New York (Top40 Charts/ Cielo PR) - They don't come any hotter then our first guest of October. Dance.Here.Now kicks off the month on Thursday, October 1st with one of the biggest names in house music in 2009, Laidback Luke. Despite being born in the Philippines, and now living in Holland,
Laidback Luke is generally regarded as one of the disciples of the
Swedish House Mafia (comprised of good friends Steve Angelo,
Sebastian Ingrosso, Eric Prydz). Add to the fact that he's fast becoming one of the top DJs and hottest remixers on the planet, with his re-stylings of singles for Beyonce', Madonna, Coldplay, Daft Punk,
David Guetta, and most recently
Dizzee Rascal and the
Black Eyed Peas, and you'll see why this is one must-attend date for your diary.
Turntables On The Hudson start their new monthly residency on Friday 2nd with Nickodemus and special guest Derek Sessions your hosts for a night of afro-centric house jams where deep, soulful melodies and Latin-infused grooves sit comfortably alongside tougher beats to create an atmosphere to match the warmth, intimacy and diversity of Cielo.
Miami comes to lower west Manhattan on Thursday 8th as Oscar G and Ralph Falcon take to the decks as special guests of Dance.Here.Now. The men with more aliases then many of those of FBI's most wanted list, over the years have recorded under a multitude of guises including the Funky Green Dogs, Liberty City and Murk - yet regardless of what the Cuban-American producers call themselves, the one true constant is their tribal enriched house music that has helped shape a genre and supply a plethora of truly defining clubbing anthems. And when they're not remixing iconic pop stars like Madonna, Seal, Donna Summer, Jennifer Lopez and the Pet Shop Boys, Oscar and Ralph can be found releasing acclaimed solo artists albums, like 'DJ' and 'Hialeah' respectively, on Nervous Records. But it's as DJs that Cielo welcomes the duo who can regularly be found spinning their unique blend of Latin-influenced tribal house in London, Ibiza, Tokyo and Sydney.
Dancetracks Brooklyn's hippest on-line retail music store takes over Cielo on Friday 9th with regulars Billy Shane, IJ Catling and Brendon Moeller (aka Beat Pharmacy) supplying an eclectic soundtrack of dub-techno-rock-jazz-afro-psychedelica. In this recycle-or-be-damned society that we now reside, the trio are taking things quite literally. Paying homage to the past by taking it forward, and throwing the genre rulebook to the wind with hip-house, garage, jazz, breaks and in-your-face punk-funk attitude sitting comfortably side-by-side.
Though Gene Farris is one of the new school of Chicago DJs turned producers, his sound looks back to disco and funk even more than the requisite house sound of the Windy City. With a plethora of cult singles for equally groundbreaking list of labels, such as Cajual, Relief, Force Inc. and Soma, his warm, deep and sexy house creations have firmly established him, and now his Farriswheel label as purveyors of quality house music. Inspired by the likes of Ron Hardy, Prince, and Roy Ayers, Farris roots are built on a foundation of funk, disco, and soul combined with '80s pop panache. Sample the delights of Chicago House Music's International Ambassador innovative sets blending the best of the past with the most cutting edge contemporary electronica on Saturday 10th as Paradizo presents Farriswheel Sessions with the one and only, Gene Farris.
If there is one person in dance music who needs no introduction, it is Junior Vasquez. As styles change and people come and go, Junior stands singularly as a legends that continues to spin and produce music that club land adores. Born Donald Mattern in Philadelphia, PA in the late-40s, the one-time fashion illustration and designer decided upon life as a DJ in 1970s New York from which he's never looked back. As the decades changed so did Vasquez's sound, setting the New York standard with his tribal-fortified aggressive house sets and turntable trickery. Junior never fails to create a physically exhausting, feel-good vibe as you'll witness firsthand at Freedom on Sunday 11th.
On Friday 16th one of Frankfurt's leading techno producers and DJs since the early '90s pitches up the tempo as Cielo presents Chris Liebing. The German native describes his production style and DJ sets as having a pumping sound he calls 'schranz' - a European hard style of techno that's typically played at around 150-170bpm based on massive kick drums, driving percussion, and distorted looping synthesizer noises. The result saw him awarded the prestigious title of the country's leading DJ at the German Dance Awards beating off stiff competition from the likes of Paul van Dyk, Sven Va"th and Westbam. If energized hypnotic driving beats and euphoric grooves send you into a frenzy then we'll see you on the dancefloor.
Our next guest was such a huge success when he last visited that we promised the only way to keep everyone happy would be to have him play over two consecutive nights. So it's with great pleasure that in association with Giant Step we welcome back on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd - Ben Watt. The Buzzin' Fly label mogul and Everything But The Girl multi-platinum selling artist is also a DJ enigma - a true quicksilver talent he creates a mixture of pizzazz and pathos that swings to a soulfully sophisticated pendulum with his set programming. Ben's uncomplicated, yet still slick mixing, always allowing the music to speak greater volumes than his considerable DJ's skills. Edgy deep house grooves with the odd hint afro-beat, oozing elegance and panache is promised over two very special nights.
In the UK Pete Tong's so famous the English Oxford Dictionary even added his name to its hallowed pages and into the vernacular the phrase 'It's all gone Pete Tong!' as cockney rhyming slang for 'wrong' - such is the man's fame. For the last 18-years he's created the dance radio benchmark with his BBC Radio 1 Essential Selection, while as head honcho at ffrr gave the world such groundbreaking and musically diverse acts as Goldie, All Saints, Brand New Heavies and Orbital. As a DJ he can sell out festivals, help rock crowds at stadiums, or provide the soundtrack to the intimacy to a smaller venue like Cielo. Hear the multi-faceted man for yourself as Dance.Here.Now present Pete Tong on Sunday 25th.
And so to Saturday October 31st or the ghostly night we call Cielo Halloween. Residents Nicolas Matar and Willie Graff are in control of setting your pulse racing with a soundtrack bumping to the finest in seductive house, Balearic-kissed beats and Latin-infused grooves.
And don't forget dotted within the month are our two awarding winning and universally acclaimed nights - Francois K's Deep Space and Roots with Kevin Hedge & Louie Vega. Every Monday Manhattan sways to the innovative and highly esteemed sounds of Francois Kevorkian's Deep Space parties. Guests this month include T. Tauri (Monday 12th) and direct from the Playboy Mansion, Dimitri From Paris (Monday 19th). While on Wednesdays we rock to Roots with Louie & Kevin presiding over one seriously soulful night of some of the finest house music known to man. Guests in October include Frankie Estaves (Wednesday 7th) and Dave Tobon (Wednesday 21st).
