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.
Paolo Martini
Paolo Martini’s career spanned over 30 years where he started spinning in many important clubs throughout Italy and exploring his ability as a producer, first going solo and then joined with his long time friend and collegue Gianni Bini.In few time the duo Bini & Martini released hits like “Dancing with you”,”Happiness”,”Burning up”,”Say Yes”,”Stop”.
Starting to become popular in the business Paolo and Gianni began working for different labels like Defected,AM÷PM,Strictly Rhythm,Emi,Peppermint Jam,Universal,Sony,Azuli,Z Records,Nervous. They established the labels Ocean Trax,handled the remix of records from Kylie Minogue,Jamiroquai and achieved record results in the world charts throught different projects like”House of Glass”,”Goodfellas”and “Eclipse” while his reputation
as a DJ brought him to spin in prestigious clubs throughout Italy and Europe.
Paolo has been a testimonial for several clothing brands such as Diesel and Adidas,the mixer Rane MP2015,Nokia and hit the roads with many MTV Tours.Throughout the years his radio mixes have been played on the most popular national networks including Radio Dee Jay,Radio Italia Network,Radio M2O (Italy),BBC Radio One (London,UK),Radio FG (Paris,France),Ibiza Global Radio (Ibiza,Spain)
Since 2008 Paolo establish his new label Paul’s Boutique and work in the studio constantly with Paul C. Since then, the pair have worked tirelessly in the studio and not only seen their music supported by many of the industry’s biggest names, but also seen their work feature on labels including Area Remote, Terminal M,100% Pure, AMA Recordings, Great Stuff, Kiara Records and of course Paul’s Boutique.
2013 is the year of the boyz! After the great response of “Take Some Time” on Terminal M, they strikes again with both tracks “Spunk” on Materialism and “We Repeat” on Cecille Numbers so the duo increase their fame even more : “Spunk” reach # 2 on Beatport Tech House chart and Top 20 on Beatport Main chart as well,sitting there for quite a long time, while”We repeat” became one of the most played tracks for few months,from clubs to festivals and it has even been choosen as the original soundtrack for the trailer of “Love Family Park 2013″.
New releases and tracks in the forthcoming months will be release on labels such Hot Creations,Moon Harbour,Terminal M and Material.
Claudio Di Rocco
Claudio Di Rocco nasce a pescara e a 15 anni comincia a seguire la musica dance e a provare i mixaggi in casa. Dal 1983 inizia a suonare nei club di pescara e abruzzo seguendo la scia Baia Degli Angeli,e subito dopo discoteche come Cosmic Typhoon e Chicago.
La sua avventura come dj cominciò nel 1986 in piccoli localetti della sua provincia, passando soprattutto house prima maniera e funk. Nel 1993 passò a suonare al Club dei 99 e ben presto fu portato nella consolle del Cocoricò di Riccione dove è tutt’ora resident al “Titilla safè priveè” Ora che è un dj molto affermato suona praticamente in tutti i migliori locali italiani e molto spesso è chiamato al Ministry of Sound di Londra dove è molto stimato ed è considerato uno dei dj più forti in Italia. Definito un dj “molto fashion”, piace molto per il suo sound glamour, composto principalmente da molta house melodica ma con una buona base ritmica.
Ilario Alicante
Born in late 1988 under the beautiful Livorno’s sun (italy), the “enfant prodige” Ilario Alicante starts to raise is passion for music at the earliest years of his life,when his mother educated him to listen music for his own pleasure.
Time goes by and Ilario takes his first steps into italian nightlife and dj world,first with some average media,experimenting D.I.Y. mixes within the four walls of his own “epic” room and then digging a personal sound style until he gained the resident-title at “Pachamama Club” (in Pisa).
From this springboard he started hangin around the best italian,german and spanish clubs,finally landing into Cocoon’s family,falling in love at first “sight” with house music and her thousand shades,waving from latino-ispanic from a minimal-electro sound.
At this point he devoted his production style only to these rhytms,also if his dj-sets are stuck to the quest of something special everytime.
Hardly inspired from artists such as Hawtin,Marco Carola,Villalobos and Luciano. The great bunch of Ilario’s production are really estimated inside the international dj-system claque.
“Vacaciones en Chile” directly throws Ilario into the house music business,defining his supernatural talent with “Living Near Africa” (Cecille).
Playing also in 2008 at Rotterdam’s Time Warp as the youngest act of ever,now he’s unexhaustedly performing just in the best world clubs,under the flag of Sven Vath’s Cocoon family and Deep Moves Rec.,his own record label.
Marco Carola
Marco Carola is a global ambassador of techno. From Napoli in the south of Italy, Marco was instrumental in the development of the electronic scene in the early 90s, he took the flourishing techno Neapolitan scene to the rest of the world. Over twenty years later and Marco is still one of the most respected artists amongst the techno scene, widely regarded as one of the key factors in driving the genre towards worldwide recognition within electronic music.
As a revered producer and successful label head, Marco has spearheaded imprints such as Design Music, Zenit, Question, One Thousands and Do.Mi.No whilst releasing music on a selection of the world’s finest labels such as Minus, Plus 8 2M and Primate Recordings. In addition to five critically acclaimed albums, including his most recent Play It Loud, Marco has also been responsible for a clutch of seminal mix compilations. In 2006, his mix for legendary London club Fabric’s series was a lesson in sleek, future-facing minimalism. That was followed up by well received compilations for Time Warp in 2009. In 2010 Cocoon label boss Sven Väth asked him to mix the Frankfurt based label’s Party Animals CD alongside Nick Curly, which took Carola’s dj taste and skills to new heights.
Famed for his energetic and impressive three-deck style of mixing and long journey set, Marco has remained one of the most in demand DJs on the planet throughout the last two decades. Favoring mammoth eight hour plus sets, Marco is predisposed to a subtle working of the crowd that has made him a favorite among fans from Ibiza to New York, South America and beyond.
PAST EVENTS
Leon
30 year old LEON from Italy is a man that has been making major waves in the house scene since his breakthrough at the beginning of 2009. Bursting onto the scene with a bang, LEON has carved out quite a reputation in such a short period of time., and this looks set to grow and grow. Releases for Steve Lawler’s Viva imprint kicked things off, followed by releases with Nick Curly’s much talked about Cecille label in Manheim, and the highly successful ReBirth records in Italy as well as remixes for artists such as Audiofly, Felipe Velenzuela & Ali Nasser. If that wasn’t enough Leon’s track ‘Rain In Rio’ was recently licensed to Cocoon’s ‘Green & Blue compilation’.
In 2009 Leon is one of the producers that is helping re-invent the house sound, and as such his tracks are getting support from all the major players right now. Steve Lawler, Luciano, Carol Cox, MANDY, Loco Dice, Ricardo Villalobos, Tiefschwarz Matthias Tanzmann and many more are all fans of Leon’s work, so its not hard to see why people are already talking about him as a future star.
Born and raised in Teramo near Rome Leon’s obsession with house music started at a young age after discovering the music of Danny Tenaglia, Todd Terry & Laurent Garnier – something he still regards as a major influence on his sound to this day. Djing in Italy from a young age would inevitably lead to production for someone of Leon’s ability. At the age of 23 he took his first steps in the production world. However rather than rush things he knew he needed to hone his talents. 3 years of hard work later and he is starting to bear the fruits of this work, and starting to show the world that he means business!
With over 10 years experience behind the decks, its not hard to see why LEON’s reputation as dj, which was outstanding in Italy before his productions broke through, have now skyrocketed in the past year. Already djing in some of the worlds most famous clubs such as Cocorico in Italy, Pacha & Cielo in New York, Ministry Of Sound London, Zouk Singapore, Arma 17 Moscow, Sunwaves Romania, Monza Frankfurt and many many more.
Get ready to be hearing a lot more about LEON, as forthcoming releases with Viva Music – Cecille – Saved…
PAST EVENTS
Massimino Lippoli
Nato a Milano, comincia il suo lungo cammino nei clubs piu’ prestigiosi della sua città facendo subito parlare di se per il suo sound ricercato, cool e dalle “intrusioni” di musica dance anni 70′, un MIX di nuovo e di appena passato che facevano esplodere la pista.. Nel giro di poco tempo Riccione capitale indiscussa delle discoteche lo kiamo a sè, in particolare il Byblo’s, localico storico per gente fashion, lo volle resident, ed in contemporanea a questa nuova esperienza Massimo produsse SUENO LATINO uno dei dischi piu’ importanti sia per originalita’ che per interesse degli addetti ai lavori di tutto il pianeta, considerato ancora oggi un must, grazie al quale seguirono tanti remix di importanza internazionale, per citare solo il più famoso MALCOM MCLAREN etc.
In questi anni si moltiplicano anche i Top clubs che lo vogliono in consolle: Mazoom, Area City, Cenerentola, Desideria, Matis diventando gia’ dai primi anni ottanta un’icona dell’house, tanto da essere uno dei primi dj italiani a varcare le consolle di ibiza nel 1982, Pacha’, Space, e tutti i Top clubs europei, volevano lui.
Infatti gli anni novanta furono la conferma del suo successo come dj, producer, remixer, un ottimo lavoro che gli valse il Disco d’oro come miglior dj 1989/90.
Sicuramente un pioniere dell’house, segue e anticipa le evoluzioni della stessa, ma non rinnega mai i suoi inizi con la disco, mai banale si muove dalla House alla disco piu’ classica ,valorizzando nelle sue perfomamce il lato piu’ black.. e nei suoi dj set sentirete sempre in chiusura almeno un DISCO DISCO.
Le sue collaborazioni fuori Italia Erano:Ministry of Sound ,Hardtimes Leeds, Cavo Paradiso Myconoss, Pacha-Amnesia-Space Ibiza ecc.
Guest in vari storici after hours negli anni 90″- Vae victis, Diabolica, Club di 99, e per molti anni “pilastro” del al Peter Pan, forse la sua storica House club, resident guest anche in Colazione da Tiffany e Starcake Echoes. Attualmente resident Star dj alI’ echoes e Magic Monday, , e Top guest in tutte le migliori serate House d’Italia, un dj intramontabile che col suo suond emoziona e diverte sempre!
Ricky Montanari
Riccardo Montanari, in arte Ricky, è da tempo uno dei dj più acclamati del Belpaese ed è un nome ormai riconosciuto negli ambienti della musica house di tutto il mondo. Nato a Rimini, si appassiona sin da giovane al mondo della musica, alla fine degli anni ’70, quando la professione di dj non era ancora molto diffusa e definita come oggi – almeno in Italia – e le attrezzature e le tecniche del mixare erano “uso” solo di pochi appassionati, Montanari è stato, uno di quelli che con serietà hanno contribuito ad introdurre quella “specie” di creativi musicali.
Questa passione, porta Montanari a passare interi pomeriggi ad ascoltare vinili, cominciando a collezionarne febbrilmente a centinaia fino a 40 mila di oggi, facendogli acquisire quel gusto e conoscenza dei vari linguaggi delle melodie, che apportano tuttora al suo lavoro diverse contaminazioni, dandogli uno stile sempre nuovo ed unico. La storia professionale di Ricky Montanari inizia a metà degli anni ’80, esordendo a fianco del vecchio amico Cirillo all’Insomnia di Cattolica. Subito dopo è al Peter Pan di Riccione, dove inizia a farsi notare dagli addetti ai lavori. Il suo noviziato coincide con l’esplosione anche in Italia della House music, ed è proprio in quel periodo che Ricky muove alla volta della capitale della musica, Londra, da dove importa direttamente le più ricercate produzioni introvabili sul mercato italiano, facendo conoscere, anche pubblico italiano, sonorità assolutamente nuove, con rivisitazioni moderne della vecchia funky e della musica nera. Così facendo Ricky Montanari va a costituire una delle punte di diamante di questa schiera di professionisti. Nel 1988 diventa resident all’Ethos Mama Club di Gabicce Mare e nello stesso periodo é protagonista assoluto del primo after hour italiano, il “Diabolika’”.
Pensando più in grande, sulla scia delle Mattine, arriva poi il “Vae Victis” il nome di Montanari si lega in maniera indelebile a questo after hour (evoluzione del primo) facendo davvero “Epoca” tanto da essere Votato alla rivista specialistica inglese “DJ mag” come uno dei Club più belli del mondo. Agli inizi degli anni ’90 e tra i protagonisti dell’Echoes di Misano Adriatico, e del Matis club di Bologna, e nello stesso periodo torna a Londra per stringere rapporti professionali con molte di quelle figure di “spicco” dell’house fra i quali: Kid Batchelor, con cui divide la consolle del CONFuSION. A partire da questo periodo la bravura di Ricky viene riconosciuta in tutta li mondo portando a suonare un po’ ovunque: da Los Angeles a Manchester, Tokyo, Rotterdam, Barcellona, Monaco, Bruxelles, Zurigo, Singapore, Miami senza tralasciare il famoso “Dance Valley” di Amsterdam e il club “STEREO” a Montreal considerato dai “grandi” della musica House come il miglior Club del momento nel mondo. Di pari passo ai Club Ricky (come naturale crescita professionale) si confronta con il lavoro di remixer e produttore discografico. Tutto questo a conferma della sua acquisita eccellenza del suo lavoro.
Joseph Capriati
Well documented as one of the brightest new stars in techno, Joseph Capriati has made his name within the scene via a consistently high quality studio output and energetic party-starting DJ style. A natural talent with huge passion for music and entertaining, Capriati’s progression from newcomer to headliner has moved forward at an unrelenting pace since his production debut in 2007 and has shown no sign of slowing down since. Already a key artist on Adam Beyer’s Drumcode label and event roster; installed as a resident for Marco Carola’s well-received ‘Music On’ events at Amnesia, Ibiza and having made a succession of high profile festival appearances through the European Summer, Joseph Capriati is now globally recognized as an in-demand headline act across Europe, Asia, North & South America and beyond, as an ambassador for techno in emerging markets such as South Africa, India and Honduras.
Inspired by the success of his track ‘The Gallery’ and collaborations with Cari Lekebusch (Drumcode) and Paco Osuna (Plus 8), Joseph focus for 2012 has been relocating and rebuilding his studio in preparation for the release of his second artist album, scheduled on Drumcode for early 2013. Limiting his output to just a handful of projects including his epically proportioned ‘Solar System’ single and the soulful vocals and jackhammer grooves of his ‘Congenial Endeavor’ collaboration with Adam Beyer, both for Drumcode. Elsewhere, Joseph has found the creative space to deliver remixes for Cari Lekebusch (H-Productions), Ben Sims (Drumcode), Mark Broom (Material), Luigi Madonna (Analytic Trail) and Sinisa Tamamovic (Mindshake); completing his studio schedule with high profile projects that bring his trademark groovy, emotive sound to record labels across the techno and tech house spectrum.
Now established as a popular performer in Italy, Holland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, UK and Eastern Europe, Joseph is a regular choice for Old River Park (Naples), Cocorico (Riccione), Awakenings (Amsterdam, Eindhoven), Berghain (Berlin), Row 14 (Barcelona), Fabrik (Madrid), OpArt (Lisbon), Pacha (Oporto), Fabric (London), The Arches (Glasgow), Forsage (Kiev), Escape Club (Sofia), Kristal (Bucharest). This remarkable period has seen Joseph’s profile grow across the world with appearances at Europe’s biggest festivals; Tomorrowland, Belgium, Monegros, Spain and Awakenings, Amsterdam; legendary clubs including Amnesia, Ibiza; Fabric, London; U60311, Frankfurt and Rex Club, Paris plus Drumcode tour dates at Solar Festival, Holland; BCM, Mallorca; Komplex, Zurich; Ewer Street, London; Glade Festival, UK; Golden Gate, Naples (8 hrs b2b w/ Adam Beyer), Brancalenone, Rome and Amnesia Milan.
However, Joseph’s reach goes far beyond Europe. Already established in South America, Joseph has built a strong connection with the crowds in Argentina (Crobar, Buenos Airies and Inferno, Cordoba), Colombia (Forum, Medellin, Eliptica, Cali) and Peru (Supernatural, Lima). He has played the exclusive WIRE Festival in Tokyo, travelled to the Base Club, Ekaterinburg in the central planes of Russia and has consistently proven himself to be an in-demand talent in New York, Miami, Toronto and Montreal. Not afraid to step outside the traditional touring comfort zone to reach out to the frontiers of electronic music, Joseph has travelled to the less well know techno hotspots like South Africa, Mauritius and Honduras where he has enjoyed some of his most memorable gigs; proud to be part of the development of these emerging scenes and to be fortunate enough to experience life all over the world.
Born and raised in the southern Italian city of Caserta, less than 30km from Naples, it was natural for a young, music-loving Capriati to be drawn to the big city to fulfill his musical curiosity. Having grown up on a diet of early hip hop and classic house from the likes of Masters At Work, Todd Terry and Eddie Amador, Capriati bought his first DJ console at the tender age of 11; cutting his teeth playing to his friends in garages and basements after school. It was not until he was old enough to attend his first rave party that his passion for techno over-shadowed his early musical influences and set in motion the journey that has taken him to the position he is in today. As Joseph himself remembers, “the first time I heard techno was at Old River Park in Naples in 2003. It was a 12 hours party with Dave Clarke, Billy Nasty and Rino Cerrone. I was totally impressed by that sound and something in my mind changed.”
Inspired and energized, Joseph made the leap into production; slaving away on a home PC and hi-fi speakers, honing his skills for three years and eventually creating his first important records like C’est La Vie and Microbiotik which found their way on to two of the most influential Neapolitan techno labels; Analytic Trail and Globox Records. From this moment on Joseph was made. What followed was an explosion in profile at home and abroad. From his first high profile gig at Naples’s infamous 5000 capacity Golden Gate venue in October 2007, the young Neapolitan has not looked back; spreading his wings and travelling all over the globe. Now located out of Barcelona, Spain Joseph has settled into a good rhythm for his life with his studio based within his home so he can make the most of the increasingly limited time he has available in-between touring to make music and also find time to relax.
Always quick to understand the professionalism and determination required in order to carve out a career for himself; Joseph’s passion and conviction is plain to see in the way he has gone about making and playing music. Whether it be having the confidence to release a debut album containing ambient tracks and Drum & Bass; or the discipline and creativity displayed to convince Adam Beyer to release two multiple-track EP’s on his Drumcode label; or the versatility and insightfulness that characterizes Josephs DJ sets and enables him to connect with crowds across the world; whether he be tearing up an after party in a dark basement with a pitch perfect mix of tech house, or thundering out a peak-time mix to crowds in the desert at Monegros Festival, or upstaging the Drumcode Total event at Berghain with an impromptu four-hour back-2-back closing set with his hero and now close friend, Adam Beyer.
With a path laid out before him and the force of momentum behind him, Joseph Capriati welcomes the future with excited anticipation. “I just want to make music or play gigs everyday. It is the most important thing in my life. When I am in the studio or on stage I feel disconnected from the world and I enter another dimension where there is just the music, the people and myself. I could be sick, or be feeling sad about something, but when I’m playing I totally forget everything and this makes me happier. Looking at the people dancing and following my musical trip is an amazing thing. There is nothing better than this for me.” So the future for Joseph Capriati is simple. Keep on doing what he loves and do it with a passion and commitment that has proved so potent a driving force to this point.
PAST EVENTS
Fabrizio Maurizi
Fabrizio Maurizi is a native of Bologna (Italy), a city that has always paid particular attention to the original Detroit Techno movement, making it the perfect place to grow up in terms of music. After a brief spell as part of the city’s militant illegal rave scene, Fabrizio soon graduated to residencies at some of the most important clubs in the country.
Fabrizio started producing his own sounds, switching to music software programs after 10 years of studying piano. Completely hooked on very low bassline frequencies, his tracks explore the sometimes dark, sometimes funky side of techno, using completely mad vocal samples to give his music a unique flavour. Fabrizio definitely has DJing in his blood, liking nothing more than to lead the dancefloor out of darkness into light and vice versa, allowing his music to slowly evolve through the interplay of rhythmic analog elements and jumping basslines.
His dj set is an endless journey between house and techno, the sun and the moon, with no boundaries between the music genres: the organic elements are perfectly melted with futuristic sci-fi atmospheres.
In 2007 he founded with his friend/partner Idriss D the label Memento, releasing his first ep “Hasta la Baldoria Siempre” that was an incredible start for an unknown artist and label: the ep joined quickly the top ten everywhere.
One year after Fabrizio realized his dream joining the Minus family, where he started to produce and performing with.
Now Fabrizio is delivering his unique music all over the world, playing in the best clubs like Fabric , Rex , Robert Johnson , Womb , Cocoricò , Cocoon…just to name a few, garnering an underground very high reputation for his unmistakable dj set.
PAST EVENTS
Idriss D
Idriss D’s approach to music started when he was just fourteen: he got his first turntables and his friend Nadir was a huge influence artistically and helped the young talent to develop his taste and personal vision.
After moving to Italy, he quickly established himself among the biggest names in the game thanks to his mixing skills, his unique style and drive, and to his hypnotic dance vibes that led him to widespread acclaim in the country’s nightclub circuit and to play at some of the most renowned venues such as Echoes, Cocoricò and Red Zone.
Beside actively working as a dj and enjoying ongoing success and recognition, Idriss manages some of the most respected record labels in Italy: the world-famous Memento, along with best friend and musical soul brother Fabrizio Maurizi, the experimental Aloe and Db Artists Musique.
He is currently resident at Cocoricò Riccione and Amnesia Milano, which rank as some of the most popular clubs on the European scene. His impressive tour schedule has brought him to dj at Berlin’s historical Tresor, Barcelona’s Club 4, super-famous Space Ibiza and Pacha as part of the Cadenza Vagabundos concept (summer 2012). A string of gigs in some of the cutting edge underground clubs like Mad lausanne and Nordstern Basel followed shortly.
Idriss D also rose to stardom as an artist manager by founding db Artists with the main goal of booking international djs and breakng into Italys’ nightlife and party culture. Backing up new and upcoming producers and providing them with large-scale tours and studio help on the studio side also is a major strength of the organization.
Beginning its collaboration with Paris Freak’n’Chic Agency, T Agency and Orbeat Bookings, db Artists soon became exclusive partner for Clonk and Minus, and more recently has started representing Cadenza, the most acclaimed label nowadays, lead by renowned top dj Luciano.
PAST EVENTS
Federico Grazzini
It’s the wicked combination of energy, music and great technical skills that distinguish Federico Grazzini from other artists. Deep in the mix, taking house and techno onto a strong funk influenced ride, he is creating dancing space, wherever he travels. Playing peak time makes him most happy, he loves the rush of energy, especially, when putting on his own unreleased tracks. However long the sessions, building up the groove and leading the crowd from early hours to finish is certainly enjoyed too. He definitely loves vinyl, but hasn’t closed the door for digital equipment, as it allows him to raise the quality of his performance. Tenax studio, where Federico finds inspiration and finalizes his tracks is located quite offside, by the Arno river in Florence. It’s now been a couple of years since he’s joined forces with Alex Neri and Marco Baroni (Planet Funk) and has resulted in remarkable production work. His favorite summer venue is without doubt Gala Night in Ibiza, where he remains in tight collaboration with The Zoo Project. In the winter Federico is mostly concentrating on creating his own music and playing in famous clubs, such as Tenax, Sankeys, Watergate and many more. From summer 2009 he is also on stage with Planet Funk.
