped her life.