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No two names arouse more excitement among fans these days than Paolo Mojo (www.paolomojo.com) and Nic Fanciulli (www.bullittbookings.com). As an avid listener of Paolo's 'Music is Freedom' show the 1st Friday of each month on Proton and having been blessed with the opportunity of seeing Nic at the Little Mountain Recordings party at the conference this year, I can only imagine what a night with these 2 co-headlining must be like. Well fortunately for all of us at [mn], Paolo was gracious enough to allow us to host the 3 hour back-to-back mix he did with Nic just 2 nights ago at Turnmills in London. Yep, you read that right! On Friday night, Paolo and Nic wreaked havoc on a packed crowd to celebrate the 2nd Birthday of Fandango at Turnmills and we have the goods! This mix is gold in its purest form and is NOT to be missed. Go to the end of this post to see more pictures from Friday night's event. Don't forget to check out Paolo on October 16 at Cielo in New York City and other stops including Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago, and Windsor, Ontario. As far as Nic's upcoming dates: Oct 21 at Crobar in NYC, Oct 28 at On Broadway in San Diego, Oct 29 in LA, Nov 3 at Cielo in NYC, and Nov 4 at Soundbar in Chicago.
Steve James (www.djstevejames.com) needs no introduction. I will however, try to come up with enough adjectives to describe how spectacular Steve is for those that are unfortunate enough to have not heard him. Mr. James is no stranger to [mn] and even hosts a monthly show called MercuryRising which features a one hour mix from him and a special guest. The mix that he's allowing us to host originally aired as part of Frisky Radio's 25+ hour music extravaganza known as FriskySessions which took place this past week. Steve's hour is top notch aural satisfaction as every one of his mixes that I've ever heard have been. With gigs abound in Salt Lake City and upcoming in Pensacola, it seems as though people are finally starting to catch on to what many of us have known for quite some time. Mark my words, the nation and beyond will rise up very soon and take notice of what an amazing talent and superb individual Steve truely is. I can't thank Steve enough for allowing us to host this mix, you guys are going to love it!
The next mix is from one of the most consistent, versatile, and hardest working guys in the business. He's the host of Punch Funk on MercurySessions and his name is Danny Graham (www.punchfunk.com). Danny's show is one that no matter what I'm doing, I make it a point to tune in because it's guaranteed to raise some eyebrows. With guests such as Steve Porter, Chris Fortier and recently Vance Musgrove, Dan Mangan, and DJ ONNO, Danny has aligned himself with some of the brightest stars in the scene. Those of you that are in the UK should definitely check out Danny at the 'Punch Funk' Boat Party in Portsmouth on September 17th. Also look for Danny in Poland in the coming months as well. Feel free to PM me or contact Danny about specific dates and locations. Thanks again Danny!
Danny's guest on this month's Punch Funk show was Terry Grant. I had already decided to contact Danny about making his own set available as a download but after I heard Terry's set I knew it had to be hosted as well. In true form, Terry takes you on a 3 day journey all in the course of an hour. This is a must grab; believe me, you'll thank me for it later. Many thanks to Terry for his permission to host the set.
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Paolo Mojo & Nic Fanciulli
www.paolomojo.com
Paolo
Paolo Mojo's sound might be difficult to pin down, but this broad, innovative approach to his craft is making him a name on everyone's lips in 2004. His style incorporates elements of house, funk, techno, breaks, electro, disco and acid. I've never understood this 'genre' bollocks? he says. "To me the best DJs always select the best bits from a wide range of sounds and put them together in a way that just makes sense to people."
It's certainly making sense to lots of people at the moment. Already well established for his tweaked out sets with the likes of Tyrant and Sasha at Fabric, and a well thumbed global passport, he's really come to the fore this year thanks to a succession of well received productions on labels such as Alternative Route, Big Love and Sabotage. - and one of the best essential mix debuts ever.
Radio One, Mixmag, DJ Magazine and IDJ have all been quick to cite him as one to watch this year - with his first mix CD 'Heretic' set for an autumn release on Sabotage. Forthcoming remixes and projects with the likes of Brancaccio and Aisher, Alex Neri, Nic Fanciulli and Paul Woolford are set to raise his bar even higher. He also runs Music Is Freedom and Orcmusic record labels, which have consistently attracted good reviews for the past 2 years. He contributes productions and remixes to both regularly, and sees them as the cornerstone of his music output.
Nic
Nic Fanciulli is a young (he's 24) and fresh DJ, producer and remixer - currently the hottest rising house talent in the UK. Nic started in music at 16, working in a record shop and DJing in local bars in his hometown of Maidstone, Kent. His first proper break came five years ago after slipping unmarked mix tapes to Maidstone's Club Class promoter. After the 3rd tape and a 6-week hunt by the promoter Nic was given a weekly main room residency.
"I'd been going to Club Class since the day it opened, as a punter, it was the club that made me want to be a DJ. My best memory is when Carl Cox played and there was a massive power cut. He managed to get the monitors working by putting a knife in the fuse box and we all danced off the monitors for about 10 minutes - until the sound system kicked in and the place went nuts! I became resident about a year after that and still love it as much as I did then." - Nic
The same year (aged 19) Nic started his own record label: Portent Records. The first track signed was Mojolators 'Drifting', which was then signed on to Multiply after Pete Tong played it for 14 weeks in a row on the Essential Selection. Through Club-Class, Nic has gained massive respect from DJs across the spectrum. His style weaves through all levels of house; laced with deep tech grooves, acid b-lines and jackin' dark beats. Xpress2 proclaimed him their tip for the top in October 2002, whilst Tong said he was the finest resident in the UK as well as props from Yousef, Deep Dish, Morillo and Lawler along the way.
In 2003, as Nic's profile began to build he signed to Club Class Artiste Management, he played for Cream in the UK and Ibiza, for the Radio 1 weekends in Ibiza, Miami and Cardiff and the Radio 1 Outdoor stage at Homelands. Plus gigs at Shindig, Passion, Circus, Type, and in September last year he started a new residency with The Gallery at Turnmills on the first Friday of every month. The residency continues throughout 2004 and Nic's room (T2), called Fandango, is purely for him to invite DJs he has long respected and to push the finest new-breed through the ranks ? so far including Rocky and Diesel (X-Press2), Yousef, Paul Woolford, Krysko, MYNC, Mark Knight, Nils Noa, Desyn Masillo, Greg Vickers and more to come.
MTV tipped Nic for the top in their young-guns series, he mixed a covermount CD for Mixmag and in May 2003 Nic did his first ever Radio 1 Essential Mix, where Tong tipped him as one of the finest residents and best up-and-coming producers in the UK. Nic's production and remix work (under his Skylark banner - produced with Andy Chatterly) also stepped up a gear in 2003, pushing him through as both an artist and DJ. His remixes of Jo Mills' 4Tune 500 'Dancin in the Dark' achieved 'Essential New Tune' status, whilst his remixes of Sandy Rivera's 'I Cant Stop' (Deep Vision) and Deep Dish's 'Prahna The Dream' (Yoshitoshi) cemented his reputation as one to watch. In August 2003 Nic once again achieved Essential New Tune with his own production work with 'That's More Like It' - now signed to one of the hottest labels in the UK - Credence Records and was released in March 04 complete with a re-rub from one of the finest producers, DJ Pierre.
Forthcoming in 2004, expect more remixes for Deep Dish's label Yoshitoshi, Chiapet's 'Westworld' and Dish's Flashdance coming soon, he's remixed Paul Woolford's 'Mind Over Matter' and has completed a return remix for DJ Pierre's 'Turn It Up' on Credence. The follow up to That's more like it, a re edit of Tears for Fears 'Shout' has been widely acclaimed as THE tune for Ibiza 04 and has been picked up by Tears for Fears for release as a single no less !!! This tune is being hammered by Danny Howells, Pete Tong, Steve Lawler, Hernan Cattaneo, Greg Vickers and Deep Dish.
Nic has been signed up by Deep Dish's DJ agency 'Bullitt' for representation in most of the world, this has led to confirmed dates all over America and Europe the highlight's being a 2 week tour of the US, tours of Asia and Festivals in Hungary, Helsinki and Dance Valley in August !!! Vanessa Fontaines 'Represents' look after Nic in the UK and Ibiza, with dates at Shindig, Kelly's, Type, Circus, Cool House amongst others and his ongoing Club-Class and Fandango residencies? Nic's profile in the UK couldn't be bigger... In Ibiza dates for Cream @ Amensia plus Pure and Yoshitoshi @ Pacha this coming summer look set to cement his reputation on the white isle....
If this wasn't enough Nic has recently been asked to mix the new series of Mixmag 'Live' a compilation CD which Nic will be doing this summer, an accompanying tour will surround the release of this CD in September !! In past years other DJs to do this have included Carl Cox and Laurent Garnier no less....
Finally there's the small matter of being asked to join R1 which Nic has agreed to do as one of the resident DJ's - Head Honcho Matt Priest of R1 quoted 'We're delighted to add Nic to our dance roster. He's a huge talent as a DJ, producer and all round top bloke. He's our new 'resident' which means as a Radio 1 DJ he'll be part of the Radio 1 family, feature in our dance events and you'll hear his voice on air every now and then. We have high hopes for Nic' !!!
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Steve James
www.djstevejames.com
Originally from Central Florida, 27 year old Steve James is an up and coming DJ who has gradually been gaining recognition in the global arena through his mixes and promos. His typical GEMINI characteristics are almost visible through his sounds: strong, upfront, and NOT to be missed. Having warmed his hands to the touch of a pair of SL1200?s for the last 8 years, his persistence and evolution of his characteristic sound finally won him a spot on Eccentricbeats.
Steve has been severely influenced by Digweed. ?John?s music has the ability to propel you into a forward thinking? he retorts.
Steve?s roots to the underground EDM travel back to 1997. ?I went to a party called Zen and it was the first time I witnessed the legends Sasha & Digweed. From that night on FL breaks were no longer cutting it. I was a full blown house addict, seeking out UK releases of Northern Exposure and listening to them countless times. Driving all over FL from 1997-2001, I frequented nearly every party that catered to the scene: WMC, UltraFest, Simons, Firestone, Shadow Lounge, Crobar, The Rubb, etc. Anywhere Digweed played, I tried to be there. Dragged by my obsession, I also crossed state lines and drove to Atlanta a few times to see him (Digweed) spin on several occasions. I?ve always been mesmerized how he?s been able to transform his sound from one night to the next with ease.?
Yet, for the next three years, Steve hadn?t cashed in on his own set of ?dex?. ?I didn?t buy my own turntables until 2000" he says. "I spent a summer delivering furniture for extra money to buy a set of 1200?s?.
To fulfill his obsessions, he continued to frequent record shops like Neptune (Tampa, FL) and the Drop Shop (Orlando, FL). Building a name for himself in Orlando on a small pirate station Party93 (93.9fm) playing each Sat & Sun from 11pm-3am. ?It?s been quite a journey? he says. ?Having played for a local radio station and finally being offered a chance to spin on Eccentricbeats to a global audience, it?s definitely been a wild ride of slipups and comebacks?. Having moved to Atlanta in 2001 right before Thanksgiving, he?s been playing out there for nearly three years at clubs such as Illusions, The Crescent Room, and various other house parties.
Steve also spends a lot of his free time online finding out about new producers and records and has become a "die-hard" representative of the MercuryServer community with his show being aptly named "MercuryRising".
When asked how he got tied to an online community such as MercuryServer Steve says: "Internet geekery and tireless networking. As soon as [ms] (MercuryServer) was launched, I was addicted. The idea of creating a site just to spread the weekly Kiss 100 mixes from John Digweed and guests was original, in addition to being an incredible service to music junkies around the globe who haven?t had the opportunity to listen to John spin live or haven?t had enough of him. I wanted to help them in any and every way possible. Eventually someone from [ms] recommended my sound to Ariel Cybana. She then got in touch with me and requested a set. After receiving my mix and airing it, she was so impressed that she and Phil offered me my own radio spot.?
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Danny Graham
www.punchfunk.com
Danny Graham is a 22 year old DJ and producer from Portsmouth, England. He's played just about everywhere there is to play in his hometown to play the music that he loves which unfortunately isn?t very many places. But far from moaning about it at the age of 18 Danny and friends took it upon himself to try to change things and started a house night in a commercial club ' The Tangerine Suite'. The night went reasonably well for him though financially it was impossible for him to continue with it. In hindsight Danny says "I think I was too naive not only musically but on the business side of things to start my own night so young but I learnt many valuable lessons"
Danny has come a long way since these early days...
In November 03 Danny appeared in IDJ magazine for sending in one of the best mixes that month alerting the attention of some promoters, producers and fellow DJ's including Distraekt label bosses and IDJ's own Piliavin & Zimbardo who in March 04 invited Danny to play at their party at the Miami Winter Music conference. Danny played an excellent set alongside many of his favourite DJ's and producers including Tom Stephan, Trendroid, Evolved, Dimas, Frank Maurel, Simon & Shaker, Tony Estrada and Deepgroove and was invited back for Distraekt's party this year to play alongside Robbie Rivera, DJ Vibe & Tom Stephan.
Since Miami Danny has played some excellent gigs up and down the country including what IDJ magazine describes as ?one of the best progressive house nights in the country? ?Empathy? at Bar Latino in Bristol. Local gigs have come in the shape of Southampton's top night 'eK' which has had fellow top up and comers and friends from England?s south coast Chris Salt of Silver Planet Recordings, Dave Robertson and PJ Davy all guest there. Mezze @ Po Na Na in Portsmouth has been a regular haunt where Danny has lined up alongside the finest in tech house including Terry Francis, Nathan Coles and Nils Hess. Danny's favourite local night though is fast becoming the souths most talked about night 'Punch Funk'. Punch Funk which has seen jam packed nights with top guest sets from Phil Kieran, Meat Katie, Trevor Rockcliffe & Colin Dale and has now out grown it's hometown and hosts the back room of the new 'Refresh' night at The Opera House in Bournemouth which Danny will be appearing at on June 11th in the main room with some very special guests.
The word of Danny's talents has spread abroad and in particular eastern Europe. The highlights of his career so far came in Poland in May 04 when Danny played alongside Jeff Bennett and Dave Robertson (pictures at www.soundrevolt.com) and in March this year when he visited neighbouring Lithuania to make an appearance at Club Global which is one of the biggest clubs in the country and has recently played host to such stars as James Zabiela, Matthew Dekay, and Paul Jackson and will be welcoming Sasha in July. A return to Poland is set for October with another visit to Lithuania in the pipeline as well as well as more trips abroad with Punch Funk.
Danny can be heard doing what he loves most regularly on the radio. After a couple of guest mixes on top internet station 'Proton Radio' he was offered a weekly slot on top U.S based station 'Eccentric Beats' which can be heard every Wednesday 5pm-7pm. The list of guests that Danny has attracted to his very popular show is impressive with the following DJ's from all around the world all appearing since his show began in May 04:
Anthony Pappa, Chris Fortier, King Unique, Tom Stephan, Demi, Chus & Ceballos, Piliavin & Zimbardo, Steve Porter, Kingkade, Greed, Omid 16B, Grayarea, Greg Benz, Jeff Bennett, Silicone Soul, Alex Smoke, Evolved, Carlos Fauvrelle, Frank Maurel, Dave Robertson, Habersham, Barish Turker, Tony Thomas, Mike Viera & DJ Petzi. With Asad Rizvi, Mike Monday, Chris Cargo, Miguel Pellitero and many others confirmed as future guests his show is going from strength to strength and fast becoming one of the most listened to shows on the internet.
Staying on the radio theme Danny had a guest mix on the world famous Kiss 100 station on Tom Stephan's show in April and other guest radio spots have included Nova FM in Ireland, Planeta FM in Poland, Vakuru FM in Lithuania, Radio Doble Nueve FM in Peru & Future Generation FM in Turkey.
As well as his DJing Danny is also developing a love for producing and had his first release last year with his collaboration with good friend PJ Davy entitled 'Blind Exit' on EQ Grey Ltd of Australia hitting the shelves. The track gained support from the who's who of the A list including Hernan Cattaneo, Nick Warren, Dave Seaman, Lee Burridge, Layo & Bushwacka, Lisa Loud, Rui Da Silva and Desyn Masiello. The follow up to ?Blind Exit? entitled ?Statik? is due for release this year on the same label under the pseudonym ?Man Play Dead? and will feature a very special Moonface remix. This second track from the pair has been played by John Digweed on his Kiss 100 show recently.
In order to enhance his production knowledge and skills Danny has joined the Guildford Academy of Contemporary Music to study music production so solo material will soon be forthcoming!
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Terry Grant
www.bedrock.uk.net
"I am constantly in awe of the ability that music has to draw forth emotional response from us. I like the idea that music, like art in general, doesn't have to be about anything specific; it just has to make you feel a certain way. I think that may be what first attracted me to electronic music. So much of it is about mood and context rather than a specific subject. The first few records that I bought as a kid were film soundtracks, and for some reason I really connected with the instrumental scores more so that the pop tunes. I was too young to realize how or why it got to me, but it did. I was a strange child."
Terry Grant's life long obsession with music began at an early age. Growing up in Ohio, where he was nursed on a steady diet of R&B and soul records by his parents, he developed a passion for all things rhythmic and funky. At the age of fifteen he began to play guitar, and four short years later he was earning a living touring the east coast and teaching guitar in a local music store.
At twenty-two he moved to Nashville, Tennessee to continue his career as a musician. In between stints in various rock, country, and R&B bands (and the occasional session date) he found time to learn to play the drums and bass, and to dabble at the keys. He also bought his first turntable around this time, and it would prove to be a watershed moment in his life: "Well, actually buying the thing wasn't any big deal (laughs), but it did allow me to discover a whole new world of music that I wasn't finding through normal means. I thought that I'd buy a turntable and a mixer so that I could learn to scratch, and so that I could sample old records and be cool like Pete Rock. What happened is that I started buying all sorts of new records and playing them for my friends. A lot of the tunes that I was buying were the kind of stuff that you might play in a dance club. House, drum 'n' bass, hip hop, etc. That's how I got started. Or should I say, that?s how I got hooked.?
The year 2000 would see him embark on a new career path as a DJ. Although a fan of electronic music since childhood, he was relatively new to house and club based dance at the time. He would soon grow to not only understand and appreciate it, but also embrace it as a DJ and producer. A strong desire to experiment with sound and push the boundaries of what he is capable of will keep Terry moving forward into this new millennium, creating and refining his art in new and exciting ways, and enjoying the journey down this, life's cosmic path.
"I'm going to continue on as a DJ, a producer, and a musician, and see what the future holds. I hope to release many more records in the next few years, maybe score a film, and then marry a supermodel. Or maybe I'll marry a model and then score a film, I don't know."
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