

When Juliet Fox hopped a plane home to Australia for the first time in two years in January of 2022, she thought she was just coming back to visit family. She'd left there over a decade ago, seeking a proper audience for her hard-hitting techno. Instead, her visit lined up with the country reopening its clubs, and during her two last-minute gigs there, she realized that her music could finally come home as well.



She was moved to tears on the plane, hearing an Australian accent for the first time in so long. And when she found in the final week of her stay that she could DJ there again, she was excited to see how far Australia had come in its appreciation for proper techno.







It's been a landmark year for the London-based artist whose releases on Drumcode, Kneaded Pains, and her TREGAMBE imprint have found their way into sets by Adam Beyer, Deborah De Luca, UMEK, and Charlotte de Witte. Since her stint in Australia, she's been on a whirlwind tour of the world that's taken her to Tomorrowland, fabric in London, Glastonbury,  Watergate in Berlin, Zurich Street Parade, CRSSD, OFFSónar, Space Miami, and the first Berlin Love Parade in nearly a decade.



"I didn't realize how much I missed, not just the traveling part, but mostly going and connecting with people worldwide. I must have been lacking that a lot," she says about her return to touring.



Fox has lived in several cities over the years and is a confessed travel junkie, so being on the road again and soaking up the culture and energy of the global dance music community has been a return to form. It's been a life-affirming year, reminding her how impactful her music truly is. "Having these major events happening, it's been really good for myself to get back in and to build up the confidence and also to be able to see the reaction from people, and also to interact again with crowds and energy, which has been superb."



Throughout the pandemic, Fox felt like her sound went more introspective and experimental. It was part of why she started TREGAMBE, creating a home for her more emotional side. However, after time spent back at dark clubs and in cities like Copenhagen, where she can come out of the gate at 145 BPM, has brought her back to the heavier sounds. Yet, one thing that has remained true is her ability to inject meaning into her music.





With each release, there is a story. Often taking a queue from her more spiritually reverent yoga-loving side, she finds inspiration in life's frequencies and inherent vibrational nature. For example, the phrase "Humans tend to overthink" was the impetus for her hypnotic recent Drumcode release "Evolution of Thinking." These tiny nuggets of wisdom make their way into so much of her music, offering brief moments of meditation for the dancefloor.



"I don't think I do it intentionally, it does just come naturally," she says about the introspective refrains that have become a hallmark of her music. She says the lyrics "harmonize with, the track I'm building, and it creates the melody in itself."



And while she explains that she's not against the odd cheesy vocal or catchphrase, she wants to send a (somewhat subliminal) message to the listener. "For me, it's more important to have something that's a bit more impacting, that means something to me at the time and hopefully [to] other people."



Philosophical footnotes aside, 2022 has been an absolute stomper that included some legitimately historic moments. In July, she opened up the festivities for Rave The Planet, the first Love Parade event in Berlin since 2010. She had the honor of playing on the lead float directly after the iconic event's founder Dr. Motte, spoke to kick things off. Love Parade's history is thick in Berlin. The event has been the stuff of legend since it began in 1989 as a political demonstration for peace and understanding through music.

"I didn't actually realize it until the end of the day. It kind of sunk in that I was on the first float you know, Dr. Motte's float, the first DJ to perform and play the first track. It gives me goosebumps talking about it now. Just to be asked to be in that position basically making history. It feels incredible. I'm still buzzing about it."



It was a heartwarming moment for an artist who is so dedicated and inspired by creating love on the dancefloor. One where her inner raver was on full display, "Just to see how everybody was connecting. All ages, nationalities, sexual identities, everybody was there for one reason: to be there for the music and to just enjoy themselves."



A thread of unity and service runs through everything Juliet Fox does. As a global techno ambassador, she loves nothing more than finding ways to connect people through music. It's her love language. And on her way to Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) this year, she joined other industry folks in yet another act of service, the Bridges For Music bike ride from London to Amsterdam.



"Bridges For Music are a nonprofit organization that had built a school in Langa, which is in South Africa outside of Cape Town. [It's] a music center, creative center where underprivileged children can go [to] learn an instrument, mostly music production, DJing, singers… I've been to South Africa four times. And it's just incredible to be able to go there and to provide something and to keep this school moving and monetized."



The four-day cycle came amid a chaotic weekend of gigs. After flying back from Dubai to London the night before it left, Juliet woke up before dawn to set out across London to Dover, where they took a ferry to France for the culmination of the ride in Amsterdam. Despite the challenge, the beauty of riding through the streets of London with a group of selfless industry professionals as the sun peeked over the horizon made for a beautiful and inspiring moment.



It's experiences like these that set Juliet apart from her contemporaries. Throughout our conversation, I'm touched by her vulnerability, joy, and honesty. These qualities shine through in her music and acts of service. While making music intrinsically uplifts the artist, her brilliant dose of altruism exemplify how selfless sharing your talents can be.



The Fantastic World of Juliet Fox





Aduma is a dance music collective based in Kenya whose focus and dedication is to showcase up-and-coming talent in the African house music scene. The concept was derived from the fusion of music and dance. They play African house music and wanted a unique name that would highlight how the African roots of dance relate to what they play.




Aduma Kenya was founded in October 2018 by Kori-K and OneDown. Motivated by their passion for African-inspired dance music and giving emerging DJs a platform to showcase their talent, Aduma Kenya was born.




The word Aduma is derived from a Massai word, referencing a revered style of indigenous movement. And although it's a bit of a misnomer, it encapsulates the spirit of their events.




I'm really excited to have you with us today. Can you tell us about how Aduma Kenya came to life and what inspired it?




Yeah. Aduma Kenya came to life in 2018. We were very young DJs back then, and we never used to get bookings. You're from Nairobi, [so] I'm sure you know how it works. It was always the same DJs on the lineups, so if you were an upcoming guy, it [was] hard to penetrate. We just sat and thought, why not start our own thing? And that's how Aduma started at Captain's Terrace. It started there, and now we are about to celebrate our fourth anniversary.




For those who don't know, can you tell us what Aduma means and why the name was fitting for your collective?




Aduma comes from the name Adumu. The name Aduma was actually a spelling mistake at first because it's a Maasai name, and I'm not a Maasai. Both me and Kori didn't know how to spell it. Adumu is a traditional Maasai dance. The dance that they do for tourists at the airport, the jumping. That is called Adumu. It was meant to be named that. If you've seen our posters and everything to do with Aduma, there is a Maasai theme. By the time we learned Aduma was a spelling mistake, there was already a company in existence.




For those who don't know the Maasai are a tribe here in Kenya. They are an indigenous tribe. They have this amazing dance where they jump around and jump really high. It's really cool. It makes sense because this is a dance music collective and they always throw events where that's the theme. Everyone is always on their feet.




We actually bring actual Maasai at times.









Walk us through a night at Aduma. What can a person who has never experienced one of your gigs expect?




Aduma is home. It's the one place where we don't even charge, so we are not discriminatory of whether you have money or not. We just have a good time and learn about electronic music. It's also somewhere where you discover a lot of new DJs because we don't have the commercial aspect. It's always about growing new talent. Aduma is the one day of the month that I wake up very excited because these are people I've seen for the last four years every month.




I have borne witness to the massive success at your events like we've just spoken about. What are some of the challenges you've faced in organizing for Aduma?




The biggest challenge we have now is venues in Nairobi because I think with the growth of events, [certain] events are starting to not make sense for club owners. [We] are trying to sell music and entertainment. The owner is just trying to sell alcohol. You find that you're not paying attention to the same things. That is why you see most of the events in Nairobi are just going the charging route. You'd rather just detach from the club and charge because the scene needs to grow. We are no longer young DJs at this point, and we need to keep moving.




Venues need to understand that entertainment and whatever they're doing can work hand in hand. In Nairobi, the biggest clubs are commercial clubs or mainstream clubs. We are aware that we are a minority, so sometimes [when we try] convincing someone [that] "with this weird music, I'll bring you this many people." They don't buy it.




Hopping off of that, what are your thoughts on how African dance music is being embraced? We are seeing it embraced everywhere right now. It started in West Africa with Afro beats, and then in South Africa, they always had Afro tech and Afro house, but they've brought in a new sub-genre, Amapiano. In East Africa, we have a little electronic music system that is growing by the day. How do you feel about that?




To be honest, I'm so impressed because we are not where we used to be. African music has gotten to places that we have never gotten to before. I mean we have a Grammy for African house music at this point. Every festival in Europe has been invaded by African music. Our boys and girls, the producers, and DJs are doing so well. I was watching a set by the Keinemusik crew at Burning Man. They're playing Idd Aziz at Burning Man! That is beautiful.




Also, look at Ibiza. The biggest DJs in Ibiza or most of the residences [are] Afro house. African music has residences in Ibiza. I don't even think the mainstream world has that. So again, kudos to everyone in Afro house and African dance music and anyone who's pushing.









What kind of artists play at your gigs, and what do you look for when you are getting artists to play at your events?




You have to be good at what you do. I have to have listened to you somewhere and heard you've been good. It's not about making money. You don't have to be famous. You just have to be good at what you do. That's it. With that, the kind of community we've built, the people coming to Aduma know whichever DJ they see there will be good.




Let's talk about the famous slogan, "May the Oontz be with you." How would you describe the Oontz to someone who has never come across this?




I feel like you can't describe the Oontz to someone. If you came to Aduma by the time you are leaving, you'd be like, "Yeah, I feel like I get what this oontz oontz is." Oontz just came from house music. You know how house music sounds like oontz oontz oontz?




The context that is now being used out here is just to mean electronic music. But when I started that whole thing of "may the oontz be with you," it was because of people asking me what I play because sometimes it can be very confusing. You will find me on Anjunadeep playing some deep house, and then you'll find me at Aduma playing some Afro house, so I started getting this crowd from online, and then when they came to my shows at Aduma, they would be like, this is not the music you play online. This is different. So instead of telling someone I play deep house or afro house, I just tell them I play Oontz, and the mainstream world is picking it up. I feel like, nowadays, everyone in Nairobi has heard of the word Oontz.




Do you have any great memories from being at the event?




I remember we were the first people to bring up Amapiano to Kenya, like international acts Kenya. We brought Major League DJz back in 2021. The likes of Enoo Napa, Caiiro. For most of these artists, it's always their first time coming to Kenya, so it's always a moment. Caiiro has been a personal favorite, so when I actually get to see Caiiro blowing up and coming to Kenya and people actually get what he's doing, it's special.







Can you tell me what we can expect from Aduma in the near future and beyond?




Yeah. Aduma will just get bigger and bigger cause I think, at this point, the movement is not getting any smaller. We had taken a break from big events, but we are actually now going back there starting with our anniversary. Covid is no longer an excuse. Aduma is about to get back to doing the big things. We are working on other things. We are trying to invest in the event industry in terms of the infrastructure needed to make the dance music events a success. If it comes to ticketing all the production equipment and everything, that's the world we are going into.







Follow Aduma Kenya on Instagram | Facebook




Follow One Down Live on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter



Event Organizer Spotlight: Aduma Kenya

Joshua Mannie, better known as Barry Can’t Swim, turned heads with a playful, jazz-infused house set from the heart of Mixmag’s The Lab LDN. The Edinburgh-born, London-based DJ and producer has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity since his debut EP in 2021; earning a coveted spot on Billboard’s 10 Dance Artists To Watch in 2022 and being supported by the likes of Pete Tong, Danny Howard, Jaguar and beyond.









Mannie gravitated towards jazz music at a young age, learning piano from the age of nine before working in a range of jazz bars throughout his teenage years. At university, he delved into a broader range of instruments from guitar to bass and drums before working as an intern at Glasgow's SOMA Records, which introduced him to the city’s underground electronic scene.




After moving to London, Mannie became further submerged in dance music culture, prompting him to kickstart his solo electronic projects. The lush textures, warm vocal samples, and sweeping orchestral elements of his productions came to a head in 2021 with his debut EP, Amor Fati, on Bristol-based label Shall Not Fade.




Soon after, Mannie teamed up with rising talent Anish Kumar to release Blackpool Boulevard on legendary Ninja Tune imprint Technicolour Records. The critically acclaimed single received widespread support on BBC Radio 1 from Sarah Story, Jack Saunders, and Mixmag, who highlighted the tune as one of their Best Tracks of the Year.










Barry got 2022 off to a bang with More Content: a four-track EP that reflects the musical diversity of the English capital with an amalgamation of jazz, house, techno, and jungle.




"Living in London you hear so many different styles of music just walking about, out of cars or flats and shops" he explains. "I wanted to channel that energy and appreciation of those genres."




Be sure to catch Mannie at a torrent of clubs and festivals worldwide, including Phonox in London, Loft in Durham, and Elsewhere in NYC.























































































































Barry Can’t Swim, But He Can Get Londoners Dancing

The Keinemusik staple casts a tribal light on this new electronica staple













One of dance music’s defining traits is its inherent ability to unite. It unites people of different races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations. This week’s Track Of The Week traverses generational lines as its artists combine years of cross-genre experience with invigorating new energy to create a deeply powerful experience that’s felt as much as it heard.



“Impossible,” an electronica-focused single, was released earlier this year by Röyksopp and Alison Goldfrapp. Goldfrapp and the Röyksopp duo of Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge first came to prominence at the turn of the century with the rise of electronica and electro-pop. Two decades later, both talents are still actively contributing to the musical landscape while partnering with fresh forward-thinkers like German producer, &ME.



& ME’s reimagining of Röyksopp and Goldfrapp’s “Impossible” finds its way to us this week for its dream-inducing tribal take on the buzzing mid-tempo original. Sustained synths and organic percussion build over rumbling bass as Alison’s siren song beckons to love, feeling, and pensive euphoria. This is nine minutes of meditative empowerment.



& ME’s production talents are recognized by the most prominent names outside of dance music as well, having just registered production credits on the latest Drake album, Honestly Nevermind. &ME is also one of the founding members of the prolific German label and collective, Keinemusik. The group, made up of Rampa, Reznik, Adam Port, David Mayer, and Adre Boadu (aka &Me), grew from independent label to cultural tastemaker as their reach expanded from events at Ibiza’s DC10 to collaborating with global brands like Nike and Converse on exclusive footwear. 




The Keinemusik event series is now a global happening, with events taking place from Zurich to New York, Istanbul to Mykonos, even joining the transformative fun on the playa of Burning Man. Their bi-weekly radio show has also become a can’t-miss stream for any lover of house and techno.

&ME Delivers a Dream-Inducing Take on Röyksopp and Goldfrapp’s 'Impossible'

While house and hip hop were born from similar threads and hold their roots in Black culture, how they were historically expressed couldn't be more different. House music became a refuge for the Black and brown LGBTQ community and created a safe space where sexual freedom, hedonism, and radical inclusion were the norm. Conversely, hip-hop's hyper-masculine blustering made it a strong outlet for understanding the struggles of the inner city and  a powerful socio-political statement. At times this seems to put them at odds creating an invisible chasm between the two divergent genres.




Despite their differences, mutual respect has long existed between them. Both skillfully exploited sampling technology to borrow from the past and make groundbreaking music. They exist as a means to express inner struggle, the need for freedom, and form a foundation for community and counter culture. And so it should be no surprise that hip-hop and house have a long history of crossing over.




We pulled together a short list of our favorite hip-hop and house crossovers.




1. Jungle Brothers - I'll House You




The Jungle Brothers were part of Native Tongues, a New York collective of conscious MCs that included De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and Queen Latifah. They were well known for jazz-sampling boom-bap offerings, so the 4/4 thump of "I'll House You" appearing on a vinyl reissue of their 1988 album Straight Out The Jungle may have seemed a bit leftfield.




The Todd Terry produced record came about when the Brothers were in the studio with Idlers record label owner Tony D who suggested they make a house record to capitalize on New York's then-growing fascination with the Chicago sound.




Todd Terry's "Can You Party" provided the perfect backing track, and within a few takes, the song was born. Others at the label laughed it off and, instead of a legit release, only offered it on vinyl. Nevertheless, it became a hit in the clubs, and later that year, Warlock Records re-released the album with "I'll House You" included. Over 30 years later, it remains one of their most popular songs.




2. Kid Cudi - Day N Nite (Crookers Remix)

The Crookers remix of Kid Cudi's "Day N Nite" is one of those tunes whose popularity almost eclipses that of the original. Its ubiquity in 2008 was unprecedented. The Italian duo made up of Andrea "Bot" Fratangelo and Francesco "Phra" Barbaglia was asked to remix the song by A-Trak for his then-fledgling record label, Fool's Gold. Initially released as a free download, it made the rounds on blogs before getting signed to Ministry of Sound, where it caught fire and peaked at number two in the UK Singles chart, tailing Lady Gaga's "Just Dance."




Despite its upbeat tones, “Day N Nite” was originally born from a dark period in Cudi’s life. And the Crookers dingy club vibes elevated the juxtaposition between tragedy and triumph.




In 2021 Bot recounted that when they first played it in Italy, it seemed like a dancefloor flop, and they vowed never to play it again. Yet, somehow they had caught the beginning of a movement. Its grungy wobbling bassline defined the early sounds of the blog house era, helping pave the way for the dance music explosion of the following decade.








3. Wax Motif & Diddy - Divided Souls

"I hate when a motherfucker play a four-minute version. You can't even get into your thing. You know? You can't even get into your thing on a four-minute version. You know what I'm sayin'?"




Diddy's passionate profanity-laced plea for DJs to take a chance on the extended mix punctuates a dark, bouncing beat courtesy of Aussie-born G house stalwart Wax Motif. The 2019 release marked the start of his Divided Souls label, which pulls its name from Diddy's speech. For Wax, who masterfully blends the swagger of hip-hop with the shuffling groove of house, it was a fitting proclamation.




This Diddy speech has been making the rounds in dance music for years. A shortened version originally appeared in a collaboration Felix Da Housecat did with Diddy in 2005 called "Jack U." And much to Felix's ire, DJ Hell used the acapella for "The DJ" in 2009.




Wax told Billboard in 2019 that he'd had the acapella sitting on his computer for years. After creating a loop for it, he sent it to Diddy via a mutual friend, and Diddy loved it. Diddy's plea for DJs to play a 20-minute version for "the two motherfuckers that understand it" went ignored for nearly two decades until Wax caved and released an ultra-extended version of "Divided Souls." It stretches just long enough for the DJ to put it on, use the bathroom, have a smoke outside, and still have time to spare to watch the dancefloor lose it before mixing in the next tune.









4. LION BABE - Harder (Shermanology Remix)

LION BABE's 2021 collab with Busta Rhyme's starts with a sneaky vocal interpolation of his 1998 track "Gimme Some More" over a sultry deep house beat before ripping into a duet that features the quickfire MC dropping a hot 16m that's punchy yet more romantic than for what most know him.




Brother/sister duo, Shermanology's penchant for lacing up tech house beats with soulful swagger made them the perfect choice to flip "Harder" for the peak hour dancefloor. They masterfully retain that Chicago-infused deep house aesthetic, building it into a dark, warbling bassline-fueled club monster that pulses beneath Busta's flow. It's a blissful modern clash of genres.










Four Times When Hip Hop and House Collided

Whether you love or hate to see it, there’s no denying that 2022 marked a period of significant commercial interest in house music.



The genre has had its fair share of moments in the mainstream spotlight since it coalesced in the gay, Black, and Latino nightlife communities of Chicago in the ‘80s, to be sure. Crystal Waters’ 1994 classic “100% Pure Love” hit #11 on the “Billboard Hot 100,” and #1 on the publication's “Dance Club Songs” chart. More recently, FISHER’s 2018 tech house track “Losing It” topped the latter.



2022 saw notable pop superstars join the party. Within weeks of one another, Drake and Beyoncé each dropped albums that included numerous house-inspired songs. The former artist tapped producers like Black Coffee, &ME, and Klahr for his effort. The latter enlisted dance music acts like Honey Dijon and Nile Rodgers for hers.



Some argue that these influences will only dilute house, which has already arguably suffered from recurring identity crises as each new generation of talent offers its own interpretation of the genre. Others are more optimistic, projecting that the increased attention will trickle down into opportunities for artists at every level.



We here at Gray Area decided to gather the opinions of house artists themselves. Some are elder statesmen who helped guide the course of the style early on. Others are up-and-coming acts who represent the future of the genre. Read on what they have to say about the matter and arrive at your own conclusions.



1. Todd Terry







Todd Terry’s career extends back to house music’s genesis in the 1980s. He’s in favor of mainstream house music hits as long as artists bring original ideas to the table.



“We need a Robin S. We need a Crystal Waters. We need a Snap! - ‘I Got The Power,'” he told Gray Area during our Spotlight interview. “We need something that helps us a little bit here, makes us come to the dance floor. We need to get something out there to mix it up a little bit.”



"Break some new records,” he went on. “Stop catering to the same piano sound all the time. We got enough piano records. Okay, you guys found the piano in the last three years. Good job. There's other shit.”



2. East End Dubs





East End Dubs is a name that has grown more and more ubiquitous among London house fans over the past decade. In his Gray Area Spotlight interview, the “bRave” producer expressed optimism that house-inspired tracks in the mainstream could offer new fans a point of entry leading to the underground.



“Recently, people have said, ‘Oh, this is going to bring uneducated people into the scene.’ For me, I think people can start with Beyoncé or Drake and then fall in love with house music,” speculates East End Dubs, who also praised the tracks by the aforementioned artists. “It's a beautiful thing. Why not? House is something that we share together, so I don't mind people getting to know our music that way and then going a little more underground to discover us.”



3. SYREETA





SYREETA stands out as a more recent house music artist who still represents the queer, Black, underground roots of the genre well. She nonetheless believes that her world can coexist with the mainstream.



“There's no judgment on this,” she said during Gray Area’s Spotlight interview. “House music started underground, and it will always be to me. It hits everybody’s souls differently and is inspired in different ways, so each artist will have their own stamp on what they have taken away from it, whether it be more on the commercial side or more underground. Not everybody has to like it. People will move with what they prefer.”



4. Iglesias





Fast-rising UK house DJ and producer Iglesias also posits that commercial interest in house has little bearing on what he does. In his Gray Area Spotlight interview, he pointed out that most consumers of those releases likely don’t even associate it with house music.



“I don't really care, to be fair," he said. "What they're doing is not what we're doing, let's put it that way. They're making commercial stuff. Who they're appealing to, I don't even think that person would even know that that's a house beat or whatever. They would just be like, 'Oh, it's another Drake track.' Do you see what I mean? So it never really fascinates me that much because I don't feel like they're stepping on our toes. What we're doing is way cooler than what they're doing."



5. Harry Romero





During his Gray Area Spotlight interview, longtime NYC DJ and producer Harry Romero expressed optimism about house music’s popularity in the past few years. He did, however, have choice words about how the EDM movement impacted the culture over a decade ago.



“I hate to say it, but that EDM thing really threw us all through a curveball. We were like, ‘What the hell is this?’ he said. “The mechanisms changed. The way of doing business changed. The EDM thing really commercialized the industry, and for them to claim that they were house music was just strange."


"The reality is that it became a business," Harry went on. "It was pop music all of a sudden. A lot of people steered away from what they loved, which was the roots of house music. I understand evolution. I’m not mad at technology or the times. What I at least try to do is scratch my head and figure out how to put my own twist on it.”



6. ACRAZE





ACRAZE is enjoying an enviable breakthrough as an artist thanks to recent covers like “Do It To It” and “Believe.” With his recent good fortune, it perhaps comes as little surprise that he sees the genre’s recent popularity as a good thing.



“I think it's cool, man. I think seeing new faces in the industry is just special,” he said during Gray Area’s Spotlight interview. “Massive artists like Beyoncé and Drake getting into house music only helps the genre explode even more. I guess it becomes more commercialized, but now there’s also a bigger goal for artists. Drake’s in house music—it's my dream to even collab with him. Now I know, there's a chance. I didn't even know he was into that shit. Beyoncé too, like, that's so sick.”



“Some people will think differently and say, ‘They don't know anything about the music, the culture,’ he went on. “I think people read way too deeply into those kinds of things. If people are putting out good music and pushing the genre, I think that's what matters, you know?”



7. Shermanology





Dutch-Caribbean outfit Shermanology are also enticed by the prospect of working with more commercially successful acts. In their Gray Area Spotlight interview, the brother-sister duo named one hip-hop artist in particular.



“What we wanna do in the near future is collaborate with artists you wouldn’t expect us to collaborate with,” said Dorothy. “For example, if I could dream big I’d say Anderson .Paak. That would be someone who would excite me.”



Andy added, “I wanna work with people who may have said, ‘I will never do a house record,’ and get them to do a house record. Just mix and blend different genres.”



8. Tim Green:





Count longtime DJ and producer Tim Green among the artists who feel Beyoncé and Drake’s interest in house music has no bearing on the underground. Why? Because he doesn’t consider it house.



“I literally couldn't care,” he said in his Gray Area Spotlight interview. “You can call a car a tree if you want, and that's your prerogative, but each to their own opinion. When you start to get down to the finer details of what something is, who knows—and really, who cares? It doesn't matter.”



“I understand, of course, the negative connotations that it kind of has, and it's not right,” Tim continued. "But for the people that know the kind of music that they're into and want to listen to, I think that's enough.”



9. Kyle Walker





Breakthrough tech house artist Kyle Walker, on the other hand, does think mainstream artists dabbling in house will affect the underground—but in a good way.



“[House music is] definitely headed to the top 40 chart, I would say, like Billboard and such,” he said during Gray Area’s Spotlight interview. “I could see more dance records being in the top 10, even. It's definitely a good thing for everyone—even the underground. It's a good thing that more ears and eyes are gonna be on the scene. I just think everyone's gonna start with this wave of just having house music producers come onto their albums, which in turn is just going to create more house music fans.”



10. LOVRA





Rounding out this list is the perspective of LOVRA. The German DJ and producer agrees that the increase in attention to house music has created new opportunities for artists.



“It's super interesting, but it also shows that the people understand this music right now,” she said during Gray Area’s Spotlight interview. “They're more open to it. Back in the day, sometimes you couldn’t play in a club because it was too commercial or you were too underground. But now, I feel like the people and the club promoters are way more open to trying it out a little bit more, and this is a good thing.”





10 House Artists Weigh in on the Genre's Recent Mainstream Popularity

EDC Orlando, Insomniac’s flagship East Coast festival, returns to Tinker Field for its 2022 edition on November 11th-13th. Festival-goers from all walks of life travel far and wide to reunite “Under the Electric (Florida) Sky.” Insomniac raises the bar higher every year; this year is no exception. With a stellar lineup, jaw-dropping visuals, captivating art installations, and mesmerizing stages, EDC Orlando is a singular, transcendent festival experience.




The wonder of the EDC Orlando stages largely contributes to the success of Insomniac’s top-tier festival production. Insomniac takes pride in its ever-evolving stage designs, crafting each to have a distinct sound, ambiance, and architecture. Although their appearance transforms yearly, they’ve always kept their original names. Dating back to 2005, Insomniac officially introduced the OG stages as kineticFIELD, circuitGROUNDS, and neonGARDEN.




The dense atmosphere at each stage allows attendees to break out of their comfort zone and absorb the multi-sensory impressions around them. Unlike the other stages, neonGARDEN takes a stripped-back approach, toning down production and pyrotechnics while paying homage to the warehouse roots of Insomniac and a subculture that preaches music is all you need. From techno to house and every underground sound in between, it is the home for all house music lovers. Let’s take a look at the evolution of neonGARDEN.




2015

Over the years, Insomniac has made several advancements in the overall production of neonGARDEN. In 2015, they constructed a golden Buddha and placed it at the center of the vibrant structure. Surrounding Buddha was 245 LED tiles that illuminated across the wooden exterior. At the time, neonGARDEN also featured trance. Legendary trance acts performed, including Paul van Dyk and Ferry Corsten.












2016

In 2016, neonGARDEN received a long overdue upgrade. Instead of a giant Buddha blocking the main LED screen, Insomniac brought in the neonGARDEN from EDC Las Vegas. They installed a 150-foot circus-style tent that provided a club-like atmosphere. Jam-packed with lasers, eclectic beats, and deep rhythms, the energy of neonGARDEN was unmatched











2017


neonGARDEN returned as a massive neon circus tent in 2017. Insomniac is not one to cut short on lasers, and their heavy arsenal of hypnotic beams only added to the clubbing ambiance. With a glimmering disco ball at the heart of the stage, it truly encapsulated the nightlife vibe. 2017 saw another stacked lineup, with renowned artists like Jamie Jones and Green Velvet performing on this electrifying stage.









2018



In 2018, Insomniac’s underground house and techno brand Factory 93 started curating the stage, thus rewriting the history of neonGARDEN forever. Factory 93’s new and improved stage took shape as an open-air enclosure. This major redesign provided a more intimate environment, one that mirrored a festival within a festival. Factory 93 aims to enhance neonGARDEN’s production while maintaining its organic underground experience. By offering more space for techno and house music than in previous years, Factory 93 sparked a collective appreciation for the house music scene.









2019




EDC Orlando 2019 was Insomniac’s biggest year yet, expanding the two-day festival to three and hosting over 200,000 festival-goers. With the addition of 10.5 more acres, they also premiered a new stage, stereoBLOOM. Now that a fourth stage was in the picture, Factory 93 hosted only house and techno acts at neonGARDEN, such as Adam Beyer, CamelPhat, and Charlotte de Witte. Once again, a large tent enclosed the stage, which kept attendees dry from the Florida rains.















2021


In celebration of EDC Orlando’s 10th anniversary in 2021, Insomniac made history, hosting over 300,000 music lovers. neonGARDEN remained the only covered stage on the grounds but was upgraded to a megastructure-style, almost reminiscent of Carl Cox’s Ultra Resistance stage. It was also the only stage with a comfortable platform underneath your feet, built to withstand the weight of thousands of shufflers glued to the dancefloor.












2022



So what do Insomniac and Factory 93 have in store for us this year? Unfortunately, we won’t find out until we’re inside the festival grounds. Still, suppose we assume Insomniac will reproduce the same stage as EDC Las Vegas. In that case, neonGARDEN will be completely revamped, ditching the hangar-style tent, and remodeling itself into an open-air warehouse party reminiscent of Europe’s iconic outdoor festivals. Surrounded by shipping containers embellished with graffiti, you will experience a real-life urban jungle.





















(https://www.insomniac.com/magazine/the-best-of-edc-las-vegas-2022/)







(@edc_orlando Instagram)



EDC Orlando 2011-2022: The Evolution of Neon Garden

Shanti Celeste brought a healthy dose of endorphins to Mixmag’s The Lab LDN with a bouncy and vivacious set, adding a signature UK twist to classic house and Detroit techno. Celeste has become well-renowned for an array of addictive releases and slots at some of the world’s most coveted clubs and festivals from Berlin's techno temple Berghain to Corsica Studios in London, the Dutch festival Dekmantel, and the Bulgarian indie festival Meadows in the Mountains.

Born in Chile, Celeste relocated to the United Kingdom when she was 12. She first connected with dance music attending raves in the Lake District from age 15. After finishing high school, Celeste moved to Bristol for an illustration course at the University of the West of England, where she met Chris Farrell, a Bristol-based DJ and head of the imprint Idle Hands.




Celeste and Farrell joined forces in creating a new label, BRSTL, on which Celeste dropped her debut single, "Need Your Lovin' (Baby)," in 2013. In 2015, Celeste was nominated Best Newcomer DJ in the DJ Awards. The following year, she relocated to Berlin before launching her imprint, Peach Discs, alongside DJ and producer Gramrcy.




The Peach Discs roster has grown to encompass electronic music’s new wave – like Ciel and Chekov – and established artists like Call Super and Hodge. An artist in high demand on the airwaves, Celeste also runs a regular NTS Radio show that has given her the opportunity to showcase a plethora of talented artists.




The release of her debut album, Tangerine, in 2019, marked a transitional point in Celeste’s career. For the first time, she chose to expand beyond the parameters of club music in her productions.




“It was just nice to have that freedom, whether it came out as an experimental piece of work or just a Shanti Celeste album,” she explains in an interview with Crack Magazine.




Celeste’s latest release and debut single on Hessle Audio, Cutie / Shimmer, has already gripped the UK club scene and earned the coveted Resident Advisor RA Recommends seal of approval. She’s set to continue her busy touring schedule with shows at Corsica Studios in London, Polaris Festival in Lausanne, and Lost Paradise in Sydney.
















Follow Shanti Celeste on:





















































































Shanti Celeste Douses Mixmag’s The Lab LDN with Radiant and Uplifting House

A luminescent rework for a sobering single






Since his 2011 breakout performance at Fusion Festival, Jan Blomqvist has been unshakable. His works prove timeless as 2016’s “Back In The Taxi” catches the interest of One Tribe captain AMÉMÉ for a 2022 remix flowing with futuristic vigor. AMÉMÉ has accrued a reputation for imbuing his work with the energy of his West African heritage, an ability he fully displays here.


Blomqvist’s original thrives on a haunting energy of distorted drones and strategically minimal percussion. AMÉMÉ first fortifies the entire rhythm section with a variety of organic instruments. This accentuated pattern provides a hardy foundation for the leading synth line to elevate this track into a laser-focused melodic power. The spine-tingling drones live on in the breakdown, bridging the gap between one generation and the next—giving an immersive experience that feels both familiar and fresh.



This new reimagining comes courtesy of the ever-prevalent Armada Records. It was AMÉMÉ’s first release with the Dutch label but not his last. This “Midnight Remix” was accompanied by a more percussion-focused AMÉMÉ rework, and two months later, he released the indomitable “Balafonerra” with the Armada team. The One Tribe founder has been on a tear in 2022, releasing three EPs and a host of singles and remixes.



For decades, Jan Blomqvist has been a multifaceted force in the European music scene. The ’90s saw Blomqvist perform punk, hardcore, Britpop, and rock & roll. As modern music evolved to include increasing amounts of experimentation with electronic instruments, Jan’s interest evolved with it. In university, he immersed himself in Berlin’s techno scene and the art of DJing. He eventually bridged the gap between band leader and DJ and perfected the concert techno sound bringing the stage presence of rock n roll to the dance floor of the clubs.







AMÉMÉ Flips Jan Blomqvist’s 'Back In The Taxi' Into A Neon Midnight Mix

Inner City’s performance at Loveland Festival is a reminder of the immortality of their music. Over 30 years on from their debut release, the Detroit outfit – consisting of techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson, vocalist Steffanie Christi'an, and his son Dantiez – continue to dominate clubs and festivals worldwide. On stage, their synths ring out alongside decks, keyboards, live percussion, and vocals to birth a colorful and soulful sound brimming with melodic uplift.









Inner City was born in 1987 when Kevin Saunderson sought to rework the dark and mechanistic form of Detroit techno into something new. Teaming with Chicagoan vocalist Paris Grey (née Shanna Jackson), the pair created music that was neither too upbeat for the underground, nor too gritty for commercial success.




Combining Detroit techno’s driving rhythms and pop’s shimmering major keys, the duo’s earliest releases were met with immediate and massive success. “Big Fun” and “Good Life” dominated the clubs and charts, sweeping top 10s across Europe, and starting a run of four consecutive No. 1s on the US Billboard Dance Chart.




Today, their legacy continues, as a plethora of classic Inner City tracks continue to gain extensive radio play and DJ support across the globe. After a hiatus spanning the 2000s, the group reemerged to the delight of fans in the early 2010s with gigs at key clubs and festivals internationally, featuring both Paris Grey and Ann Saunderson on dual vocal roles. In 2017, a further chapter to the Inner City saga began with the addition of Kevin’s son Dantiez.




Since 1995, Loveland has been producing a range of hugely influential dance and lifestyle events across the Netherlands. Fueled by a tireless love for music, the company now organizes six annual events: Loveland Festival, Loveland Van Oranje, Loveland ADE, 909 Festival, Diynamic Festival (with Solomun), and Music On Festival (with Marco Carola).




To experience the greatness of Inner City in person, keep your eyes peeled for their upcoming shows. The group are set to play the 40th anniversary of legendary venue Hacienda at The Warehouse Project in Manchester and a TBC location for Flash-OFF in Washington DC.












































































Detroit Icons Inner City Bring the Classic Sound of House to Loveland Festival

Leave it to living legend to show us less is more with this new remix of HoneyLuv’s “365 (Thr33 6ix 5ive)”





House music maven, Honeyluv, has had a breakout year, living up to the expectation thrust upon her when named one of Billboard’s 10 Dance Artists To Watch In 2022. This year has seen her rip across a loaded festival and club gig schedule and drop a breakout single, “365 (Thr33 6ix 5ive),” on Chris Lakes’s renowned Black Book Records. The track has become a coveted addition to many a flash drive, one of those coveters being the one and only Harry Romero.



Harry Romero’s name has become synonymous with timeless talent, unstoppable grooves, and, as he so fondly says, “Dope drums.” You know you’re doing something right if you’ve caught his attention. And if he signs on to remix your track, you know you’re definitely doing a lot right. Last week, HoneyLuv’s “365 (Thr33 6ix 5ive)” was treated to a Romero remix that packs in the percussion for a double dose of hip-shaking fun.



Romero commented on the remix, saying, “I knew as soon as I heard Honey Luv’s ‘365’ that I would have a blast making my remix and putting my own spin on it. So happy how it came out and, as always super flattered to have been asked, especially by an artist I’ve been following for a while since I first heard of her when she sent a video of her playing one of my classic tracks out, so it feels good to be full circle with this remix.”



Harry was already tearing up New York’s club scene when Taylor Character (HoneyLuv) was born. This remix represents a beautiful meeting of veteran and up-and-comer and speaks to both Romero’s perennial ear for a hit and Character’s commitment to developing herself into a highly refined talent.

Harry Romero Adds A Percussive Punch To HoneyLuv’s '365 (Thr33 6ix 5ive)'





Within one year, Franky Wah released two collaborations with none other than dance music titan Carl Cox. It’s sounding like a third could be on the way—but amazingly, that’s far from the biggest recent development in the Yorkshire, UK artist’s career.



That’s not to say he takes the opportunity lightly. “It's not every day you get to work with someone whom you’ve genuinely looked up to throughout your career, and before you even started it,” he says during a Zoom call with Gray Area. “To be able to work with and admire him on a professional level and know him on a personal level are two totally different things. And he is a legend in both aspects.”





Franky famously pursued a career as a footballer, and later a bodybuilder, only to transition into full-time work as a dance music DJ and producer. His early releases leaned more towards tech house, but starting with his 2019 single “Get Me High” he began to favor a melodic sound that better reflected who he was as an artist.



“I'm definitely not ashamed of the records I put out,” Franky says of his output prior to that turning point. “But what I will say that I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't feel them. I know it might sound a bit cheesy, but you need to feel every record that you're putting out.”





He’s certainly not the only one feeling his newer work. In addition to Cox, Franky has collaborated with the likes of Sasha, Pete Tong, Lee Foss, and Christoph. He also now runs a record label called SHÉN whose sound encompasses everything from Balearic breakbeat to Afro-tech to progressive house. The imprint’s upcoming compilation, This is SHÉN, comprises 27 individual tracks that also come as a continuous mix. They have received early support from artists like Hot Since 82, Adriatique, Massano, and Caiiro.



That’s not all Franky has in the works. After five years in the making, he’s gearing up for the release of Anywhere but Here, the artist album for his downtempo side project. Franky calls it “proper thinking music” inspired by the likes of Fred Again, Four Tet, and Caribou.



But make no mistake: the effort will still be a Franky Wah release. “Ultimately, you think of any side project that you've ever heard of and you always associate it with the name that you knew them for anyway,” he says. “So I just think you may as well do it under your name, but maybe address it differently.”



Perhaps the biggest thing out on Franky’s horizon isn’t technically music at all, but something to accompany it.



“I'm working on a visual aspect to my show now, to my DJ set—I'm talking to the level of [Eric] Prydz,” he says. “That's where I want to take it. “It's a lot of back and forth with the design team, but this is a very strong concept and story. It's not just strong visuals. There's actually a story and a journey.”



Franky isn’t willing to say much more about his upcoming stage show, only that it’s definitely happening. “We've got two amazing venues and two great dates secured for the launch event next year,” he says. “And there are already international shows scheduled for it—not just in the UK.”



Our conversation makes it clear: Things aren’t about to slow down for Franky Wah anytime soon. Only time will tell what projects he’ll be ready to discuss the next time he finds the time to speak to Gray Area.

Franky Wah Talks New Mixtape, Downtempo Side Project, Stage Visuals



On a hot summer day this past Labor Day Weekend in New York, DJ Holographic sets Electric Zoo’s “The Landing” stage ablaze with hard-hitting house and techno tracks straight out of Detroit. The DJ-producer—née Ariel Corley— is no stranger to major festival lineups. Just this year, she’s brought the heat to Coachella, ARC Music Festival, and her hometown festival Movement, plus she’s made stops at Berghain and Amnesia, Ibiza along the way.




Known as a mentee of pioneer Carl Craig, DJ Holographic has undoubtedly become one of the leading names in this generation of Detroit techno, bringing her sultry sound from the Motor City to techno fans worldwide.



At the close of her Electric Zoo set on Sunday, she took Gray Area from the stage to her trailer to talk hip-hop, generational musicality, and what it’s like to do music full-time after the pandemic.







Your Electric Zoo set was amazing. I see you on every festival lineup - even Portola, which I’ll also be at later this month. Is music your full-time job?




Yeah, I’ve been doing music full-time. It’s been one of my favorite things to do. But because of COVID, it was definitely a little hard for most of us. But I was able to hit the ground running and really blast with that. I think also with the government helping entrepreneurs a little bit, that helped. I was definitely on the low-income stream of survival of artists. Don’t get me wrong, the money wasn’t a lot, but it was enough for me to survive because I lowered my expenses. It is hard to make music or any kind of art full-time to an adult wage.




That makes sense. I’d imagine it’s hard to make a living wage off music sometimes.




There’s living, but there’s actually lifting yourself up and actually being able to go to festivals, take care of your house, school debt, and anything extra. I’m getting to that point of taking care of those adult things like getting my teeth fixed and making sure to have good health and go to a doctor regularly. The important stuff that you don’t do when you’re an artist, and you’re broke.




Like therapy.




Yup, I make sure I do that once a week!




So expensive.




Exactly, but it’s worth it when you’re able to have that blessing.




Definitely. I interview a lot of artists, and they always say their earliest childhood memory is listening to music with their parents in the car. I know you and your parents have a long history of sharing music and generally being very musical. Do you have a specific moment where you knew that this was wanted to do for the rest of your life?




It was definitely more after high school during college. I love music. Music was always my life - between sharing music with my parents in the car to listening to it with my cousins in our living room. But actually wanting to do it for a living, I want to say I was 22. I decided to like really go full-time, mainly because my mom passed away, and I didn’t know really what to do. I was pretty depressed. I ended up playing a record every day just to kind of get myself up. It helped me build my confidence and my morale back up.




When you lose somebody that close to you, you don’t know what to do. Mentally, when she passed away, I was like, “Okay, God. Universe. You fucking owe me for making me lose my best friend.” And then after that, I just kind of trickled down to playing records at my job at Necto to having more friends [in music]. It was a different kind of route than I think most people do, but it helped my mental state. And that’s why I decided I’m gonna do it full-time.







During that time, were there any records you would play on repeat that helped you get through tough times or that reminded you of your mom?




I was playing a lot of J Dilla and D’Angelo. Because I was going from Detroit and living in Ann Arbor at the time, there was actually one song that helped me through. Shigeto’s “Huron River Drive.” I was practically living on Huron River Drive, so I thought it was a golden sign. And it’s a good song.







That’s beautiful. You mentioned [Detroit night club] Necto earlier. I know you worked coat check for two years before spinning there, and your parents used to party there as well.




Yeah, my dad used to go there. My mom might have snuck some moments in, but my dad definitely and my stepmom as well, before they met each other. At the time, it was called Nectarine Ballroom, and Jeff Mills— or “The Wizard,” technically—was playing, so he used to go there all the time. My first week or two, my dad was like, “Is The Wizard still there?” and I was like, “No, we have other people now. He’s moved on.”




That’s so funny. I feel like either you connect with your parents and follow in their footsteps, or you want to stay as far as possible away from what they’ve done. I read that your dad was a DJ in the collective Direct Drive, so did you ever feel like because he DJed, you didn’t want to do it?




I gotta be honest. He said he was a DJ—and he did DJ—but I think he moreso helped move records at the time. The funny thing is my dad knew I was DJing, and he was totally down for that, but it took two years for my aunt to tell me that he used to DJ, and I got mad at him.




I was like, “Why didn’t you tell me you used to do this?” And he said, “If I told you, would you do it?” and I was like, “I don’t know.” So I get it. My dad used to say the same thing. I think… I don’t know. Maybe not. I don’t know about “what ifs” sometimes.




You’ve said music runs through your veins, so maybe it all happened serendipitously.




Mhm. And it made perfect sense. I love it. It’s my favorite thing in the world.




It shows. And when you’re not spinning, I heard you listen to Kendrick.




Yeah, I love Kendrick.




What did you think of his last album?




I was listening to it today. I can tell you all I want. It’s one of my favorite albums. It’s really up there. It’s very healing. It’s very spiritual. It definitely made me cry because there are a lot of experiences [that you can relate to] if you’ve ever been in an inner-city. A lot of the things he was saying related a lot to Detroit. He’s also, in his songs, having you go through a healing process, so you know you’re not alone, and this is how you heal.








DJ Holographic: "There’s Living but There's Actually Lifting Yourself Up"

Take this perfect combination of dynamic percussion, flourishing horns, and charismatic vocals for a spin.








It is near impossible to match the infectious energy of a top-shelf Afro-tribal house track. Arguably one of the more compositionally complex branches of dance music, the multitude of moving parts come together to create a spellbinding force that enraptures all within earshot. If you’re privy to this power or looking to familiarize yourself with the fun, you’ll undoubtedly want to press play on Mele’s “Talkin Drums.”



This tune has got it all. Thunderous kicks invigorate the heart while pattering bongos bounce between steady claps. Senegal’s dynamic duo, Touré Kunda, next begins a charismatic call and response with a collection of woodwinds, flutes, and saxophones breaking apart into rallying harmonies and furiously flying licks. Touré Kunda once again steps into the spotlight for their own high-speed exchange before the outfit rejoins in full to bring this exhilarating track to a clean-cut close.



Melé has made quite a name for himself in the last seven years. Hailing from the Wirral Peninsula of the United Kingdom, an early interest in DJing first saw the lad step behind the decks at the age of 13.




After five years of steady releases, fine-tuning his technique and sound, 2015 was punctuated by his breakout hit, “Ambience.” Since then, Melé hasn’t looked back. He’s gone on to tour the globe and play premiere events like elrow, EDC Las Vegas, Defected Ibiza, ANTS, and CRRSD. He also launched his multi-platform brand, Club Bad, in 2019. Encompassing fashion, events, and a label, it’s become a leading entity in the distribution of forward-thinking Afro and tribal house and all things worldly and tropical.



“Talkin Drums” marks Melé’s fourth release of the year, including the party-starting collab with Diplo and Busta Rhymes, “Right 2 Left.”

Melé’s 'Talkin Drums' is the Tribal House Anthem We Can’t Turn Off

This year tech house extraordinaire Sosa fired up the swathes of international ravers at the lakeside stage of Verknipt Festival, Amsterdam. Jay Bradford – aka Sosa – hails from Liverpool, a city that boasts an ever-expanding musical legacy. From CamelPhat to Yousef and beyond, Bradford is one of many exciting artists to emerge from the Liverpudlian scene.

With releases through established imprints like Nervous Records, Relief, Repopulate Mars, and Under No Illusion, Bradford’s hypnotic grooves have caught the attention of tastemakers like Eli Brown, Solardo, CamelPhat, Michael Bibi, Skream, Latmun, Darius Syrossian, Nathan Barato, Alan Fitzpatrick, Eats Everything, Green Velvet, Lee Foss, and many more.



Known for club anthems like “DFCW,” Bradford has become a regular on the Ibiza and UK festival circuit with appearances at Forbidden Forest, Mint Festival Warm Up, We Are Halloween Fest, Bonanza, and Fear Fest under his belt. A pivotal moment in Bradford’s career arrived in 2019 when CamelPhat invited him to join them on the decks at their Bodyworks night at Hi, Ibiza. Bradford also counts playing at Yousef’s iconic Liverpool venue, Circus, for a crowd of 3,000 people as one of his most memorable moments.




UK festival mainstay Creamfields sparked Bradford’s love for dance music. Taking place just minutes away from his family home, he decided he wanted to be a DJ and producer after attending the event for the first time.




Founded in 2012, Verknipt has expanded to encompass a series of renowned indoor and outdoor events throughout the year, including Verknipt ADE, Verknipt Festival, Verknipt anniversaries, Hard Techno Specials, the NYE/NYD editions, and many more.




The Verknipt team focus on crafting each of its events with a fresh approach. A staple organization in the electronic music industry, the excitement behind the festival’s motto - “Nothing is mandatory, everything is possible” – helps to explain its ongoing appeal to leading and upcoming DJs worldwide.




Sosa will play at Academy LA, Spybar in Chicago, Somewhere Nowhere NYC, and many more clubs and festivals worldwide.










Follow Sosa on Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud














































































Sosa Graces the Decks at the Ever-Expanding Verknipt Festival in Amsterdam 

The music industry has always been one with a disproportionate representation of women, minorities, and marginalized communities. Women of color and those identifying as queer, non-binary or trans all seem to be less present on mainstream lineups, so much so that those who fall into those categories are no longer staying quiet. They’re making their presence known, and demanding their rightful place on lineups.



It’s almost as if people forget that techno and disco music originated in safe spaces. Queer folks, especially those of color, have a history intertwined with the roots of dance culture. Yet with the current climate of the music scene and festivals, those same people have to fight just to be included.



One person who’s taken notice is house and techno DJ SYREETA. She’s a Black, queer woman who has worked hard to get to where she is today, all the while pushing for inclusivity. Even with all that work, she says she still usually finds herself to be the only queer, Black or female artist on most lineups.





“I like to think that people now look a bit more closely at their lineups to ensure that they're balanced, they learn the history, and they create more diverse lineups,” she told Gray Area during our Spotlight interview. “Personally, every lineup that I'm on at the moment, I'm still probably the only female, the only black person, the only queer person, or all three. So yeah…there is still a lot of work to be done. But I'd like to think that better things are been being done at the moment.”



In some areas, better things are being done. Back in 2015, Vanessa Reed, former CEO of the PRS Foundation, started the Keychange Initiative, an international program geared toward investing in underrepresented talent. Expanding further on that idea is The Keychange Pledge, which was an opportunity for any festival, promoter or music organization to join in the commitment to gender equality and reduce male-dominated lineups by 2022.



Over 500 festivals and music organizations in the UK and Canada have signed this pledge, with MUTEK and SoundCloud among its supporters. Large-scale festivals such as Glastonbury and Barcelona’s Primavera, as well as some smaller events, have all succeeded in creating more balanced lineups, according to an article published in the British Music Collection as part of the BMC Future Views series.



All this is a step in the right direction, but like SYREETA says, it is by no means the finish line.



SYREETA is a current resident of HE.SHE.THEY, a crew who lives and breathes inclusivity. The event series, record label, and fashion label is as open minded as they come, and they strive to be as diverse as possible in anything they do. HE.SHE.THEY provides non-judgemental and non-prejudicial spaces for everyone, proving that they are one prime example showcasing why diversity matters.



SYREETA also has close ties to Jaguar, a Black, queer radio host and DJ who’s done her due diligence in researching this exact topic. She’s long recognized that the music industry has historically been a boy’s club and she’s here to change that. Along with FutureDJs, she created Future1000, an initiative focused on highlighting gender inequality in music. They set out to offer 1,000 women, trans and non-binary people career opportunities by offering DJing and production courses, in addition to teaching the ins and outs of the music industry. Jaguar then launched The Jaguar Foundation to dig deep and compile data to really show how large of a gender disparity there actually is in music.



These aren’t the only folks taking notice and making moves in the name of inclusivity. In the Key of She is a union of 250 LGBTQIA+ female producers and DJs created so that promoters, crews, and labels can add diversity to their lineups. Another crew hard at work at promoting the importance of inclusivity by offering opportunities to non-gender-conforming individuals and people of color is Femme House. Helmed by LP Giobbi and Hermixalot, Femme House is geared towards creating more opportunities for women and gender-expansive people in music, both behind the scenes and in the forefront through workshops, specialized coursework, a weekly radio show, and a bi-yearly scholarship program for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ creators.



But they are only a handful of the crews making an effort to do the work. In the overall scheme of things, more can still be done. More should be done.

SYREETA Says She's Still the Only Black, Female, or Queer DJ on Lineups

Spanish producer and DJ Paco Osuna has set the tempo for techno and tech house for over twenty-five years. As the owner and head curator of Mindshake Records, he's guided the prevailing sound of the underground since 2005, releasing his own music and that of industry leaders like Pig&Dan, Cuartero, Eats Everything, Carlo Lio, Daniel Orpi, Blackchild, Jean Pierre, and Ben Sterling.




Around the same time he founded Mindshake, he opened the Club4 techno night alongside Adam Beyer, Marco Carola, and Christian Smith. The quartet eventually parted ways, each marking their own heavy influence on dance music culture. Osuna, too, remained on a path that opened avenues for expressing his deft skills as a curator of memorable nights.




He has also found himself at the inception point of several other ground-shaking cultural institutions. Like many other artist-led brands, Mindshake moved beyond releases and became a platform for creative growth in the club. After leaving Club4, he was one of the first residents of Marco Carola's Music On. Then when Osuna transitioned away from traditional DJing, he became an ambassador for Richie Hawtins PLAYDifferntly brand. And he was notably one of Spanish experiential party purveyors elrow's first resident DJs.




When Gray Area spoke to him at ARC Music Festival after playing on the elrow stage earlier this year, Osuna emphatically explained how deep his reverence runs for dance music's champion of the confetti blast.




"I was with elrow from the very first day in Barcelona. So I am part of how this entire family has grown from the first day," he explains. "For me, it doesn't matter where you have to be with them, Chicago, Russia. It's always a family."




Being a part of such a unique organization's explosive growth has allowed him to express aspects of his creativity that otherwise would have laid dormant. Working alongside famed multimedia artist Okuda San Miguel he helped soundtrack elrow's highly conceptual Kaos Garden theme in 2019. Osuna says that even though it's always a challenge to collaborate with a creative genius, he's always open to finding artistic union.




This summer, Osuna debuted Nowhere, his first Ibiza residency in conjunction with The Martinez Brothers at Hi Ibiza. Over the inaugural season, he invited Ben Sterling, Melanie Ribbie, Anna Tur, Reelow, Latmun, and Nicole Moudaber to join him.




Now that he's started his own event concept, he reflects on how he can continue to exist at the intersection of art, technology, and music. And while he still loves the creative trifecta, he explains that music remains paramount.




"My father always told me to look no farther than the next day. And for me, it would be a dream to spread my brand to Taiwan like elrow does. But it's a different concept. With elrow, the music is important but also the show is important. In my party, it's only [the music that's] important."




When Osuna began his journey in dance music, it didn't matter who was playing, people just came to have a good time. This storied era— before the celebrity DJ and the abhorrent hero worship of the selector— is something that he holds close to his heart. As a curator, he understands that the experience is important, but as a musician, there is nothing more sacred than the dancefloor.




That's not to say that he hasn't envisioned expanding his vision beyond the speakers. In fact, he tells us that's a vital part of his bringing the residency across the pond to Club Space for its first US iteration at Miami's Art Basel in December 2022. He plans on making it a unique experience. And he's excited to partner with one of his favorite clubs in the world for the one-night-only experience.




It's no coincidence that Osuna regularly plays in the world's most esteemed clubs like Space and Hi. His sophisticated yet dancefloor rocking style has been a focal point of his mystique for years. Seeing someone like Paco Osuna perform reminds you that how you play makes all the difference.




Stoic and focused, Paco stands amongst a small array of digital gear when he plays live. And while he still calls himself a DJ, what he's doing is far more complex. So when I ask him why he chose to leave the decks behind for a more elaborate performance setup, it's surprising to hear that the change was out of necessity.




After years of standing hunched over turntables and CDJs, he explains that he developed a debilitating sickness in his neck. His nerves were destroyed, leaving him at critical crossroads. His doctor told him, "you need to stop DJing or find a way to play where your neck has to be as straight as possible."




And while many would have given up, Osuna saw an opportunity in technology. When he decided he was going to use the computer to play, he was met with the usual derision from purists saying that he was taking the easy way out, that he was no longer DJing.




"I always give this example to people [who say] you are not DJing anymore; you're playing for the machines. People are driving here in America for a long time with automatic cars. In Europe, no! Do people in America not drive" he laughs. "For me, the way that I play now is much more creative, giving [me] so many opportunities to go very far with ideas that I have in my mind at the moment.




The creative freedom he has with his innovative setup would be impossible with turntables alone, he explains.




"So for me, it's very important to always evolve with the times. You know, maybe in 20-30 years, there is no computer, there's something else. I remember I had a friend who told me 'in the future, we are not going to hear music. We will hear frequencies and the frequencies will make us dance. So, I don't know. But you can't go against the evolution of the world."





















Paco Osuna: "You Can't Go Against the Evolution of the World"

Brothers Matteo and Amedeo Giovanelli - aka Mathame - brought a barnstorming set to the masses of EXIT festival. Known for their emotive and ethereal melodic techno and cinematic soundscapes, the duo are firm favorites of Tale of Us and the Afterlife family. Since 2018, they’ve played 90 - 100 gigs a year on the success of just a few EPs; a testament to the fact that taking your time in the studio reaps big rewards.









EXIT is an award-winning summer music festival at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia, with more than 1000 artists who play on over 40 stages and festival zones. Born in 2000 in University Park, the festival started out as a student movement fighting for democracy and freedom in Serbia and the Balkans.




Today, the EXIT mission remains resolute: to achieve social change with music. Social responsibility is still the core ethos of the festival activities, with the main focus on environmental and humanitarian action, development of the creative industries, and regional cooperation.




Matteo and Amedeo’s parents raised their kids in a home swimming in records and cassette tapes and ran an accomplished pirate radio station in Italy. Matteo cut his teeth as a local hip-hop DJ in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Soon after, he enrolled in university to study film and began writing and directing art movies.




After studying the violin for years, Amedeo eventually shifted his gaze to electronic music. Despite being won over by DAWs and synths, classical music continued to have a heavy influence on him.




It wasn’t until the duo’s parents moved to the enchanting slopes of Sicily’s Mount Etna—an active volcano—that the Mathame project was born. After a bustling holiday season, the whole Italian island fell silent in winter. “We were completely alone,” Amedeo says. “You listen to the rumbling of the Etna volcano. It’s magical, but also there is nothing around.” Mathame produced their first hit singles, “Skywalking” and “Nothing Around Us,” during this melancholic but beautiful time of the year.




Catch Mathame soon at a myriad of clubs and festivals across the globe, including De Kromhouthal in Amsterdam, Comunión at Centro De Eventos Autopista Norte in Bogotá, and Das Zimmer in Mannheim.














Follow Mathame on Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud


































































































































Mathame Bring a Volcanic Sound to the Masses of EXIT Festival

The Afro house spearhead flexes his reach with a pallet of eastern inspired sounds




Some artists have an “it” factor. They are movers and shakers of both industry and sound. Although it can be challenging to stand out in the expansive world of dance music, Pablo Fierro has undeniably risen to the challenge and beyond. While he’s an accomplished remixer and collaborator, some of our favorite Fierro works have been his stand-alone originals. This edition of Track Of The Week series honors one of those originals, Pablo Fierro’s “Bangalora.”




Fierro is renowned for his ability to tap into the vast corners of the globe for new sonic inspirations. “Bangalora” leans into the rich cultural pallet of India. Deep-rooted percussion first captures the listener in a spell characterized by energetic movement. As the instrumental arsenal grows to include a wealth of traditional strings and a bewitching sahnai loop, one can’t help but slip into a trance of physical and spiritual expression. The vocal cries are the final piece of this soul-surging puzzle, taking clear past the moon and the stars into a world beyond space and time.



“Bangalora” was released on Fierro’s label, We’re Here, a launching point for Pablo’s most worldly music to date that grew to include a weekly residency in Ibiza this past summer. He also heads his world club music label, Vida Records.




For more on Pablo Fierro’s story, check out our artist spotlight of the Canary Islands native here.



Fierro’s prowess as a selector, performer, and producer has elevated him to the highest echelons of reputation in dance music circles. Projects with world-class talents like Gilles Peterson, Louie Vega, Atjazz, Black Coffee, and more have readily demonstrated his uncanny ability to transcend genre lines. It's no small feat to seamlessly blur genre lines while retaining the spirit of house music in this way, we are anxiously waiting Fierro's next move.








Pablo Fierro Taps An Ancient Power On World Dance Track 'Bangalora'

How a lifelong passion for electronic music and community building for Dirtybird Records head honcho Claude VonStroke helped establish Dirtybird as one of the preeminent brands in American electronic music.






In the early 2000s, long before he was Claude VonStroke, Barclay Crenshaw independently produced and directed the documentary Intellect: Techno House Progressive. Some regard Intellect as one of the most comprehensive films ever made about DJs and underground electronic music culture.



Intellect features a staggering amount of interviews from pioneering DJs and electronic music producers—Juan Atkins, Miguel Migs, Orbital, Paul Van Dyk, Deep Dish, Sandra Collins, Steve Lawler — the list goes on. Justin Martin, the first cornerstone producer on Dirtybird Records, also made much of the original music for Intellect rendering the catalyst for the foundation of Dirtybird Records.




“Derrick Carter and I were in New York on 9/11. I was completely broke. And I still had to finish my movie,” recalls VonStroke. Despite the tragic events, the desperate director did what had to save his fledgling documentary.




“I went and begged [Carter] to do his interview. He didn’t want to do it. No one wanted to do anything [after 9/11]!” said VonStroke, speaking to Gray Area at Dirtybird Campout. “But he came down out of his room at the W Hotel and did the best interview of the whole [documentary]. Last night, we were chatting about [Carter’s Intellect interview] for the first time since it happened,” reminisces VonStroke.




“Full circle. That’s 21 years later,” VonStroke says, a look of awe quickly spreading across his face.




Roots run deep at Dirtybird Campout.




CHICAGO HOUSE

“It’s so good!” barks DJ Sneak in response to a query from fellow DJ Mark Farina as two Chicago house legends join ringleader Derrick Carter in the Thursday night Bass Lodge booth.




Being onstage like that at Campout “is like cooking with your best friends in somebody’s kitchen that we know,” says Sneak.




“The funny part is that we don’t even speak about what we’re gonna play. We just show up and play. That’s always been our formula, we just freestyle. We’re so seasoned, we each have a style. When we come together — it’s magic.”




Deron Delgado, Dirtybird Records label manager, explains Campout’s booking of the three living Chicago house legends to open the festival.




“Sneak and Carter and Farina — we literally grew up listening to [them] before any of us were DJs,” says Delgado. “Personally, they’re three of my biggest influences growing up as a wee raver.”




Sneak says that “Derrick has always been our lead — I’m from Chicago too, Mark’s from Chicago. But Derrick has always been that lead and that light. He’s like the libra mama, you know? We follow his lead. His best is fucking incredible.”




“I’ve been in the business for 30 years. The last 15 years for me was really strange because the whole EDM thing switched demographics,” Sneak continues. “It wasn’t real talented DJs. It was talented performers, entertainers of some sort. But not DJs,” says Sneak.

Sneak might be right. The musical vapidity of EDM is likely not culturally sustainable. But it’s still a giant slice of the worldwide electronic music pie. But according to Sneak, a generational sea change might be at play.




“What’s happening now is there was two generations after EDM and now there’s this,” says Sneak. “They’re starting to be like, ‘we want authentic, we want underground. We want the real stuff — we want to know what it is that Derrick Carter and DJ Sneak and Mark Farina are known for.’”




As for his relationship with Dirtybird, Sneak says that “Claude’s around my age, we’re in the same circles. It’s great that there’s a new way, a new platform to expose these kids to real underground music.”







THE GANJA GARDEN

“I stopped smoking a couple of months ago and ironically booked the Ganja Garden,” Delgado, the label manager for Dirtybird Records, says before his Friday morning set at the Ganja Garden — the newest stage presented by Dirtybird in partnership with the People’s Remedy dispensary.




Explaining the thought process behind booking artists for Campout, Delgado says, “There’s the Birdhouse and the Bass Lodge. The Birdhouse is obviously the fun house, tech house stuff like that and then Bass Lodge where we can get totally weird and do whatever we want with it. We put out a lot of house and techno records but we’re all big fans of bass and drum and bass.”




The actual process behind the booking strategy?




“It’s a constant jigsaw puzzle,” concedes Delgado.




There’s also the ever-present question of how the label and events have created Dirtybird’s ongoing sound.




“We have our own sound, and I think that sound has a very big dynamic range,” analyzes Delgado. “Maybe when we first started 17 years ago it was more narrow but now the Dirtybird sound both at the label and at our events, is much wider.”




For VonStroke, the record label was created at lead partly as a rejection of the house music status quo.




“The record label was started because we didn’t really like what was going on in house [music] that much. It was cool, but… it’s actually the same stuff that’s getting popular right now,” says VonStroke. “This really glossy, vocal house that’s way too well produced. It doesn’t sound organic anymore. Like a pop producer is making it.”




VonStroke says he seeks something more from the electronic music he purveys to wide audiences.




“I wanted to add elements of hip hop and drum and bass and more gritty sounds into house. I mean, it totally worked [for Dirtybird]. But now, everyone’s cloned it five times over. So we’re always pushing the next thing.”




Pushed to articulate Dirtybird’s constantly evolving central sound, VonStroke responds with a chuckle. “We’re just doing everything that’s not bro house! Anything where you drink beer out of a shoe, we’re not releasing. And it’s kind of our fault that even happened. So — we’re sorry!”




What happens when everything is self-referential all the time? What has meaning then? Will Dirtybird swallow its tail feathers until it eventually blinks out of existence? Or does Dirtybird rise above the cultural fray to become an inter-generational dance music powerhouse? Only time will tell.




The future sound of Dirtybird for VonStroke?




“I don’t have any idea,” VonStroke says earnestly.







AN AUSTRIAN HOUSEHEAD IN AMERICA

Back on the scorching blacktop path near the entrance to the festival grounds, Regina walks sluggishly in the afternoon sun, her face obscured under a full-head tan-colored camping visor.




Originally from Austria but now located near Wilmington, North Carolina, she says there isn’t anything similar to Dirtybird Campout on the east coast where she lives.




“A different mindset,” she croaks in a heavy Viennese accent, voice already obliterated by 3:00 pm on day two.




Regina has strong feelings about house music and her conception of bass music.




“House music takes you on a journey to a new world. I dance with my eyes closed,” she reminiscences, her voice barely a whisper. “You want the people around you to create the energy.”




When asked about her thoughts about the different styles of bass music at Dirtybird Campout, she smirks in a quickly spiteful turn.




“I hate bass music!” she sputters.




It’s not a surprising opinion coming from a European house head like her. She’s immovable from her position that bass music cannot inspire the same feelings as house music.




Her perspective makes sense, though, when referring to Plump Record founder Kevin Knapp’s unique perspective on the physical and cultural divides between bass music in general and house and techno — a gap that spans both musical genres and the Atlantic Ocean.




“I’ve just spent nine years in Berlin. My partner and I just moved back [to America] in January,” says Knapp. “The scene in America and the scene in Europe are a bit more distant now than I think they were in the past. So I don’t know what Europe often considers ‘bass music’ is that influential for them right now from a cultural perspective.”




Perhaps this is where Dirtybird might be able to make its biggest cultural impact — by connecting artists, sounds, and aesthetics across genres and physical space itself.




PINK FUZZY GOLF CART

Back-back stage at the Birdhouse, Mary Droppinz winces in pain as she climbs into the passenger seat of the pink fuzzy upholstered luxury golf cart.




She’d just sprained her ankle in a personal training session before Campout began. Try to see if you can notice even a hint of that injury during her bouncy stage performance and other appearances in the various booths at Dirtybird Campout over the weekend.




Concerning the often disparate sounds that play at Campout, she says, “they totally coexist. I love house myself. I have a house side to me and I play that, but there’s also the bass side,” observes Droppinz.




“Dirtybird is a place where people that have really great tastes can come and just enjoy and frolic. That’s what’s cool — if you like bass and house the you just know there’s seasoned electronic listeners, and I like that”, says Droppinz.




“That’s what’s special about it here.”







A PERCOMANIAC AMONG DIRTYBIRDS

“I think my sound is pretty eclectic, a bit psychedelic, and probably a little disorienting at times,” says Dirtybird resident Lubelski. “My good friend [and Percomanics label mate] Wyatt Marshall loves to say that my sets are like getting beaten down by drums and synths.”




That’s a fair way to describe Lubelski’s unique, dynamically searching sound.




Regarding Dirtybird’s unique crowd, Lubelski says, “I think the Dirtybird crowd really loves their booty-shaking beats, but they are also very receptive to new sounds given the lineup that Claude has curated.”




And on the mixture of subgenres for the fan base at Campout and the friction between fans of different subgenres, Lubelski says at Campout, “there isn’t any sense of elitism or snobbery. All good vibes. It shows how Dirtybird places their priorities on fun, music, and community.”




Those who may wonder where Dirtybird’s future sound lies would be wise to pay attention to forward-thinking artists currently in Dirtybird’s orbit — artists like Lubelski, Droppinz, Nala, Ardalan, and Walker & Royce. These artists, who actively explore across genres and aren’t beholden to any hard and fast rule about electronic music, are those to pay attention to moving forward. They’ll set the future Dirtybird sound through their creative decisions in their upcoming releases — likely in unexpected ways.




Maybe that’s why VonStroke sounds so honest when he claims he has “no idea” where the sound of Dirtybird is going next.
























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