The early 2000s were a time of profound evolution for dance music. Tracks like “One More Time,” “Pasilda,” “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love,” “Lady (Hear Me Tonight),” and others pulled the once-fringe genre ever closer to the spotlight and the dawn of the music festival boom steadily began to materialize. One particularly groundbreaking track was Layo & Bushwacka!’s famous mashup, “Love Story (vs Finally).”



“Love Story (vs Finally)” took Layo & Bushwacka!’s “Love Story” and Kings Of Tomorrow’s “Finally” and transformed them into a smash hit that was undeniably infectious and practically unavoidable. Indeed, the clubs and radio waves of 2003 were in a near-constant state of euphoria as the track reached number eight in the UK top 10 chart. DJ Mag credited the single as one that “changed the course of dance music history.”








Two decades later, XL Recordings seeks to revive the historic hit. Resurrecting a timeless classic is not something taken lightly. So, who better to take the honor than award-winning DJ and producer, Paul Woolford?



Paul’s ear for a remix is one of his most remarkable traits, and his library proves it. This latest flip puts the nuance of Woolford’s touch on full display as he enhances a long-venerated hit for the modern dance floor. After twenty years, the distinctive piano chords and Julie McKnight’s vocals still pierce the soul. A newly reinforced bass line pairs with fresh builds and strategically layered synths to make this rework a modern-day belter ready to take over dance floors once more.



Some of dance music’s most revered figures have already tagged early support, including Pete Tong, Danny Howard, and DJ Paulette, who included it in her recent Essential Mix. Uniting under a respected classic can set the souls of both crowd and DJ ablaze, and we can’t think of a better way to pay homage to one of dance music’s seminal tracks.

Paul Woolford Drops a Stunning Remix of 'Love Story (vs Finally)'

In celebration of International Women's Day and alignment with Gray Area’s mission to highlight and celebrate fresh up-and-coming talent, we recognize and honor 11 talented queens who are making waves in the dance music industry.

In a field with a glaring and overpowering gender divide, women are still vastly underrepresented in the music industry. We are, however, slowly but surely starting to see a more balanced and openly female-populated environment, and we are striving for this to continue.

Scratching the surface we know, there are simply too many to name, yet these incredible females pave the way towards a more inclusive and diverse industry, whether it be through their powerful productions, awe-inspiring DJ sets, bringing their activist spirit to the dancefloor, or being forthright voices.

1. Eliza Rose

Eliza Rose wears many musical hats including singer, songwriter, expert vinyl DJ, and prolific producer. 

In 2022, her victorious breakthrough anthem, "B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All," rose to #1 in the UK charts. and captured the attention of house music fans and artists.

The addictive production honed in on her love of both UKG and house, proving her ability to create something brilliantly cutting-edge. With a vocal swag that works on almost any record, her latest release, "Better Days," is an exciting tease of the future of one of the UK's most buzzed-about artists.



2. Logic1000

After switching between careers she had no true desire in, Sydney-born, London-based producer Samantha Poulter, aka Logic1000, found her true passion in music..

She is an artist known for her ability to create tracks that defy genres. Her unique production process of, in the moment, spontaneous creation has seen her produce stellar tracks that embody deep house laced with abstract percussion jams, euphoric melodies, and ambient experiments.

Elevating career moments for Logic1000 have included the success of her first self-titled EP in 2018 under her previous alias DJ Logic, backing from fellow artists such as Four Tet, and producing coveted remixes for prolific artists like Caribou, Flume, Dusky, and more.

With plans in the works for her debut album, she claims that her logical thinking is not the sharpest (despite her hard-headed moniker), and has no clear idea what it’ll sound like. Either way, we know it’ll be a smash.

3. yunè pinku

Malaysian-Irish producer and songwriter yunè pinku's (yunè means cloudy in Japanese, pinku a nod to her love of Pingu), aka Asha Yunè, productions embody introspective lyricism and hypnotic melodies and have propelled her to become one of the fastest-rising names in electronic music.

Despite not being a fan of "all-out raving," this doesn’t stop the young talent from producing club-ready bangers, which also translate in more intimate environments. 

Equally suited to the rave as they are the bedroom, her 2022 debut single "Bluff" nudged at the artist's mental struggles. It was a track about putting on your best poker face when you're feeling anxious or low.

She recently teased her highly-anticipated EP, BABYLON IX out this spring, with her sensual single, "Night Light." While "Bluff" was inspired by real-life situations, "Night Light" took inspiration from AI and the metaverse, proving her unique ability to find originality and make music through a social lense.

4. Chloé Caillet

The stylish French-born DJ Chloé Caillet’s musical journey first started when she took to the piano as a little girl. Now a globe-trotting DJ, she is best known for gracing the decks of some of the most lauded global clubs and festivals, including Hï Ibiza, DC-10, The Brooklyn Mirage, Burning Man, Glastonbury, and she will play at Coachella this Spring.

In 2021, she debuted her XCESS Records imprint with her single, “Love Ain’t Over.” She has since released tracks on Keinemusik and Circoloco Records, He.She.They, and Defected.

Celebrated by the industry’s leading DJ’s, she is also a force to be reckoned with in the fashion world, with a runway after-party roster that includes Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Miu Miu.

Caillet is set for a massive 2023, including the release of yet another hotly anticipated EP on CircoLoco Records due out the same week as her second Coachella performance. 

5. Kitty Amor

Kitty Amor is a DJ, promoter, tastemaker, and most importantly, passionate representative paving the way for the flourishing Afro house scene in the UK and beyond.

Often referencing her day-one inspirations Black Coffee, Culoe De Song, Da Capo, Shimza, and Manoo (to name a few) as pioneers of Afro house, Amor strives to continue their legacy pushing the sounds of South Africa into new domains.

With a clear lack of representation in countries outside of the continent, Amor has worked itrelessly over the years alongside a number of brands, labels, and promoters to create space for the genre.

From becoming the first woman to perform at Deep In The City, the superlative Johannesburg night curated by Themba and Black Coffee, to being the first UK Afro house DJ to play Printworks (UK), she is now a mainstay at the events of one of Defected’s newest sub-labels Sondela. She continues to make her mark internationally having played in Ibiza, Dubai, Croatia, Amsterdam, and more in 2022. 

6. TSHA

Off the back of her debut album release Capricorn Sun in October 2022, TSHA is getting all the love and respect that she deserves. Small in size but big in talent and energy, the London-born artist is a true talent both behind the decks and in the studio.

Rightfully tipped as one of the most exciting emerging artists from the UK, she’s been the cover artist for Mixmag and won Album of the Year at the DJ Mag Awards in 2022. Quickly becoming an international sensation, she will take the stage at Coachella in April 2023, and perform her first headline gig at Chicago’s Spybar in May.

TSHA recently opened up about her struggles with anxiety and how she manages it amongst a hefty touring schedule. Her openness and honesty stands to reassure other young artists that it is both manageable and worth pursuing.

7. IMOGEN

While many female techno acts emerge from eastern Europe, UK-hailing powerhouse IMOGEN puts her own British stamp on Berlin’s bullish techno sound.

After moving to London at the mere age of 16 to study electronic music, she began to immerse herself in the capital's club scene and radio circuit. Now a respected artist throughout Europe, IMOGEN’s come a long way since first being profiled by Mixmag at the age of 19 in 2019. She has a radio residency at NTS Radio, runs her own label and party WIGS, and has played at iconic dance music venues and festivals like fabric London, HÖR Berlin, De School Amsterdam, Sonar, and ION.



8. Jaguar

With a dedication to the scene like no other, Jaguar has seen nearly every corner of the dance music industry, from journalism to event producer, broadcasting to DJing, advocacy, and podcasting.

Her UTOPIA Talks podcast and charitable organization The Jaguar Foundation go hand in hand with her end goal being to create a free and inclusive workplace that inspires people from minority backgrounds to demand greater opportunities and representation. 

Paving the way for the next generation, her commitment to making the industry more diverse and even-handed makes her an irreplaceable figure. We need more Jaguar’s in the world.

9. Elkka

Cardiff-born, London-based Elkka constantly seeks to build a brighter future. The electronic music dynamo is a talented producer, singer, songwriter, DJ, and founder of Femme Culture, a record label and collective she uses as a platform to champion women in the arts and push forward-thinking music that stands for an all-embracing industry amongst every gender, background, and belief. 



A jack of all trades, she spent many grueling years behind the scenes, trying to crack the industry as a pop songwriter. Now she finds herself in her own musical lane, producing tracks that have won the hearts of DJ’s such as Four Tet, Floating Points, Caribou, George FitzGerald, SHERELLE, and Annie Mac.



Her latest release "I Just Want To Love You" on Ninja Tune beautifully encompasses her raw, alternative take on house music, that's often built upon melodic lyrics and old-school samples. 

10. ALISHA

From humble beginnings in her hometown of Peterborough, the first-rate UK DJ and producer ALISHA has rightfully nestled her way into the music industry through an incredible ear for production and clear determination to do what she loves.

Highly regarded by industry peers and house music fans alike, she has just about conquered every inch of the UK clubbing scene over the last couple of years, dropping sets at pretty much every reputable venue and festival there is. 

When she’s not behind the decks, ALISHA is tucked away in her studio, honing her unique dancefloor-ready sound. With booming releases on prolific record labels such as Kaluki, Eastenderz, and Nothing Else Matters, her tracks can often be heard in the sets of some of the world’s leading DJ’s.



11. HoneyLuv

LA-based producer and DJ HoneyLuv rose from basketball player to US Navy aviation mechanic to creating a unique musical niche, producing tech house bangers that ooze with attitude.

Proving boundless aptitudes with her 2022 release "365" on Chris Lake’s famed Black Book Records, she has since gone on to produce a number of groove-filled dancefloor riddims, most notably her most recent "Sway" that's caught huge traction overseas in the UK.

Last year saw her playing festival stages and nightclubs all over North America, and she is now set to embark on her debut headline tour this Spring.  With recent sets in Australia, Italy, and Ibiza, don’t be surprised to see her dominating international lineups for years to come.

11 Inspiring Female Artists You Should Know

When Franky Wah emerged in 2017 with a slew of funky tech house releases, he couldn't have imagined launching a multi-disciplinary brand at the scale of SHÈN only five years later. And while the vision for the record label, events, and fashion line has rolled around in his head for the last three or four years, the speed at which it’s taken shape since its launch in April of 2022 is remarkably indicative of his tenacity and talent.




The release of the anthemic breaks doubleheader “More Than You’ll Ever Know” and “Surrender,” featuring a soaring topline from Clementine Douglas, cryptically announced the label. Wah quickly proved that his abilities as a skilled selector translated into a deft ear for A&R. EPs from Korolova, Shadow Child, OUT OF MIND, and his own (second) collaboration with the legendary Sasha followed.






The genre-defying heterogeneous Franky Wah sound permeates the SHÈN catalog, and that’s intentional. “I think the main ethos of SHÈN, the identity that we want to build, is this melodic/progressive tribal sound,” he explains. “That earthy, organic tribal sound [that] leans into a bit of emotional breakbeat—Balearic sounds as well. Because I’m quite eclectic when I play my DJ sets, I want my label to reflect the same taste.”




Franky also reveals that everything about SHÈN brims with the same deliberate intention, from its name to its visual aesthetic.




“Shen is actually a Chinese word that stands for ascending into a higher consciousness, which is sort of what I’d like to say happens at our events.” The name itself holds deeper meaning for Franky, he explains, “my name Franky Wah, actually comes from my granddad, who’s Chinese, Harry Wah.” Even the feathered accent soaring over the letter E in SHÈN is another positive symbol of ascension and transcendence.






In Chinese, shen is associated with yin,—the spiritual aspect of humanity and the counterbalance to yang—awareness, and consciousness. In a scene bereft with artist-led brands, starting one seems natural but must be intentional, employing both sides of the yin and yang. Franky mulled over SHÈN’s creation for several years. Ultimately deciding to move forward emerged from both his sharp business acumen and an acute spiritual awareness that it was the right time. As we discover throughout this conversation, Franky’s self-awareness, his application of shen, is a prime factor in his success.




Over the last few years, Franky has become a figurehead in the progressive scene. Brilliantly finding the balance between old-school sensibilities and modern capabilities, he’s risen to the forefront of dance music with a slew of uplifting originals like “Under The Sun,” collaborations with Carl Cox and Sasha, and memorable DJ sets around the world.




“I sort of stood on my own two feet, moved away from doing lineups and events, and I was actually moving to hard tickets and selling out my own shows,” he explains about how he knew it was time to take action. “I thought, ‘Yeah, you know what? There’s an audience here. I’ve got a lot of traction.’”




He says that while some use a brand as a tool to build their career, he felt he could do so much more piggybacking on his already established reliability and fan power. “It’s easier to attract artists to your label. It’s easier to put on your own event. For instance, doing your first-ever label showcase at one of the best venues on New Year’s Eve is just mind-blowing. I dream big, but that wasn’t even something I was thinking was possible.”




His debut label showcase at Mia Beach Club in Tulum was a beautiful way to start 2023. For the first two weeks of the year, all eyes in dance music are on the Mexican beachside paradise. With events like Afterlife and Damian Lazarus’ Day Zero dominating the calendar, it was an honor for Franky to be able to compete. And throwing a party in the same space that legends like John Digweed occupy proved he could stand on his own two feet.




“It feels like what I can imagine (because I’m not married) what your wedding day must feel like. It’s a really touching feeling. You can play the lineups for different brands and you don’t really know who’s there for you and who’s just there for the brand, who’s there to see another DJ on the lineup. But when you do your own thing, you ultimately know that everyone’s there for you.”





Launching the brand as his career was exploding, fully realized another dream: his debut album This Is SHÈN. Released in November of 2022 and announced by a winding, gorgeously layered, and composed 27-track mix and YouTube stream to accompany its release.




“One of my first projects, when I sort of got established, a bit of an audience, was a mixtape and it did so well. But then I moved along into the singles world, which is how a lot of people do it now. I moved into that to keep building and then I sat down with my team and I said, ‘You know what? I’ve got so much music, like I’ve got over 1000 unreleased demos. What are we gaining from this music just being sat on the hard drive?”




YouTube approached Franky to work together on a visual component for the mixtape. What initially began as eight records (some of which were over four years old) ballooned to 32 that he whittled down to the beautifully programmed 27 that ranged from the deep progressive breaks of "Pandora" to the emotive uplifting synths of "Rise."

The album was an unsurprising success. “I expected the diehard fans to really love it but never in my wildest dreams did I expect top six. It was number six in the Spotify Albums chart. Number one on Beatport. I had high hopes, but it exceeded any expectation that I ever had. It’s told me that that’s the way I need to keep it going. I’m already working on the next mixtape.”



The next step in the life of SHÈN is a return to New York, where he will present his first label showcase in the United States. Coming back to New York holds immense sentimental value for him. The site of two sold-out headlining shows, he’s overjoyed to work alongside promoters that genuinely believe in him and his vision.



“it made sense for me to do it first in America with the brand that I believe sort of believed in me the most. Gray Area and Joey and MJ, they believe in this. And that works. You need to work with promoters that believe in you. It’s not about who’s got the biggest checkbook. It’s about who believes in you, and who wants to actually build some something that’s got some substance, longevity.”




When you consider that so much of the brand’s ethos is rooted in the sense of spiritual reverence that comes from a deep love for dance music, it’s no surprise that the power of manifestation played a distinct role in so much of its progression, including his upcoming 16 week Ibiza residency in summer 2023.




Last summer, while in Ibiza, he was chatting with BBC Radio 1 DJ, Danny Howard and some other friends about the power of manifestation over dinner. As the conversation moved on, Franky’s plans for next season came up, and he mentioned he wanted to do his own thing, maybe at Club Chinois, which he felt had an excellent vibe for his brand. Several minutes later, Danny Whittle, one of Ibiza’s most celebrated nightlife icons, came by the table to talk to Franky about doing a residency at Club Chinois, which he was now running.



“And Danny Howard was like, ‘what the fuck? You’ve just been talking about manifesting,’ and then this residency sort of dropped on my lap. And then when we went into it, three weeks prior, I had sent my manager a photo or a video from the club saying, ‘Do you know about this club?’, It turns out that day was the day that Danny [Whittle signed] the contract to join.”


Going further, Franky explains that even his residency at Club Chinois embodies the spirit of SHÈN. His grandfather Harry owned a pottery shop. In the club’s restrooms, he says, are sinks nearly identical to a matching pottery set Harry gave his mom and two sisters as wedding presents. Running through the club are three large pillars covered in gold feathers.




Franky has spent his career paying attention to the signs and manifesting these moments for himself. SHÈN isn’t just the culmination of his creative power, it’s proof that dreaming big, working hard, and trusting your most powerful inclinations leads to success. All signs continue to point to the incredible rise of Franky Wah and SHÈN.

SHÈN  is the Next Step in Franky Wah's Creative Evolution

Claude Von Stroke’s trailblazing label, Dirtybird, has become synonymous with innovative music punctuated by left-field elements. Some tracks got groove, some have power, but all are guaranteed to be delightfully weird. “Ice Cream Cone,” by Claude Von Stroke, Lubelski, and Life On Planets is a certified bop with a shuffle-ready beat and enticing production, but the tune recently received a mind-numbing remix that pushes it to the highest echelons of avant-garde.





Exploring the bounds of dance music isn’t for everyone. It takes a strange mind to concoct something fit for the Dirtybird library. But no artist is better suited for the challenge than legendary producer, Skream. Not only did he undeniably impact the development of the dubstep genre in the early 2000s, he is also one of few artists to successfully pivot from dubstep to house. Recently, we’ve seen the multi-label head stoke the old flames of his first love while playing a prominent role in the greater dance music landscape. This mastery of the light and the low end comes to a head in Skream’s four-minute Modular Remix of “Ice Cream Cone.”



Push play and listen to what might be the most alluring industrial glitch around. A steady bounce into sense-tingling hypnosis seems unavoidable as a minimal percussion kit sets a hollow but steadfast tether to reality. Distorted vocals cast a peculiarly tempting spell while mechanical ticks ring out into space, shamelessly suspending listeners in a state of guarded seduction.




Saying this track is off-the-wall would be an understatement, and that’s exactly why we love it. If true art sparks feeling and conversation, consider us set ablaze.

Skream Gives Lubelski’s ‘Ice Cream Cone’ a Hectic Modular Remix

Established label owner and eclectic producer DJ Tennis worked a healthy dose of leftfield melodies, space-age samples, and psychedelic basslines into his set for the most famous bathroom in dance music: HÖR. Mixing house into breaks and indie, he upheld his reputation as an unpredictable and expansive selector.










Manfredi Romano – aka DJ Tennis – grew up tour-managing punk bands and organizing music events in Italy around the turn of the millennium. He also played in bands but confesses that he wasn’t a great singer or guitarist.




“I’m completely self-taught, and I have a weird approach,” he explains in an interview with Beatportal. “I have a very uneducated way of using a guitar, tuning the guitar strings so it sounded very noisy… [but] I think the fact that you don’t have musical instruction, in an academic sense, allows you to be more personal.”




After finishing university, he launched DAZE, Italy’s first booking agency solely committed to electronic music. Two decades later, in 2010, Romano established himself as a DJ in his own right.




His mission was to re-introduce ‘psychedelia’ to the dancefloor, which he describes as “a dimension that is between reality and a dream, between imagination and reason. And I wanted to use vocals, but not classic soulful vocals like in house music.”




Romano is also the founder and A&R of Life and Death, the label responsible for showcasing some of Tale Of Us and Mind Against’s earliest tracks. Carmine Conte and Matteo Milleri of the former ran the label with Romano in the early days, along with Thugfucker’s Greg Oreck, with DJ Tennis providing them with significant guidance in the earliest stages of their careers.



When producing, Romano fuses his past relationships with post-rock into the realm of the electronic. The same is true in curating his label, which has welcomed indie electronic acts like Clockwork into the fold in the past decade. As a DJ, he strives to be varied and spontaneous. “I don’t like to meet expectations, and I like when people are surprised…normally my sets are never the same.”




Today, when he’s not touring, Romano splits his time between Miami and Barcelona, where he enjoys riding motorbikes, collecting vintage action figures, and building upon his vinyl collection - which now numbers over 11,000 strong.




DJ Tennis will step behind the decks at Smartbar in Chicago, StereoBar in Montreal, SXM Festival Saint Martin, and beyond.

DJ Tennis Brings a Healthy Dose of Psychedelia to HÖR

Europe is a continent oozing with countries of spectacular beauty and culture. Each one waiting to be unearthed. With some more discovered than others, it's fair to say that the untouched, hidden-gems remain the most special.

This exact notion brings us to Albania - a modest country situated in the Balkans, surrounded by Ionian, Adriatic and Mediterranean waters, unspoiled beaches, mountainous landscapes, as well as exhibiting traditional cuisine and a fascinating history.

Don’t dismiss Albania as a holiday destination because of its untraversed nature and tourism dearth, embrace for those same reasons.

In recent years early adopters have caught on, having realized it’s a place embodied in natural charm, community, culture, and one with enormous potential.

These early adopters being event brands and festival promoters, are the same as those who put Croatia on the map as a popular holiday and festival destination over a decade ago. 

It now appears that Albania is starting to follow a similar path to Croatia in 2011 with the inaugural Hideout Festival, which was closely followed by an avalanche that included Outlook, Love International and later Defected.

Adopting small seaside towns and villages as the epic backdrops to these events, promoters grasped the opportunity in both hands to do the same with Albania and its beautiful coastal town of Dhërmi.

Now a location that hosts some of the coolest, most sought-after music festivals in Europe including ION, AnjunaDeep, UNUM, and Kala, there are many reasons to visit, yet music seems to be the driving force behind the significant upheaval of tourists to the country.

We spoke with the founders of LWE (London Warehouse Events) who are the proud hosts of ION, and brand new boutique festival SISO, to gain some more knowledge of the unchartered territory.

What makes Albania desirable from an aesthetic standpoint?

Albania is one of Europe’s last remaining secrets, still untouched by the hands of mass tourism in the same way as Croatia, Greece, and other destinations. This means you’ll have the privilege of Albania’s huge sandy beaches all to yourself, free from crowds and overdevelopment.

Dhërmi is sandwiched between the Ionian sea and the luscious Ceraunian mountain range, providing stunning views of the landscape from all around. The air is fresh, the water is crystal clear, and the general atmosphere is one of rest and rejuvenation; it’s the perfect escape.

Dhërmi, and Albania as a whole, offers everything you could want from a festival location, with fantastic weather, welcoming locals, amazing culinary experiences, and, of course, top-tier music. Albania is ahead of the other locations as it is less touristy, with quieter beaches and a more authentic atmosphere. It is more cost-effective than other European locations, with very good value prices for food, drinks, and amenities.

Unfamiliar territory for many, why should festival goers choose Albania over other party destinations?

If you want incredible music, with the added bonus of unspoilt beaches and hidden party locations, excellent food and drink, friendly locals and great value, Albania is the place for you.

You heard it here first. With Dhërmi boasting an abundance of holiday destination musts, there is so much to be discovered. It is also markedly cheaper than popular neighboring countries Greece and Italy, meaning that those pennies will stretch that little bit further.

With all this being said, you’re probably wondering how this sudden influx and spike in tourism is impacting such an unspoiled, authentic environment.

Well, LWE works in conjunction with Mainstage: an overseas events company which has been working closely with the Albanian government to get more tourists into the country in a sustainable and viable way. Through this collaboration, ethical policies have been put in place throughout every step of the festival curation process (including pre and post), which has enabled such events in Dhërmi to soar.

How has the local economy/community welcomed this new change and influx of festivals/people?

They have welcomed us with open arms, and are excited at the new prospects brought on by new festivals and other music events. Albanians are passionate about their beautiful country, and love sharing their culture and history with us when we visit. There’s also a small but thriving community of electronic music lovers within the country, who are obviously over-the-moon that we are bringing parties to Albania.

With the green light from local authorities and communities, it appears that they have put their own plans in place in order to accommodate what looks like a hopeful future of tourism for the country.

What makes Dhërmi/Albania desirable from a business standpoint?

The country is still developing from a tourism and business standpoint, with the first hotel only appearing in the mid-2000s. Since then, the number of visitors has skyrocketed, leading to a number of unique business opportunities in the world of travel, tourism and entertainment. These include an in-progress project to build a tunnel through the main mountain range in the country, halving the journey time from Tirana to Dhërmi, alongside a new airport that is coming.

Not only this, but temporary ferry ports will be built closer to Dhërmi, as well as the closing off and pedestrianization of the entire seafront during both festivals, transforming the whole area into a 3,000-capacity festival site.

With artists and party-goers flying in from all directions, what you get in a location like this is a sense of unity. It is said that at previous festivals in Dhërmi, the DJ’s have been seen to be staying at the same hotels as the ticket holders, wandering the cobbled streets and trying out the same local offerings as the rest. You don’t often get that at large festivals in well-established areas.

Through Dhërmi’s quirky characteristics as a small seaside village, promoters like LWE are able to curate one of a kind experiences that simply cannot be replicated. With particular reference to ION festival's unique set-up, the paradisal partisë consists of five different stages which are all completely unique in their own way. 

From stages nestled in quiet coves to secret set-ups that can only be accessed via boat, it is Dhermi and its beautiful people that allow for talented event brands to access and use such incredible spaces.

It is clear to see that this is just the beginning of Albania’s new age, with a plethora of opportunities being thrown at Dhërmi and the surrounding areas. 

If you’re thinking about getting down to a festival on the Albanian Riviera, now is the best time to do so – before the country opens for mass tourism and the landscape is inevitably transformed.

If it’s not already, Albania is well on its way to becoming the next major European festival destination.

Raving in The Albanian Riviera

The Deep Dark Soul of Desert Hearts Black

Drum and bass has historically been “only for the headstrong,” as its MCs are known to say. For three decades, the British-born and bred genre has been the bastard stepchild of electronic dance music, the most underground and its most purist. Over the last few years, however, that’s been blown to bits.




Since its inception, drum and bass has consistently experienced a healthy audience in the UK. In the last decade, the fierce appetite for D&B has spread to mainland Europe with the popularity of genre-bending producers like Noisia, Black Sun Empire, and Camo & Krooked. Drum and bass created a noticeable blip on the electronic music radar Stateside in the late ’90s during the Roni Size/Reprazent, Goldie, and LTJ Bukem wave. However, it was just that, a blip, which faded almost as quickly as it appeared, leaving in its wake a hardcore following that made up for their negligible numbers with unbridled devotion, forsaking all other styles of music to worship at the shrine of drum and bass’ skittering high BPM beats and low-slung basslines.





As drum and bass thrived across the pond, domestically, it struggled to survive. Drum and bass club nights appeared and evaporated, leaving a fractured group of longstanding exceptions like Los Angeles’ Respect, San Francisco’s Stamina, Orlando’s Torque, Seattle’s DnB Tuesdays, and Boston’s Elements.




Drum and bass artists made up a tiny to non-existent percentage of festival lineups. Even behemoth promoters Insomniac, who historically were massive supporters of the genre, relegated drum and bass talent to daylight hours and jammed them into congested (sometimes confusing) back-to-back sets.




Drum and bass record labels failed to make enough money to stay alive.  And while their contemporaries in house and techno experienced exponential growth, those only producing and playing D&B had to have another source of income or move abroad (see: René LaVice and Gridlok) to survive.




Yet, after years of staying underground, drum and bass has become ubiquitous on the global music scene. In the US, it’s woven into the sonic makeup of sounds not strictly under the drum and bass umbrella. Ironically, drum and bass’ omnipresence is despite itself. The new generation of producers are going against the traditional tenets of the genre. Specifically, they have no regard for purism and refuse to make their listeners run the gauntlet to find them.






Drum and bass is becoming more prevalent in songs from high-profile dance music artists that aren’t afraid to cross genre lines, such as Zeds Dead’s “In My Head” (with MKLA) and Porter Robinson’s “Everything Goes On.”




“I listen to 1000s of DJ mixes a week and the new official music videos on YouTube every Friday, and there certainly is a big trend of DJs who didn’t used to play drum and bass dropping some drum and bass tracks,” says Reid Speed, a US pioneer of drum and bass and a trailblazer for women in the space. She adds, “Other genres borrowing from drum and bass are also having a moment of popularity right now.”




Just listen to superstar rapper Rico Nasty’s snarling “Intrusive,” where she spits over a shrieking drum and bass backing track. As teeth-grindingly aggressive as “Intrusive” is, it’s also a bouncing and fun sing-along.







British singer-songwriter and producer Pink Pantheress’ “Break it Off,” based heavily on a sample of Adam F’s 1995 track “Circles,” and piri’s “soft spot” are perhaps the two songs most often referenced when speaking about drum and bass appearing in unexpected places.




And while Rico Nasty and Pink Panthress often dip heavily into dance music subgenres, strains of drum and bass appear everywhere. Cases in point: actor/singer Maya Hawke’s “Sweet Tooth,” and singer/songwriter Charlie Puth’s “There’s a First Time for Everything.”



(This “Drum & Bass what?” playlist on Spotify is regularly updated with new non-drum and bass releases that have drum and bass in them, even if it is for a few seconds.)




There was no way to predict this type of infiltration when drum and bass started defining itself some three decades ago. Interestingly, the origins of drum and bass are as un-purist as music can get. It pulled elements from house, techno, breakbeat, hardcore, hip hop, and Jamaican sound systems to create its own Frankenstein musical being. A detailed dissection of each of these genres and their amalgamation into drum and bass can be found in music scholar Chris Muniz’s excellent Bassrush article, “How to Talk to Your Kids About Drum & Bass.”




Optical, one of the most revered drum and bass producers of all time, explains that in the mid-’90s, when UK drum and bass artists made their way over to the US, “The music was fairly similar to what we had in the UK, but the drum and bass part of it wasn’t there. 1998 was when it really started to take off in America.”




The formalization of drum and bass in North America came with major label interest and the involvement of professional promoters. “Drum and bass was very UK-dominated in the beginning, but the American thing matured rapidly and became a thing of its own where we were coming along to be part of the American scene,” says Optical. “Also, we were incorporated into those giant raves, like Electric Daisy Carnival. American raves on that scale are the biggest in the world. A lot of our experiences of playing to huge crowds have been in America.”





Optical and his partner Ed Rush have cultivated their formidable audience with zero compromises in what they produce or play. Their patented brand of neurofunk, a particularly harder-edged sub-genre of drum and bass, is possibly a more challenging one in the style that already has a high aural barrier to entry. Even so, Ukrainian techno DJ Nastia has been closing her sets with Ed Rush and Optical’s 2005 track, “Reece,” which has resulted in thousands of downloads of “Reece” every time she has a gig.



“I’m happy people are bringing the music into the sphere, getting a wider audience for it,” says Optical. “It’s obviously made a difference in the US, from what I can see. There are so many flavors of drum and bass, so many varieties of styles. I don’t know if you can necessarily say that about techno or house.”





The malleability of drum and bass is ultimately what drew DJ DB to the genre. The New York-based expat was one of the first people who could translate not just drum and bass, but electronic dance music for executives working in the traditional commercial systems of the music industry. An eclectic DJ in his native UK, when DB moved to the US, he realized that to work as a DJ, he had to pick a lane.



“I went with the drum and bass because it was morphing and expanding and shrinking more than any other genre,” says DB. “Drum and bass was the music that was really changing every three months. You could hear the difference and that’s what excited me so much at the time.”



It was at DB’s NASA parties where British hardcore debuted, becoming jungle and drum and bass. At the time, DB was also working at Sm:)e Communications, an imprint of Profile Records, releasing electronic dance music. Soon after, he opened Breakbeat Science, a record store stocking only drum and bass. Next, Warner Brothers Records tapped him to commission dance music remixes, including many drum and bass flips of songs in the Warner catalog.



Many years later, DB’s 22-year-old son Max is discovering drum and bass in an entirely different context than his father. “Max and his friends go to hear DJs that are playing these cuckoo eclectic sets,” says DB. “It’s part of the woke/alt/trans world. Nobody is a ‘he’ or a ‘she’ or a ‘they.’ It’s all mixed up. They’re playing all kinds of stuff, and a lot of it is drum and bass, but they aren’t purists. They’re the opposite, which I love.”





This scene is somewhat parallel and somewhat apart from traditional drum and bass communities. It is an independent, underground, and a throwback to the early rave days with a strong queer and BIPOC contingent. The genre-fluid subculture leans toward the old school aesthetically and in practice. Bianca Oblivion, AK Sports, I. Jordan, and Mandidextrous are the artists leading this scene, whose figurehead is the UK’s Sherrelle. And even though her profile has risen far above the underground, she still reps for it.



According to DB, “There are no gatekeepers anymore. There is no ‘one’ thing. You can be so disparate.” Streaming, and social media, TikTok in particular, can partially be credited to drum and bass permeating the general public’s consciousness, including music from non-exclusive drum and bass artists.



Case in point, Moonboy is hugely popular on social media for his drum and bass and dubstep tutorials. He’s gotten the attention of longstanding drum and bass artists and has a release on Atlantic Records. He has a solid following, yet he doesn’t have a presence in the conventional drum and bass scene.



Similarly, Bru-C is a rapper and MC who has parlayed rhyming over drum and bass on social media into a career on the festival circuit. This type of overground attention-seeking would have been unheard of in the ’90s when he would have been shut down and shunned instantly.








“Nobody’s embargoing him, nobody in the underground even notices that he’s out there doing it,” says DJ Kalm of Bru-C. A veteran of pirate radio, which was a breeding ground from drum and bass in the UK, and schooled in its restrictive attitude, Kalm says, “Before, drum and bass was put through a much more heavily scrutinized magnifying glass at that initial stage. Now, it’s not the wild west so much as a metropolis of madness. There’s so much of it coming out all the time. There’s no way anyone could do an embargo against anyone because no one can keep up with it.”



There are no rules, regulations, parameters, structures, or systems to navigate in the new school of drum and bass. If you want to make drum and bass when you previously produced a different genre, like Reaper, who previously made trap future bass under the name Prismo, you absolutely can. You can release your music on any label, even if it has never had a drum and bass release before, which Reaper has done on Monstercat and Space Yacht.

You don’t have to DJ on the drum and bass club and festival stage circuit. You can play drum and bass anywhere, at any point in your set. You can bring drum and bass to a multi-genre promoter, like the aforementioned Space Yacht or Brownies & Lemonade. They will embrace what you’re doing and present it to their audiences with a stamp of approval that results in brand new fans, not just of you as an artist, but of drum and bass.








This system of release and presentation allows for a more accessible point of entry to the genre than the musically and environmentally challenging one that drum and bass has traditionally occupied. In addition to Reaper, Kumarion, Justin Hawkes, and Skellytn are among the new school of drum and bass artists who are, in a way, mainstreaming drum and bass.




“I feel like drum and bass in North America is breaking new ground as it becomes more widely accepted,” says Skellytn, who credits the ramp up of her burgeoning career this year to a slew of consistent releases of her original music in 2022. She gained momentum with tracks on high profile drum and bass labels like Eatbrain, Bassrush, RAM, and an album on Play Me Records.




Social media is also where Skellytn says her multigenerational audience discovered her, for the most part. “Sometimes I feel like my audience is slightly older, 26+, and other times I play festivals and I see young kids 18-23 raging at my set,” she says.



To be clear, a fresh young audience that appreciates drum and bass, doesn’t necessarily (or at all) translate to bigger numbers for the US bastions of the genre that have been putting in their blood, sweat, tears, and cash to keep it going. However, it has resulted in larger festival crowds for these artists, more streams on DSPs, and a renewed interest in drum and bass releases.



Reid Speed observes this on her Play Me Records, a label celebrated for an open attitude toward genres. “Historically, we have had a lot of drum and bass remixes, but those wouldn’t necessarily do as well,” she says. “We refocused on a few people I picked early on, like Dr. Apollo, AIRGLO, Kumarion, Rebel Scum, Des McMahon. They blew up pretty fast. We put out Des’ stuff before, but all of a sudden, it started hitting differently.”








These artists reference the modern bass music scene more than legacy drum and bass artists. A style less identifiable as something heard at a longstanding drum and bass party and more accessible to a broader audience.



While some of these artists are booked at Insomniac’s Bassrush, representing drum and bass, they aren’t playing other legacy drum and bass parties. That circuit caters more to those with OG emotional connections and attitudes toward drum and bass—the same ones that restrained the genre.



“Drum and bass has spiraled out of the hands of the people who traditionally would have been considered the gatekeepers,” says Muniz who also DJs as Nightstalker, one of the longest-repping figures in drum and bass, both behind the decks and behind the scenes as a music scribe. Muniz sees the future in labels like Zed’s Dead’s Deadbeats, which will release dubstep, freeform bass, and drum and bass neck in neck with each other, sometimes as separate releases and other times all on one EP.



DJ Machete has seen every permutation of drum and bass since its start in the US from a trifecta of vantage points: as a DJ, the promoter of Respect, and as an agent for his own Respect Artist Agency. Respect stays steadfast, never bending to the different waves of drum and bass that have blown through its 24-year history.



“There are promoters who don’t normally do drum and bass starting to include it in their programming,” says Machete. “There are also promoters with their followings, and no matter what genre they’re pushing, they’ll have their core crowds. I definitely support it in the sense that I want more people to get to know the music. If they’re really truly into it, they’ll find our club.



He continues, “There are certain artists that created this genre that a lot of these promoters and people will never know or even care about, which is unfortunate. I have made it my mission to keep booking those guys and keep that vibe alive as long as I’m doing this.”

The Fall of the Gatekeepers and Rise of New Drum and Bass

To appreciate where you are and where you're going, you must know where you came from. Few artists in the house music space embody this more than Dutch DJ and producer, Prunk. If its got groove, soul, and pulsates with smooth, hypnotic rhythm, there's a good chance Prunk is nearby.



The PIV Records label head has been a champion of classic house, both past and present, for the entirety of his career. While his sounds have expanded across dance music over time, Prunk never forgot his first love—something he reconnected with this past January, releasing his sophomore album, Le Funk.







"This album is a tribute to my entire music career," Prunk shared in an interview. "My first DJ name was Prunk Le Funk, mainly because I only played funky house in the early years. Le Funk has been removed from my entire DJ name because I didn't want to be connected to just one genre. With this album, I wanted to show that there is still enough 'Funk' in Prunk with a nod to the past," he explains. "My album really had to be a house album and I wanted to do this with a warm, soulful, funky sound. I have tried to make this album with young and old talent. One of my dreams was to make a track with house legend Jovonn and I succeeded because he did the vocals of 'Story of House'. In the vocals he pays attention to how house originated with an important lesson for the new generation."



If you love house music—real, authentic, pure, unfettered house—this is the track of the week for you. "Story of House" is an undeniable new school blast from the past. A perfectly pocketed rhythm section casts an instantly infectious spell. Razor-sharp percussion, dynamic bass, brightly chugging guitar, and feathery keys lay an infallible foundation for the history lesson presented by the smoky vocal of Jovann. Push the desks to the side because this master class will have you dancing, and class is in session.

Class is in Session with Prunk's 'Story Of House'

Born in Munich, based in Berlin, Clara Cuvé's roots go back to classical piano, in which she trained since the age of four. Her music interests evolved over the years, ultimately leading to purchasing her first synthesizer at 15, an accumulation of a healthy record collection, and an interest in DJing.

Clara’s first DJ experiences began at 19 in her hometown of Munich. The city continued to play an essential role in her development as she took residency at Rote Sonne nightclub and became part of the Stock5 label and event group. She now resides in Berlin, techno’s flagship city, and her art has only continued to grow.





While she’s never been one to be pigeonholed into a single genre, Cuvé’s uninhibited energy for hard techno is undeniable. Time and time again, she’s shown just how promising the sounds of the new school can be. Clara put these sounds on full display at the Boiler Room stage in Budapest’s Bónusz Festival this past October.

Wasting no time, Clara leads off with an ominously devastating intro. Hang on tight, kids. This is going to be fully loaded 94 minutes. The ensuing onslaught of hard tech, laden with references to classic and presently popular samples, keeps staunch purists fully present and newcomers engaged. It doesn’t matter who you are, a psytrance edit of “Ich Bin Die Zukunft” will have you absolutely floored.

The night’s energy primed this set to be one for the books. Other artists on this same Boiler Room bill included Charlie Sparks, DTNB, Klangkuenstler, Lee Ann Roberts, Nur Jaber, Shlømo, and TRYM. You know, an artist like Clara Cuvé was brimming with inspiration when surrounded by an arsenal of talent like that.

Clara Cuvé Brings Hard Techno To Boiler Room at Bónusz Festival

While we’re always on the hunt for the latest and greatest grooves in dance music, we also hold a deep respect for the tracks that built its foundations. Infallible acts of today like A-Track, Disclosure, Wax Motif, and others might never exist without the pioneering efforts of house music forefathers like Frankie Knuckles, Chic, Marshal Jefferson, and this week’s featured artist, Farley “Jackmaster” Funk.



Farley was the mastermind behind our track of the week, “Love Can’t Turn Around.” In 1986, his roommate and fellow pioneer of the time, Steve “Silk” Hurley, produced a cover of “I Can’t Turn Around” by Isaac Hayes. Hearing Hurley’s version of the song, Farley teamed up with house music’s first publicly sold, vinyl-pressed DJ, Jesse Saunders, to make his own version of the track. Most of the instrumental arrangement remained, but Farley changed the hook from “I Can’t Turn Around” to “Love Can’t Turn Around” and dropped the rest of Hayes’ original lyrics for new words by author Vince Lawrence. Gospel singer, Darryl Pandy, performed the lead vocals.





“Love Can’t Turn Around” is widely considered one the most important tracks in the history of house music as the first record in the genre to make it to the UK Singles Chart and popularize house music overseas. One spin of this tune, and you’re whipped back to a neon-drenched time rife with the thick beats of drum machines and the distinct smell of vinyl.



An air of trailblazing liberty accompanies those canned drum loops and synth lines. And don’t even get me started on the emphatic attitude and energy with which Darryl Pandy delivers his vocals. Queue up the original video and see for yourself just how fabulous and vivacious Pandy’s performance is. He’s got it all: the mullet, the green sequined shirt, the strut, the voice. Farley, Saunders, and Pandy created one of the original boundary-breaking tunes that, almost four decades later, will still have you walking it out like a runway.

Bringing Back the Beat of Farley Jackmaster Funk’s Timeless 'Love Can’t Turn Around'

We are fortunate to live in a time where influential artists are making an indelible impact on the music industry and bringing their unique flavors and energy to every genre. As we enter Black History Month, we are celebrating and recognizing the success of Black individuals in the music industry and recognize the efforts of those who have become an engine for innovation. From their pioneering production talents to live performances that construct our 'lost in the sauce' experiences, these artists are breaking barriers and serving as inspiration for the next generation of Black musicians and the industry.




Listed below are 11 Black artists you should keep your eyes and ears out. These unique and compelling voices are rapidly rolling the tides of dance music and reclaiming their roots.



1. Mason Collective

Mason Collective comprises the killer trifecta Blair Suarez, Adam Myles, and Omar Guedar. Representing one of the motherlands of tech-house, the Manchester music-making entities are feeding fans with their innovative and funky sparse sounds. "MVSON" is a brand they've shaped around a specific taste in vogue and party ethics, which has become a hot commodity in the underground warehouse world. Moreover, the fashion mavens recently launched their record label Whippin, a home for quality beats.













2. Shermanology

Stemming from a family enriched with a noteworthy (and historic) musical background, brother and sister duo Andy and Dorothy Sherman, aka Shermanology, have become prominent faces in the industry. They provide their acoustics to the space by blending groovy tech-house beats with their spicy Dutch-Caribbean lineage. Experiencing a live performance by the two is a treat, not just because of their catchy tunes that are impossible not to sing along to but also due to their radiant stage presence and powerful crowd control.






















3. Black Fancy

Black Fancy, born in Parma, Italy, is poised to be the future of dance music. As an underground producer, his tech and deep house work showcase an impressive range of diversity in each of his tracks. His releases consistently display pure class, from elevating reworks to stripped-back beats complemented by catchy and soulful vocals. Black Fancy's music has earned recognition from well-known artists such as Franky Rizardo, The Martinez Brothers, Marco Carola, and many more.













4. MADVILLA

Emerging artist Adriane Jackson, better known as MADVILLA, is on the path to becoming a major player in the dance music world with his focused, experimental, and persistent approach to producing home runners. Based in the UK, this deep tech and minimal house producer has received critical acclaim for his releases on esteemed labels such as Locus, Pets, No Art, and Heavy House Society. He has also received support from renowned DJs and producers, including Enzo Siragusa, Sidney Charles, Seb Zito, Kenny Dope, Todd Edwards, and East End Dubs.
















5. HoneyLuv

A lady of pure influence on the generation and an absolute trailblazer, Taylor Character, aka HoneyLuv, is a remarkable community leader. Widely known for pumping out roaring tech house hits that feature contagious melodies, fresh vocals, and sexy synths. She's made light work of establishing her mark in an incredibly short period, establishing herself as a top gun in the music industry with her impactful and boundary-pushing productions.















6. Austin Millz

Harlem-born Austin Millz is a standout example of using social media to your benefit. He joyously infuses uplifting house with hip-hop and R&B for a future-forward brand of funk. Scrolling through his Instagram and Tik Tok is a rabbit hole of pure wizardry. He has an innate ability to make you feel like you're standing right next to him, vibing out as he smashes those effect pedals and overlooks a skyline. His expressive vibe is unmatched, and his sound is so hard not to bop your head to. It's no wonder his following is through the roof.







7. Channel Tres

Sheldon Young, better known as Channel Tres, is a rising talent from Compton, California, who cooks up the heat using a tasteful dollop of the following ingredients: house, disco, techno, funk, rap, and hip-hop. At one point, Mr. Tres was a buried treasure. However, his releases "Controller," "Topdown," and "Weedman" propelled him into the spotlight and secured his place in the public's consciousness. And his energetic live shows only helped confirm that he is a singular talent. He refrains from limiting himself to a single genre, a quality trait we appreciate in artists.












8. Jayda G

A London-based environmental toxicologist, environmental management professional, producer, and DJ, Jayda G ticks all the boxes for a well-rounded and talented figure. Well known for her famous 2021 Grammy-nominated track "Both of US," the Canadian artist encapsulates an inspiring message of sustainability and conservation in her music, consistently delivering groovy and soulful beats that showcase her passion for the environment and her commitment to raising awareness through her art. With a wealth of experience and expertise in her field, Jayda G is not just a talented musician, but a true advocate for positive change.


















9. Jaden Thompson

Despite being a relative newcomer to the scene, Jaden Thompson's talent, hardworking nature, and disarming humility have quickly gained him recognition from across the industry. His breakthrough hit "Closer," and its subsequent remixes skyrocketed him to fame in the music industry. Achieving superstardom in a competitive and fast-paced environment can be overwhelming, but if one remains authentic and stays focused, like Jaden, the possibilities are endless!







10. Hitty

It is always fascinating to see DJs who never envisioned music as their primary profession, rise to fame. Hitty didn't pursue production as a professional career until 2008, despite having a musical background dating back to the early 2000s. The best things come to those who wait. And it's good he chose to pursue music full-time, as his effervescent productions are perfect for the dancefloor and the sparkle of a disco ball. His years of DJing at HeatFM have honed his ability to create musically rich tracks that blend tech house, hip-hop, and disco elements. His extensive experience in the studio and on the turntables also led to his partnership with former house/tech duo Shenin Amara & AR to launch their imprint, Nocturnalist Records.
















11. Niteplan

Niteplan, a London native, is rapidly becoming a sought-after artist in the minimal and deep-tech house. His tracks are rinsed left and right by major-league names such as Skream, Jamie Jones, Michael Bibi, Marco Carola, Detlef, The Martinez Brothers, and many others. Niteplan's release, "DURRRTY," is receiving heaps of attention, along with many other tunes, that incorporate those glitchy basslines, tight synths, reverberating stabs, and crispy beats that make the crowd go mad.

11 Rising Black Artists Changing the Face of House Music

"Off my face don't know where I am, cuz I got my drugs from Amsterdam."


Like nearly every dance music fan in the world, we came to recognize this hook as the entry point to the hottest track of 2022, "Drugs From Amsterdam," by underground wunderkind Mau P. In the four months since its release, fans everywhere have been clamoring for any taste of Mau P they can get. XXX Radio, Mau's weekly mix series, and a steady flow of increasingly massive shows have kept us wrapped around his finger, but our patience was recently rewarded with the release of Mau's highly anticipated follow-up, "Gimme That Bounce."


The track went straight to the top of the Beatport top ten and has further evidenced what we already knew to be true: Mau P is here to stay. We reconnected with our Dutch friend to talk about his debut US shows, his new track, and a little research he's stumbled on. Check out the conversation below!






Hey Maurits! Great talking with you again. Thanks for cutting out some time for us. First, congratulations on releasing the "Drugs From Amsterdam" official music video. Was it as fun to film as it was to watch?


Of course! Always a pleasure! It was a lot of fun, but I have to be real with you and say I was only there for the scenes I was featured in. The whole video was produced by my genius best friend, Tommy Reerink. We've known each other since high school, and he absolutely killed it on this video.









You started the New Year with your first two US shows. They looked crazy, but how were they for you? What did you think about your first time in the States, and do you have any big plans for your North American Tour coming up?




I started off at Countdown. I was kinda nervous about how many people would show up because my set time was pretty early, I thought. Two or three songs in, I started to have a hard time seeing where the crowd ended. They were so hyped, and we fed off each other's energy. It was amazing. Then on New Year's, I played Proper in the Petco Park in San Diego, which was a smaller crowd but just as cool. Playing in the stadium was so dope as well. These were my first shows as Mau P in the States, and they just left me hungry for more. I actually can not wait for the February tour.







How have you been keeping up with the influx in demand for your time in the months following the launch of Mau P?




I love what I do and everything that comes with it. I never expected any of this to happen, so I take it all for granted and try to give every aspect of the job my all.





Aside from touring and filming a music video, you've been on top of your XXX Radio releases. What keeps you coming back week after week with an hour of fresh energy?




There's so much good music being released every week, and I love DJing in general, so one plus one equals two. The music I play on the radio show also really aligns with what I play at my shows, so it's a great way to always keep the library fresh.











After much demand, you have a new song coming out, "Gimme That Bounce." Was it challenging to follow "Drugs From Amsterdam," or were you still flowing with the same creative energy for the underground sounds you mentioned in our Artist Spotlight Interview?




I was actually working on both songs at the same time, I remember. I just left the "Gimme That Bounce" project file for a while because I didn't know how to finish it. I feel like when you step away from the production like that, you can crack the code easier, so that's what happened.









We know you have a busy tour coming up, but do you have more new music in the works? If so, can you share any inside info, or will we have to wait another four months before we get another fresh dose of Mau P?




Ouch Haha! There's A LOT of music coming, actually. I feel like we were riding off the "Drugs From Amsterdam" wave for a few months and firing up the Mau P machine before dropping "Gimme That Bounce." I had a call about my release schedule today, and it's looking amazing. Can't really share anything yet but just get ready.









What are you most excited about coming up in 2023?




Playing so many shows.










Thanks again for sitting down for another interview with Gray Area! Anything else you'd like to leave us and our readers with?




I just want to let everyone know that research has shown playing my song "Gimme That Bounce" at least three times every day will bring you good luck and fortune. That's all. Bye!

[Interview] Mau P Delivers Another Beatport Number 1 With 'Gimme That Bounce'

We at Gray Area are fans of anyone keen on producing unique original sounds that push dance music forward. So it’s only natural that we’re fans of Disfreq.




The Irish duo, made up of brothers Joe and Cahir Kely found their footing as powerhouse tech producers honing their craft in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown. They caught the attention of some of dance music’s leading figures, including the one and only, Solomun. The Diynamic Records founder has become a regular supporter of the Moville, Ireland-based group and recently recruited the up-and-comers for a project on his label.




The project is the latest edition of Diynamic’s renowned Picture series, which allows selected artists to share a snapshot of their sonic identity. We caught up with Disfreq for a conversation about their Picture album below.



Picture comes out via Solomun’s Diynamic label. This isn’t your first time working with Diynamic, they released your track “Essa Mina” last spring, and it’s been a go-to fire starter for many DJs since then. So what does it mean to you to be tapped by Solomun once again, this time for a whole project?




It was actually an honor to be asked to do it on his label. We listen to a lot of the stuff on the record label. So whenever we were asked, we were like, “Woah, that a big deal,” and we just got to work right away.





Was this project already in the works before releasing it on Diynamic, or did it form when the label wanted more material?




We had one track that Solomun really liked, which was “Como,” and then he explained the Picture series and asked if we could make six tracks for the series. At that stage, he asked if we could have it done in four weeks. We made another seven in four weeks, and Solomun picked the best six out of the eight.



Diynamic has a pretty clear-cut sound. Do you aim for a certain sound depending on the label?




We don’t aim for a certain sound as such. Solomun was already playing what we were sending him anyway. Like he was already playing “Como.” When we sent it, he liked it, but it wasn’t like we were aiming for Diynamic. The more you box yourself in, the less creative you are. So in this project, we were like, “Right, we’re just going to make good music. Forget about the sound of anything else and be as original as possible and remember, there’s no rules. If it sounds good, it is good.’”







Let’s get into Picture. What sparked the idea for this mini-album? What is Picture to each of you?




Joe: I think it’s a good way for us to show our musical side [and] what we’re capable of. We don’t want to do the same thing every time. We can expand our sound. I suppose it shows we can evolve as a group.




Cahir: We were doing it without any other artist in mind. We were doing whatever we thought sounded good, and we weren’t thinking about what someone else had done or what someone else had done twenty years ago.




Joe: Yeah, we were looking ahead rather than behind. To use the word “picture,” it’s a picture of what Disfreq is at this moment in time. It’s innovative, big-sounding, catchy vocals, and club-ready.





Each track carries a unique personality while still fitting well into the context of the whole project. Which track stands out to each of you and why?




Cahir: For me, it would be “Innovator.” That’s one of my personal favorites. We sampled Daft Punk’s voice which is ironic because they’re always sampling other people’s voices. We thought it sounded good as well. So we gave the voice a chord for a sound instead of a voice normally. It’s both musical and ready for the dance floor as well.



Joe: I think “Flame,” for me. I like the way that track came together. The vocal, when we got started, was just completely different. It was like people chanting all around the fire and flame, and we just changed it up. And whenever the second drop comes on, I feel like there’s nothing like it. It can’t be compared to any other sound anywhere. I’m not saying it’s the best out there. I’m just saying it’s unique.




“Flame” is just a complete journey. It’s three different drops. The first one is just like the entrance to the club. The second one is real peak time. And third, is like the end of the night. Like we drew up arpeggiated melody, Cahir drew it up, and that carries it off and carries you back down again. So you start off easy, then it climaxes, then it drops you back down again.







Was there a particular track that came together with ease? And was there a track that proved especially tricky to finish out?




Cahir: I think “Como” came together quite easily. It was quick. We had something that sounded good, then we added a big sounding kick [and] then big bass, and it came together quite easily enough. We usually make peak-time techno tracks, so it was almost like we could do this with a wee bit less thinking.




Joe: “Flame” was the only one where we went through the file three times. Normally we stay in one file for one track, and that’s it. “Flame” [has] three different drops, three different ideas, [so] you’re probably gonna’ give up on it at some stage. The difference between having an amazing track and not having one could be two minutes. I might go home, and Cahir will stay another five minutes or visa versa, and we’ll have a great track. Success and failure live next door to each other, ya know.







Disfreq is a product of brotherly collaboration. You guys have been creating music together for years. Does it ever present unique challenges working as siblings? How do you think your relationship benefits your music creation?




I don’t think there’s any downsides at all. I think we fought for like 18 years, so it’s fine. To be honest, it’s a bit like having a gym partner. People have gym partners to motivate them to go to the gym. It’s a bit like us in the studio, “Oh c’mon we need go to the studio now. C’mon let’s go, even if its half an hour, then we can go back down stairs.” It’s very beneficial living under the same roof. We’re constantly thinking about it, thinking about different ideas, different vocals, different sounds. Of course you have the odd argument or fight or something, but if you spend that much time with anyone, you’re bound to fight.

Disfreq on Their Mini-album ‘Picture’ for Solomun’s Diynamic Records

The tail end of 2022 in the UK was punctuated by the crowd-jumping, fist-pumping smash hit that was “Moving All Around (Jumpin’)” by British talent, Schack. Clubs everywhere heaved with the high-speed bounce of Schack’s breakout tune, and DJs took notice. The debut single also landed #1 on the SoundCloud Chart, Spotify Viral Top 50, and at the time of writing, has 10M streams, while the official video amassed over 40K views in a few days—talk about batting one thousand.






Fellow Brit, Skream, has already remixed the exuberant tune. The garage leaning rework put a shimmering new coat on the track, but leave it to John Summit to flip it into something steamy, spicy, and ready for the dance floor.


It would be damn near impossible to name an artist taking over as readily as John Summit. Festivals clamor to add him to their lineups, artists lineup for his remixes, and labels drool to release his music. 2022 was another red-hot year for Summit, highlighted by tracks like “La Danza” on D4 D4NCE reaching more than 29M streams and the launch of his label and event brand, Off The Grid.


This “Jumpin’” (more like stompin’) new remix signals the start of Summit’s 2023 releases. He had this to say about this latest release:
“The UK hit by Schak has been stuck in my head for months and when Patrick Topping asked me to remix it I knew I had to give it my own spin.”


Same, John. Same. While the OG “Moving All Around (Jumpin’)” is still very much ringing in our heads (not complaining), it is now accompanied by not one, but two ridiculous reworks that breathe two invigoratingly unique new identities into an already instant classic. Start your weekend off right by grabbing your dancing shoes, securing your spot on the floor, and pressing play on John Summit’s sizzling new flip of Schak’s “Moving All Around (Jumpin’).”

John Summit Flips Schak’s 'Moving All Around (Jumpin’)' Into a Steamy Tech House Sizzler

LP Giobbi, Mary Droppinz, Rinzen, Lubelski, Andreas Henneberg & More Share How The San Diego Crew Has Positively Impacted Their Lives & Boosted Their Careers





Not long after I moved to San Francisco in 2013, a friend played me Mikey Lion’s set from the first Desert Hearts Festival the year prior. I was instantly hooked and listened to the mix and my favorite deep and sultry cut from it, Elektrochemie’s "Pleasure Seeker," countless times. Then and there, I became a fan of deep house, Mikey Lion, and Desert Hearts. Consequently, my dance music journey veered into more underground sounds and scenes. My friend told us tales of the infamously snowy and intimate first festival and took us to the very chilly and fun fall 2014 DH Fest, where I felt at home amongst the friendly weirdos reliably found on the dance floor.

On May 4, Desert Hearts Festival returns with their 11th(!) edition at their newer home at Lake Perris with a stacked lineup featuring Catz’ N Dogz, Claude VonStroke, DJ Holographic, Derrick Carter B2B Mark Farina, Skream, Atish, DJ Seinfeld, Dusky, Tiga, Lubelksi, Mary Droppinz, Rinzen, and many more. They'll also be bringing their lively parties across the country again, including in New York and Detroit in March. What magical memories await you under the Desert Hearts disco ball?

It’s been amazing to see Desert Hearts continue to grow and expand while still feeling like a big, wacky family. And the growth hasn’t only positively impacted its four pillars (Mikey, Porky, Marbs, and Lee Reynolds), it’s had a profound impact on many of the fellow artists they’ve shared the spotlight with via their label, festival, and global events. Their positive reach has spread beyond the stage to countless fans who’ve had life-changing moments on their dance floors. Inspired by a Facebook comment from piano house queen LP Giobbi about DH’s powerful impact on her DJ career, we reached out to her and other DJs and fans for their stories on how the House Techno Love crew has positively impacted their lives.

LP Giobbi, Mary Droppinz, Rinzen, Lubelski, and Andreas Henneberg shared that working with Desert Hearts has dramatically affected their careers.



For LP, getting asked by Mikey to play a Desert Hearts livestream early in the 2020 lockdown was pivotal in lifting her mood and keeping her in the game. Without any gigs, she considered looking for an alternate career to stay afloat. At the time, she was DJing on her own channel, and her friends and regular collaborators SOFI TUKKER would “raid” their viewers over to her after their daily stream. Later, Insomniac would tap her for regular streams, but before that, when her following was still small, DH noticed her and reached out, and everything changed.

“I had an extremely modest social following at the time and right after the [DH] stream I checked my IG and saw that my count went up a couple hundred, which was insane for me then! And people were tagging me in their stories sending me kind messages. I had no idea just how badly I needed that boost on an emotional level,” LP says.

“One of the greatest gifts anyone can be given is belief in themselves and this community did just that. As a DJ, you get fueled by the energy of a dance floor and I was obviously deeply missing that during the pandemic. I was really surprised to feel a similar sense of belonging and energy and joy through the DH Twitch chat, which is a testament to how positive that community is.”

Partly inspired by Burning Man, Desert Hearts borrows the principles of radical self-expression and radical inclusion as a core part of their community. They champion eclectic sounds and trippy art on the label and at the festival, never limited to one sound or aesthetic. They continue to celebrate artists that join their family for the long haul, but are also seek to celebrate new talent and seasoned champs. And with their ever-growing fanbase, everyone is welcome and encouraged to dress to express, and let their freak flag fly.

Los Angeles-based Mary Droppinz also officially connected with DH as a DJ through livestreams. However, she’d been regularly attending their festival since 2015 and worked on their marketing team before she quit to focus full-time on DJing. Both as a fan, former coworker, and guest DJ, she’s felt supported by DH.

“Being a Desert Hearts DJ is honestly my greatest achievement. I personally had that as my goal when I started following this dream; to play DH was my first DJ dream. I didn’t even plan that an opportunity would present itself for me to work with them and build a relationship with them like it did. I noticed a growth and depth in my community 100 percent since going to DH Festivals since 2015 and then DJing for them [in 2020],” Droppinz tells us.



“They were always so supportive of me as an artist, keeping up-to-date on my latest and encouraging me… [When] the pandemic hit, Mikey, Tim, Phil, and I started collaborating on the Twitch livestreams I’d host on DHTV. It was honestly so dope to go through it together like that and see how massive the whole scene got on Twitch. I feel we all went through some crazy dimensional time warp and we just kept the vibes and beats strong over the interwebs. We will never let anything stop us from spreading the love through music! It really is awesome to see how much the streams impacted people.”

LA’s cinematic techno technician Rinzen joined the crew in 2019 to help Marbs, and Evan Casey launch the Desert Hearts Black sublabel, a home for darker sounds echoing the mood of late nights and early mornings, with their collaborative Torus EP. He made his debut at the fest that year with a sunrise set, and has remained a core part of DH Black.




“I’ve always thought that Desert Hearts attracts one of the most loving, fun, and music-savvy crowds in the US (if not the world), and it’s been a huge privilege to both perform and release music for this community. As my own career evolves, Desert Hearts have continued to give me some very incredible opportunities. As a producer, I’ve released seven tracks with them now (with more on the way). As a DJ, they’ve consistently put me on the road for their Desert Hearts Black showcases,” Rinzen explains. “Beyond that, I’ve grown especially close to Marbs and am proud to call him a good friend. I would describe the impact they’ve had on my career as a fortuitous blessing (is that redundant?) and something I’m continually grateful for. The biggest thing I’ve learned from Desert Hearts (and specifically Marbs) is actually a DJ perspective: it’s the power and importance of keeping a steady, relentless groove in a set. To choose my breakdown moments wisely, and to otherwise keep things moving along.”

For LA tech house champ and Percomaniacs head Lubelski, DH played a significant role in supporting his rise and inspiring him to really “go there” with his sound.

“It’s obviously had a big impact on my early growth under my Lubelski moniker. With DH Records, Mikey gave me a platform to thrust my weird house tunes into the world. And with the festivals and parties, the DH crew let me show how deep my crates could go. It all set the tone for how much I could push the envelope with my sets and releases,” Lubelski writes.

“Getting to know Mikey, Porky, Lee, and Marbs, as well as all the other wonderful weirdos by proxy has been an absolute pleasure. Going to my first DH Festival really opened my mind to the possibilities of expression in music and life in this sort of uncompromising, unadulterated fashion. Having their trust to push my vision of music on their label and parties fills me with gratitude. Obviously, meeting the attendees and making new fans at the shows has been amazing. The dance floor at Desert Hearts Festival is one of my favorite places on earth.”

And for their overseas brethren, Berlin rave mainstay Andreas Henneberg, DH’s continued support helped him finally break into the US market. (If you want to catch him in SoCal, he’ll bring his Cascandy alias to the festival again this year.)

“The Desert Hearts family had and still has a massive impact on my US career. Before I became a part of the crew in 2015/2016, I just had a few US bookings every now and then, mostly East Coast, NY, and Miami. The market is huge and completely different from the European scene. It’s difficult to get a foothold without any connections. My releases on the Desert Hearts label, the festivals, and the countless City Hearts raves had a huge impact.



The Desert Hearts fans, or as they say, their family, also feels very special. They welcomed me with open arms right from the beginning and showered me with love. Rather than being DJs and fans, it is kind of a big group of friends that get together, and you make great connections every time,” Henneberg reflects.

“I think one of the big differences to the rest of the world is that Americans tell you when they really like something. Positive feedback can be pretty rare nowadays. The kindness and positive vibes everybody contributes blew my mind right from the first time I went to the festival site. That’s not to be taken for granted.

Also, the friendships we developed over the years mean a lot to me. There is a lot of hugging going on every time we see each other. I sit here in Berlin, watching the whole thing grow. It’s fascinating how a little party in the dirt, some impartial dreams, and a lil’ bit of love can explode to what it is now.”


The messages from fans who reached out to us echoed the powerful connection on the DH dance floor and within their community.

Naomi from Washington DC discovered DH almost accidentally but instantly knew she was at home, amongst the colorful revelers in the often-dark-color-donning town. “The first time I walked into a Desert Hearts party was 2016 at Flash in DC Everyone was dressed in beautiful bright colors and the vibe was incredibly friendly, I knew I was at home. I had never heard of the label or party but after that night I was hooked. I’ve been to so many DH parties since then, [had] chats with Mikey, and felt the best feeling ever when you get gifted a DH necklace. I’ve never felt out of place.”

For Phoenix DJ Kody Black, DH has continued to inspire him and his sound. “I have been DJing for around eight years and I have been a fan of Desert Hearts since I first heard a mix from their label on SoundCloud back in 2016. My fandom really kicked in when I first saw them at Gem & Jam Festival in 2017. I’ll never forget walking into the late-night stage and Lee Reynolds was playing an insane house remix of ‘Low Rider.’ The energy all four of them had, and the vibe of all the fans in the audience was palpable. Over the years, they have become the biggest influence in my sound. Meeting them at their events and seeing how down-to-earth they are confirmed what I’ve felt in their music the whole time.”







For @charnizard from Denver, Desert Hearts is the best birthday party she could ask for. “Desert Hearts Festival is on my birthday every year and I’ve met some of my favorite people in the world there. Kevin Knapp and I had met in Berlin and reunited our friendship at the festival. I also brought an incredible girl named Lucy who was able to capture the sheer love and vibrancy of the festival as an incredible videographer.”

Hailing from San Diego, DH’s home, Zaquari’s birthday also falls during the festival. DH was his introduction to house, and he’s been hooked ever since. “DH has had a monumental impact on my life not only as an artist but in a spiritually healing way as well. My first house music event ever was my first DH event… [And] my first DH festival in 2017 was a pivotal shift in my life’s journey. Being submerged for three straight days in that lovingly chaotic and unique festival experience was truly soul-fulfilling. DH has created a safe, loving, and supportive community, where individuals can feel free and comfortable to express themselves fully.

As a dance music lover, you dream of being a part of something so special… The work those boys have put in have inspired so many new DJs and collectives/festivals to adopt that same ethos of House, Techno, and Love!”

Don't miss Desert Hearts NYC at Knockdown Center on September 29th!

Artists & Fans Share the Positive Impact of Desert Hearts

Groove Cruise's crew of organizers and captains now enter its 20th year of sailing and is proving that its community is more culturally and commercially successful than ever before. After announcing a sellout of Groove Cruise Miami and launching sales for a 2024 cruise aboard the Norwegian Princess — one of the world's largest and most opulent cruise ships — it's hard to imagine how things could get any better for the Groove Cruise family.




CLASS CLOWNS

"Groove Cruise is outrageous!" Groove Cruise founder Jason Beukema blurts with nostalgic excitement. "I remember the very first Groove Cruise ever in 2004. Someone said to me, 'How did you get the class clown from every single school on one cruise ship?' [laughs] That's been the vibe. It's just hilarious. So funny."















Minutes later, tears of sorrow follow when Beukema speaks about the tragic situation surrounding Groove Cruise Miami.




"We lost [Groove Cruise Lead Production Manager] Nate Shaw to suicide in May," Beukema recounts, his voice low and quivering, belying a deep and raw emotional pain. "I took it upon myself to use the platform we have up here [at Groove Cruise] to speak about mental health and suicide prevention."




It's not irrational, emotional whiplash for Beukema to feel such a broad range of emotions so quickly or often. As a place of celebration, the Groove Cruise family certainly parties together. But as a family, they also grieve together. That may be the essential aspect of Groove Cruise Miami for organizers and attendees this time.




"It's a little deeper than just partying," Beukema contemplates, a melancholy sigh punctuating his thoughts. "We're doing this for him."












Just before Autograf performs as the first musical act of the festival, intercoms shipwide spark to life with Beukema's voice. This time, he's in a jovial mood.




"See you at the pool deck!" his voice crackles across hundreds of tiny speakers.




Louis Kha of Autograf stands near the railing on the upper pool deck, watching the Carribean waves pass by. "We're on the edge of this boat, almost in the ocean. Our lives are dangling on a thread," says Kha. "The mere reminder of how insignificant yet precious our lives are at the same time — that constant reminder makes me enjoy the moment much more so. It's beautiful."




Beukema also notes the healing power of the ocean in cultures around the world, "the idea that you come from the ocean and you go back to the ocean." This year, that search for deeper meaning is a clear focus of the festival.




After Autograf's performance, Beukema is standing on a balcony overlooking the main pool deck stage as Claptone plays BLOND:ISH's, HUGEL, and Nfasis's blockbuster track "Tra Tra." Considering it all, how does Beukema view his ongoing relationship with Groove Cruise?




"Groove Cruise is my baby," Beukuma says with goofily sincere, heartfelt confidence.










BLACK WATER

Playing in the main pool stage booth, Hellbent Records boss Cloonee drops a riveting bootleg of Octave One and Ann Saunderson's quintessential house track "Black Water."




Intentionally or not, Cloonee's choice to play that bootleg immediately links Groove Cruise Miami to historic house music traditions, all while forging a compelling path forward. Life and music are cyclical. We reinterpret the past to determine the future and move on from the present together.




"Hanging out with other artists has probably been the best thing about Groove Cruise," Cloonee tells Gray Area after diligently pausing for a moment to consider his thoughts. "Just meeting artists you wouldn't usually get to spend time with and actually being together and drinking and shit."












"There is a super eclectic mix of artists on this boat," he furthers. "I'll be wandering around, not really knowing where I am cause this boat is fucking massive, and then you'll hear drum and bass on one stage. You go this way, there's house. There's dubstep. It's pretty good. Really good mix."




Electronic music giant EDX shares Cloonee's perspective. "It doesn't matter how trendy or cool you are. People come here to enjoy and celebrate DJing and electronic music culture. It's fulfilling for everyone. It's not just about music, it's about getting together and spending time together as DJs and friends."




At Groove Cruise, "luckily you're all on the same boat. You end up meeting and talking to a lot of people who are celebrating your music," says EDX. "It's good to hear firsthand about your journey, your music. It's very interesting and really means a lot to everyone who works in music that struggles sometimes with what's next, or with what I should do."




How do artists' sonic palettes develop over time? How do artists come together to influence one another's sound? And how are new genres and subgenres conceived, incubated, and birthed into being?




Maybe the cross-pollination between artists at Groove Cruise Miami that Cloonee and EDX describe is a small part of the answers to these questions — undefinable answers which may reveal the very nature of artistic inspiration itself.










A VERY AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

"My sound is an underground sound," notes modern Chicago house music pillar Gene Farris. "Groove Cruise is driven by underground music. So we go hand-in-hand — like a hand in a baseball glove."




Farris is an artist Groove Cruise relies upon year after year to set the tone for the party. He's located on a branch immediately adjacent to the trunk of the Groove Cruise family tree.




Later, he'll funkily twirl in the sweet spot of the ship's top deck dancefloor alongside fellow Chicago-based producer Anthony Atalla as the sun rises and the ship pulls into the tropical island paradise of Labadee. For now, he relaxes on a purple velvet couch in one of the ship's air-conditioned nightclubs.




"I'm happy these guys have me every year. Happy to be part of the family and community," Farris says. "It's awesome."















On the other hand, it's been five years since Scottish producer and Anjunabeats label artist GRUM last played Groove Cruise.




Returning half a decade later, "it's the same vibe," he says. "The atmosphere is all very friendly and fun."




"[Groove Cruise] feels very American," he laughs. "It's a very American experience. Non-stop party — it's loud, it's in your face," he says. "But I manage. I muddle by."




Grum advises Gray Area on what genres and sounds he sees coming into focus in global dance music.




"Hopefully we're going to move away from everything being split up by genres and back to more about interesting artists," he says. "Some people have been enjoying Bicep, Loan. Daniel Avery has done some good stuff. I think there's room again for that kind of creativity. That's what inspires me."




Farris, the vaunted label head of Farris Wheel Recordings, also seeks to be inspired by compelling sounds from unique artists. But Farris is focused on scouring for artists who may not be as well-established as GRUM-preferred Irish heavyweights Bicep.




"I try to look for the younger talent in today's era," says Farris. "Up-and-coming producers — they're the most hungry. People who are current. People who just know what's going on [in the underground] right now — that's what we're looking for."







THE GIANT GRID OF NEO-AMERICAN TECHNO

One artist with such current knowledge is Declan James, the Dallas-based neo-American techno producer and founder of the label and party series Voidware.




Richie Hawtin, the patriarch of North American techno, recently enlisted James for the upcoming From Our Minds tour with the stated "mission to develop and increase awareness of the younger generation." Press releases also note that Hawtin booked James and others to "showcase a diverse group of North American underground artists moving the ideals of '90s techno forward in their own unique ways."









On Groove Cruise, James imposes his brand of neo-American techno on the dancefloor, although he began his career as a trance producer on Above & Beyond's label. Now, his sounds are eviscerating yet groovy. He plays industrially alien soundscapes at high speed, replete with a slew of bizarre, sometimes Lovecraftian textures.




"I've come to find that people in the United States are responding really well to weird stuff, really experimental crazy stuff," James says. He also emphasizes that American audiences delight in the higher tempos he typically plays.




"It's very clear to me that there's a new sound developing," says James.




He's markedly excited as he tells Gray Area about the sounds of neo-American techno, which he's bringing into sharper cultural focus alongside a growing group of close-knit North American artists.




"The key figures are the Genova Group — me, Jay York, Decoder, Freeman 713, and Barbosa. Then there's Lindsey Herbert, Henry Brooks, Selective Response. I would characterize the new wave of techno in the United States as those artists right now," he explains. "It's just this giant grid thing happening."




Like pioneering foley artists figuring out which materials to manipulate to accompany the shattering of a bone breaking onscreen, James is among the vanguard of neo-American techno producers experimenting with new sounds to best convey their personal perspectives as artists in the nascent neo-American techno movement.




Later in the festival, James plays a b2b with Detroit-born Toronto resident Alley Kay on the ship's open-air top deck. They drop a wild techno bootleg of Daft Punk's "Rollin' and Scratchin'."




James, Kay, and this next generation of underground electronic communities continue to coalesce today. On a boat. In the middle of the Caribbean Ocean. The giant grid of neo-American techno grows.







JUST KEEP BOUNCING

Groove Cruise aerialist Ashley Neptune strides down the long narrow, red-carpeted stateroom hallway, exhausted and fully covered in sweat. Clad in a nude-colored bra and thong, silver chain link top, and black Puma sneakers, she insists that she would have a complete outfit — but she'd just broken her matching silver chain bottoms.




"I just visited the shuffle workshop!" says Neptune, her tank completely empty. “[The instructors] fucking crushed it. I learned so much. I sweated my ass off. I got my workout, and I learned something new today — so double-double check!"




The main technical lesson that Neptune learned about shuffling?




"Just keep bouncing, no matter what. Just keep bouncing. Even if you're fucking it up, no one will really know," she explains with a laugh.




As Neptune opens the door to her stateroom for some well-deserved rest, her roommate and Groove Cruise stage dancer, Lela Bea, gracefully slinks across the open doorframe. Bea's tall, svelte figure cuts in a white velour shower gown. She's about to put the final touches on her makeup before donning yet another gorgeous, otherworldly outfit for the evening as Neptune returns from her first-ever shuffle class.















On-the-clock, both Neptune and Bea's effervescent talent and beauty are wholly inescapable. Behind the scenes, they now have an additional air of eminent contentment.




On Groove Cruise, muses of all sorts abound. There are muses for the muses. Inspiration is everywhere, all the time, all at once.







WHAT FUELS THE FUTURE

A protégé of deadmau5's label mau5trap, Speaker Honey is currently on an interstellar trajectory as an electronic music artist. "I'm really working towards identifying techno, trance, electro, and bringing the fusion together [between] those three," she tells Gray Area.




Tonight, under the dark Caribbean sky, she's in a reflective mood as she credits Casmalia with linking her up with Groove Cruise.




"I'm very appreciative," she says. "I feel like the Groove Cruise fam really honors my presence here."












A common theme amongst artists and attendees alike is that the deliberate, judgment-free attitude which permeates Groove Cruise provides artistic cover for everyone to explore without fear. Speaker Honey agrees.




"I love Groove Cruise because it gives me the opportunity to express myself musically and sonically without the expectation of specific sound. In this space, I can actually be free to play whatever the fuck I want."




Regarding her experience on Groove Cruise Miami, Speaker Honey says, "I've only experienced positive omens. Everything's been a positive affirmation to remember the serendipity in the universe, to remember the good things that happened to you."







Why is Speaker Honey so honed in on how Groove Cruise constantly reminds her of the good things in life?




"Because that's what fuels the future."







OFF THE DEEP END

Jauz — alongside Zeds Dead, Excision, and a handful of other North American artists — is a keystone producer in the first wave of North American bass music artists that arose from the wake of Skrillex's arrival on the scene and the subsequent explosion of American brostep in the early-to-mid tens.




Nowadays, Jauz is still a very busy man. But not necessarily from working on music. Recently, he became a new father.




However, neither his lack of sleep as a new parent nor his place in the pantheon of American bass music have caused him to forget his fundamental connection to house music.




Speaking to Gray Area backstage moments after concluding his Groove Cruise headlining performance, Jauz explains that "this set was [my] new Off the Deep End project. I've always played house music, but this is my outlet to strictly play house music — the records I've been making, but also records that I really love. [Records] that I couldn't play in my normal Jauz set just from the way my sound has evolved over the years."




In a moment of true candor, Jauz concedes that the novelty of his Off the Deep End project makes performing that music decidedly more exciting to him as an artist than playing his world-renown version of American bass music.




"I still love playing real Jauz sets. But I've done it for almost ten years now," he says after careful consideration. "So it's cool to do something different, something fresh. My music normally is so all over the place, and this is so down a specific lane, that it's totally different than anything I do. So it's a lot more exciting for me."







INTO THE SUNRISE

After his set, Jauz makes his way to the top deck as Groove Cruise Miami completes the last leg of its journey. He joins Habstrakt, Bijou, Matroda, Cloonee, and Dillon Nathaniel as the group plays b2b2b2b2b2b well into the AM hours. Gene Farris and Anthony Attala are thrown into the mix at some point, too.




In such moments, the bubbling percolation of inspiration and influence between international electronic music artists on Groove Cruise is never more apparent.




As the morning sun slowly rises over downtown Miami's gleamingly white skyscrapers, nearly 2,600 sunkissed Groove Cruisers say farewells.




They disembark from the ship, a healthy glow emanating all around.




Thus goes Groove Cruise Miami, straight into the sunrise.

Groove Cruise Miami: The 35th Sailing of an American Dance Music Institution

From true pioneers to early adopters, amapiano has produced a myriad of highly talented and inventive stars. Since its nationwide acceptance in South Africa around 2018, the producers have spawned multitudes of hits, eventually bringing international attention to the sound. The genre has leaped from local clubs and pubs to global stages and festivals, bringing along with its dances, lingo, fashion, and lifestyle.




A decade into its existence, Amapiano has become a bona fide juggernaut and phenom. We look back at the 15 songs that have defined, shaped, and elevated the genre in the past few years.







1. Kabza De Small (feat. Leehleza) - Umshove 

Amapiano began as a purely instrumental sound, “Umshove” was one of the first few tracks in the genre to have vocals. As a township-bred style, it reflects its surroundings; there was a time when amapiano was enamored with sexual innuendos via its lyrics and chants before it got refined to its current soundscape. Many South Africans discovered the genre and Kabza De Small via this track.




2. De Mthuda x Njelic - Shesha

In 2019, this track was inescapable. On “Shesha,” Njelic gently pleads with his lover to hurry and shower quickly so that they can go party! A relatable and true crossover hit, this song was popular spanning age groups and demographics. Producer and pioneer De Mthuda and Njelic have gone on to churn out multiple hits, individually and together.




3. Kwiish SA - Iskhathi (Gong Gong)

There was a point when amapiano was referred to as “Gong Gong,” a way to refer to its customary log drum. The name is inarguably linked to the prominence and impact of this song. What started out as a tribute to DJ Clock by co-producers BRG and C’buda M became an anthem. Kwiish SA even put out a vocal mix of the banging instrumental track for more mainstream appeal.




4. Samthing Soweto (feat. Sha Sha, DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small) - Akulaleki 

Acclaimed musician Samthing Soweto, through his works in 2019, fathered a singing style that inspired a slew of Amapiano vocalists who followed after his initial run. “Akulaleki” became an instant hit with fans, and topped the streaming charts. “It’s a love song that connects love and partying, and the country loves that,” the musician told Apple Music.




5. Sha Sha (feat. DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small) - Tender Love 

Due to her sultry vocals, velvety melodies, and proximity to Kabza, Sha Sha was once hailed as the Queen of Amapiano. After serving as a guest feature on plenty of genre-elevating hits, she came to the fore as a lead artist on “Tender Love.” The song was the first single off her debut EP Blossom, which earned her a BET award for Viewers’ Choice: Best New International Act in 2020.




6. Kabza De Small x DJ Maphorisa (feat. Samthing Soweto & MFR Souls) - Amantombazane 

The partnering up of Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa has countlessly proven to be extraordinarily fruitful, not only for themselves but for amapiano as a whole. The duo, who dubbed themselves the Scorpion Kings, first linked in 2019 after Maphorisa booked Kabza for a few shows he was hosting in Soweto. The Samthing Soweto-assisted and MFR Souls co-produced “Amantombazane” was one of the first major hits that came out of their creative union.






7. MFR Souls (feat. Sha Sha, DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small) - Love You Tonight 

Take the inventive prowess of MFR Souls and pair it with the tried-and-tested trio of vocalist Sha Sha, DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small, and you get the certified thumper that’s “Love You Tonight.” The sensual and romantic song perfectly blends Maphorisa and Sha Sha’s velvety vocals with the soulful production of MFR Souls and Kabza De Small. “Love You Tonight” was released as a single, taken off the duo’s major record label debut, The Beginning.



8. Semi Tee (feat. Miano and Kammu Dee) - Labantwana Ama Uber 

Before TikTok dance challenges became trendy within amapiano, there was “Labantwana Ama Uber” with its accompanying dance routine. The cryptic song spread like wildfire and was a topic of discussion for months. The reincarnation of kwaito-rooted lyrics within amapiano was made popular by this track.




9. ​​Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa (feat. Aymos, Samthing Soweto, Myztro & Mas Musiq) - Emcimbini 

It almost feels unfair to have so many Scorpion Kings songs on this list, but the truth is, they rightfully deserve to be included more than once because of the work they’ve put in. “Emcibini” was released in early 2020, just before the pandemic impacted the world. This song is often a reminder of the time, as many people feel that it could’ve become even bigger if it wasn’t for the lockdowns and travel restrictions.




10. Focalistic (feat. Vigro Deep)- Ke Star 

During the peak of the lockdown in 2020, rapper Focalistic and producer Vigro Deep linked up to work on some music. From that studio session, two bangers rose, “Ke Star” and “Blue Monday.” The former shook the game and became a Southern African hit before spreading to many corners of the continent. A remix with Davido would give the song new life and take it globetrotting.




11. Busta 929 x Mpura (feat. Mr JazziQ, Zuma, Lady Du & Reece Madlisa) - Umsebenzi Wethu 

2020 was a remarkable year for the Mr JazziQ-helmed independent label Black is Brown Entertainment. A host of singles and projects came out then, “Umsebenzi Wethu” epitomized the energy and vibe of that period within the stable and ‘piano as a whole. On the hard-hitting track backdropped by a Busta 929 production, Mpura, Lady Du, Reece Madlisa, and Zuma trade vocals as they detail how their work will speak for itself.




12. Felo Le Tee & Myztro - 66

Brittle whistles and thumping percussion are the order of the day on this one! Add a simple dance sequence, and you have a cross-continental hit. The song helped launch Felo Le Tee into the wider mainstream and cement him as an esteemed and sought-after producer within the dynamic scene. Since then, he has been behind countless other chart-topping songs.




13. Young Stunna (feat. Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa) - Adiwele 

Young Stunna is emblematic of the new generation and hitmaking amapiano vocalists. Switching from hip-hop to amapiano, like many others, through a series of outstanding features, Stunna etched his name with “Adiwele.” The manifestation-fuelled track even brought attention to charismatic DJ, Uncle Waffles, who first gained popularity after a clip of her set dancing to the song went viral.




14. Ch’cco x Mellow & Sleazy - Nkao Tempela

The statement “every day a star is born” summarizes and contextualizes the rate at which new artists emerge within amapiano. “Nkao Tempela” established Ch’cco as the genre’s next star. While it initially got mixed reviews, “Nkao Tempela” would go on to platinum status and was one of the first songs that brought Mellow & Sleazy’s Bacardi house-influenced style into the spotlight.




5. Mas Musiq (feat. Aymos & Young Stunna) - Sengizwile 

The producer-vocalist combo that is Mas Musiq and Aymos has shown beyond doubt to be formidable. Since they started working together in 2019, they’ve gone on to contribute immensely to each other’s solo work. “Sengizwile” is a faultless exhibit of their complimentary artist expression. They invited Young Stunna, who delivered a show-stealing verse on the sing-along number. It’s a slow burner that’s a testament to amapiano’s timelessness.

Dive Into Amapiano With These 15 Essential Tracks

At Gray Area, we pride ourselves on being your home for everything house and techno. Dance music has a rich history of pioneering sounds, techniques, and technologies inspiring generations of countless producers. Before Wax Motif was headlining DJ and critically acclaimed multi-genre producer, he was Danny Chien, a house and hip-hop head. Drawn to the rich diversity of sample usage, Chien found himself enthralled by the sounds of French house and more. Wax shared some of his favorite classic house cuts with us, and now we’d like to share them with you.





1. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Intro

Alan Braxe and Fred Falke were two pioneers spearheading the emerging French Touch sound of the 90s and early 2000s. The two artists collaborated on a series of 12-inches on the Vulture Music and Kitsuné labels. One of those records, Running, featured this Wax Motif favorite. “Intro” incorporates elements from “Crush On You” by The Jets.





2. Cleptomaniacs - All I Do

Wax once described house music to us as “sexy.” After hearing this track, we couldn’t agree more. The trio of John “Julius” Knight, Marc Pomeroy, and Pomeroy’s partner, Brian Tappert, formed the Cleptomaniacs. They teamed with vocalist Bryan Chambers on this dance-focused remake of a Tammi Terrell Motown classic. “All I Do” has been a heavily covered classic, most notably by Stevie Wonder, but this movin’ and groovin’ rendition is certainly our favorite.



3. Together (DJ Falcon & Thomas Bangalter) - So Much Love to Give

Few songs are as uplifting as “So Much Love To Give.” French producers DJ Falcon and Thomas Bangalter (one-half of Daft Punk) joined forces on only two tracks. This particular 12-inch collaboration was released in 2002 with no B-side and contained a sample of “Love’s Such a Wonderful Thing” by The Real Thing. This is 10 minutes of pure electro house joy.



4. The Bucketheads - The Bomb

“The Bomb” is one of the world’s most recognizable dance tracks. This 1995 hit was the first tune Wax Motif had on repeat when he started exploring dance music. Produced by Masters at Work member Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez, the track samples Chicago’s “Street Player” from their 1979 album Chicago 13. While Rolling Stone ranked it number 77 in their “200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time,” we’d be comfortable putting it in our top five.



5. Every Daft Punk Record Ever

The title says it all. The Daft Punk duo have become legends of dance music for a reason: their profound impact on the genre’s scope and sound. Every album brings new cards to the table, including their pioneering effort of producing the entire soundtrack for the 2010 movie, Tron: Legacy. We’d like to take this opportunity to recognize what might arguably be their greatest album, Discovery. Daft Punk member, Thomas Bangalter, described Discovery as an exploration of song structures, musical forms, and childhood nostalgia. The project leaned into a house style more heavily inspired by disco, post-disco, garage house, and R&B. It gave us a slew of legendary singles, including “One More Time,” “Aerodynamic,” “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” and “Something About Us.”

Wax Motif’s Favorite Classic House Tracks

Few in house music remain as cryptic as Treasure Series. Their social media and streaming pages all merely declare, “I’m an adventurer looking for treasure.” While we don’t know much, we do know that they release some of the most coveted minimal tech house, including our Track of the Week, “THIRTY THOUSAND.”





This kinetic roller is the latest of more than a dozen deep flips of some of music’s most incomparable classics. While the identity of Treasure Series remains unconfirmed, UK producer PAWSA always seems to be the only one playing out their tracks ahead of release. Each track is limited to 250 vinyl pressings with no digital downloads available. Talk about scarcity. If it weren’t for streaming platforms, we might not even know these cuts exist—so underground.



If you’re just now hearing about the Treasure Series releases, let us provide a little context on the demand for these LPs. “THIRTY THOUSAND” sold out in less than twenty-four hours. Regardless of who’s behind this puzzling project, we’re glad there’s an artist delivering bangers with an added bit of cheek.




The past two decades have seen dance music slowly permeate many corners of the world’s greater musical landscape. Genre lines grow increasingly blurry as music, production styles, and analytics are more accessible than ever before. It’s not uncommon to see artists pull inspiration from outside their typical genre to appeal to a larger audience and branch out into new sonic planes.



Dance music’s increasing popularity has led to greater potential financial rewards for its contributors, but escalating commercial potential can easily lead to a dilution of purity. A genre and community that once operated heavily on anonymity and scarcity now commonly focuses on scalability and brand awareness. While we at Gray Area love to see the genre we know and love getting the recognition it deserves, we also appreciate its underground roots. And so does PAWSA ... I mean Treasure Series.

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