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Tips and tricks for a successful ADE
Amsterdam Dance Event is a 5 days long electronic music conference and festival happening every year in Amsterdam. In 2018 it attracted 400,000 visitors from over 100 countries and 2,500 artists. This is the go-to conference if you are a music producer and DJ. You will meet a lot of people from the industry, allowing you to create new music connections, promote and get music feedback on your tracks. You will be able to test new gear and attend great panels held by world famous DJs and producers. If you love partying, ADE is also the place to go, with hundreds of events happening in over 200 venues.
This was my first time at ADE and I was there primarily to promote and get feedback for my new songs. It was not the first music conference I attended as I also went to Miami Winter Music Conference in 2015. I had a great time at ADE and got to know a lot of people.
I would like to share with you a few things I’ve learned attending this amazing event. Either if you are going for the first time or you already participated in the past, I’m sure you will find my list of tips & tricks helpful!
HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF ADE:
- BUY TICKETS AS SOON AS YOU SEE THEM AVAILABLE
You can buy tickets here:
I bought the early bird ADE PASS tickets at the end of 2017 for 375 EUR. With ADE Pass (Day + Night) you get access to all venues and panels.
Is it worth paying that amount?
Not really in my opinion. If you are going mainly to promote your music, I recommend you buy the Conference pass and then purchase single party events. True, with ADE pass you can attend EVERY single event out there, but I’ve heard a lot of complaints from people who got bounced back at the door or had to wait in long queues and then being refused to enter. So better buying single event tickets in my opinion. Also: you will be very tired after networking and walking all day from different venues (DeLaMar and De Brakke Grond are the main ones) as they are not too close to each other and I’m pretty sure you (and your GPS) will get lost in the narrow roads!
- BOOK ACCOMMODATION MONTHS IN ADVANCE AND STAY CLOSE TO ADE MAIN PLACES
Airbnb is your website of reference but you can search on Booking.com too. Start looking for accommodation at least 6 or 7 months in advance as the best places will sell out quickly. Staying in Airbnb is often cheaper than booking a Hotel in Amsterdam. If you do not have so much money to spend you can search for a single room. At the end, you will be out most of the day so no need to look for an ultra-fancy place. Stay within the canal ring and as close as possible to De La Mar Theater and De Brakke Grond.
The majority of conferences and parties are happening within the ring so it will be good to rent accommodation there especially if you want to party and come late at night, so you do not have to be too worried if one day you come late and the day after you need to be at De Brakke Grond to register for a listening session early in the morning.
- STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD
Very important. Make yourself stand out from the crowd. Thousands of people are attending this event every year so being original and ultra-creative in all aspects is key.
A) It may sound obvious but in order to stand out you need to Make great music that sounds original, fresh and properly mixed and mastered.
B) Have some music released in the majority of the music streaming platforms. It helps to add credibility to your artist profile. It is not necessary, especially if you are starting up but it’s a good addition.
C) If you are promoting new unreleased songs, make sure your USB stick (NO CDs in 2019 please. Nobody will listen!) is very original and unique. Try to be very creative here and people will remember you easily.
One example? During one of the listening sessions there was a box where people could drop their demos and get the chance to have their songs played during the Demolition Demo Listening session. One producer put his USB stick inside. It was a cool small nicely shaped bottle so they picked up his first, as it immediately caught the attention of the panelists.
Do not forget to add 3 to 10 HI-QUALITY FULL MIXED & MASTERED SONGS to the USB stick and also add a PDF or text file with your email, phone number, SoundCloud, website and your main Social Media page.
D) Dress up cool. Having a sense of style is now more important than ever for a DJ-Producer. If you do not have a clue on how to better style yourself you could hire a personal shopper. In some large shopping centers the service is often offered for free if you spend a certain amount of money. Improving the way you look will defo increase your chances to be noticed. But do not overdress either. The clothing style has to be natural and fit to your persona.
E) Make sure you have a good social media presence. Every artist knows that social media is super important nowadays. I know making music should be a top priority for an artist, but now it’s only one of the many aspects that an artist should look after. Doing everything yourself, especially at the beginning of your music career it is not easy, I understand, but having at least a few thousands of real followers at the beginning makes your profile stronger. If you really do not have time to spend on this consider hiring a Social Media Manager and invest some money in promotion. A good Social Media expert can help you create your social media strategy and grow your online presence.
F) Create a cool and modern looking website. Unfortunately, having a social media presence is not enough. Building a website matters and you should consider having one. It is important to use it as a portfolio of your work. You can add your music, images and contact information. Moreover, a website offers your fans to have an exclusive overview of who you are as an artist and it is a great platform to be in contact with your fanbase. You also have full control over it and do not have to worry that social media websites or music platforms will take down the account. You decide what content is appropriate.
Make sure you have a clear vision of how you want your website to look like. Spend some time researching your favorite artist’s website and make notes of the ones you like the most.
You can hire a web designer to design the website or do it yourself with WordPress or the zillions of website creators available online. I personally prefer to hire a professional web designer to do the job but you do not necessarily have to. If you want to go cheap and keep it simple you can try wix. Wix is very easy. You can register, choose your template, customize it in few steps and you are good to go.
WordPress. Choose a cool WordPress template and ask a web designer to customize it to your needs as a musician. This is a more expensive option than Wix but you will have a more original website that can differentiate you from other producers.
You’ll be able to find thousands of WordPress themes here.
Make a list of your favorite templates and choose the one you like the most. You can use specific keywords in the ThemeForest search bar. It will help you finding the right theme. Try “DJ” or “Artist” and see what comes out.
Remember: make sure you put your social media links, your bio, a link to your best songs or album, and your email so people can contact you. Also, I do recommend you buy a domain and use your artistname@artistname.com to contact people at ADE.
- WHAT IF I AM AN INTROVERT?
I know what you are thinking now: I am an introvert and I am afraid to talk to people I have never met before. Well, even if you are not the most outgoing person out there you need to find the courage to go and talk to people at ADE. You are there especially to make connections and to hopefully find the right people with whom you will be collaborating, or releasing music. Moreover, going to ADE and stay in Amsterdam for a week it’s not cheap. Make the best out of it. I am pretty sure once you will start talking to some fellow producers about what you love your shyness will be put on side. I am pretty sure that after one day of being at ADE you will find it easier to talk to people. Also, you will not have enough time to think about it as you will be overwhelmed with things to do and people to meet!
Have a positive attitude, ask questions to the person, and if you see that the conversation is not going in any direction you can always excuse yourself and leave. But always remember to be polite and respectful. Do not worry if people will not be the nicest. It may happen but keep in mind that you will probably NOT meet him/her again during your ADE so do not worry too much about them and move on.
Keep the USB stick for music managers and record labels and give business card to other DJs. Do not be too pushy. If you see they are not very interested in having a conversation with you keep the USBs for people who show interest. Do not be too focused on yourself and how great you are. Be humble. Ask questions and show interest in the other person!
- THE ADE DELEGATES DATABASE
Make sure you sign up to ADE Website and look for the ADE Delegates Database. They usually put it online in August. It’s a database of all the music industry professionals that will be attending ADE. You can send them an email directly through ADE Website. ADE is awesome because you can have access to hundreds of music professional profiles. Meeting them in person is KEY to successfully bring your career to the next level. We need to socialize more especially nowadays where everybody is online and we are losing human contact. You never know, maybe someone will be interested in giving you a record deal, or they may want to collaborate with you on your next banger!
Be ready to spend quite some time sending emails to Delegates. You will find Label owners, promoters, Artist managers, Booking Agencies, Singer-Songwriters and other DJ-Producers like you.
Create a good email template in a Word file and make sure you create a different versions of the email draft for Managers, Record labels, etc. Send as many emails as you can and try to set up a meeting with Delegates during ADE. Be ready to spend your time in August and September sending and responding to emails. Try to schedule as many meetings as you can.
Make sure you skip the people who are not related to your music style. For example, if you make techno, I do recommend skipping Trap or Hardstyle record labels. Focus primarily on your genre.
- GOOGLE CALENDAR
Install the free Google Calendar app on your phone. Calendar is great because you can sync it with multiple devices so you can check it in your laptop, smartphone or tablet. It will be of great help in creating a plan for ADE. I recommend you wait until they announce the full line-up of the conference (usually in August) so you can then decide which parties and conference panels to attend and better organize your meetings with labels and managers.
Write in the Calendar the person you are meeting, the time and day, and some information about him/her such as profession, record label, website with BIO, and review all the info 15 minutes before the meeting.
If you are meeting up with a record label you don’t know, do not forget to listen to their music on SoundCloud, choose the songs you like the most and show them you know their artist roster and the type of music they release.
- HOW TO CHOOSE A PARTY
We all love music but we also need to remember we are at ADE first to promote our music and make a step forward into our career as music producers and DJs. That said, you certainly need some fun but do not forget to stay focused on your goals!
ADE is the perfect place for stepping up in the music business so I do recommend you pay attention at the parties you select because in some of them, you will get a chance to meet key people in the industry and give them your demo. Search for the Record Label parties and find your favorite.
Have good few demos with you and have fun but do not go too crazy every single day of ADE because you need to wake up early and register for Demo Listening session in the morning. You may also have scheduled some meetings so be careful not to wake up too late and miss the meetings. That said, if your main goal is to party… then go for it. You won’t certainly be disappointed!
8. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW & MUST-HAVE TOOLS
- Where all the action is. The two main places at ADE Conference are De La Mar Theatre and De Brakke Grond. The former is the ideal place for networking and attending some music panels. De Brakke Grond is mainly for the listening sessions and test new gear, but the panels are also held there. Another great thing at ADE are the “In the studio with…” panels, where well-known music producers will show you how they produce music and give you some good tips’ and tricks. I definitely recommend you to attend at least one of these panels. It’s a great experience and you will learn something new. Make sure you sign up in the morning (around 10 AM) as there are very limited spaces available.
- Your MUST HAVE life-saver tools. Your smartphone is your no.1 tool during ADE and your phone charger is the second. You will be able to call the delegates or WhatsApp them and they can contact you in case they want to postpone or reschedule a meeting. You will also need it to check your Calendar so you are sure you won’t miss any meeting. Do not forget to bring with you one or two very solid smartphone power banks and remember to charge them every day. You will be out pretty much all day long and your battery will drag very fast because of GPS, calls and messages.
- Have your songs in your Smartphone and bring a pair of headphones with you . Make sure you have your songs in your smartphone with you and have a good set of headphones ready (do not bring in-ears as it’s not very hygienic to give them to other people). Delegates usually have their own headphones but it’s better to bring your pair and have them handy. Also, you will meet a lot of people there, and you may want to play them your tunes and get some feedback or advice.
I hope you will find these tips useful. ADE is a wonderful event. All the places are well marked, and I am sure you will fall in love with Amsterdam. I hope you will get a good record deal or a manager to bring your career to the next level!
If you already attended ADE and you would like to add something to the article let me know. If it’s the first time for you and you want to ask me some more questions feel free to send me an email here (info@romogroove.com).
Sources:
https://www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl/news/2018/10/ade-2018-attracts-400-000-visitors/12911913/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Dance_Event
Music in Southeast Asia
During these months of traveling in Asia I have discovered that there is a big music scene here growing day by day. I have been living in Thailand for 4 months now and I also spent some weeks in Myanmar.
Thai and Burmese traditional music have similarities and are related to many other musical traditions in the region including Chinese music but in this post I want to focus on contemporary music. I will cover traditional music in future posts.
Coming to the Southeast Asia I was curious to see what kind of music people listen to. I have discovered that they are strongly influenced by Western music but they have their own way to make it by adding some traditional Asian elements on the sound. Burmese music has mirrored western pop but thousands of miles away from it. You can hear western artists on the radio, mixed with local music. In Thai Supermarkets mostly western charting music and Thai pop are played. Many Thai singers in the search for the scenic name chose names similar to well known international artists e.g. Christina Aguilera and Christina Aguilar.
In Myanmar the music scene is growing faster now after decades of repression and isolation from the rest of the world. Here music becomes a tool of power and control but it’s used to resist to it too. There are now many punk bands in town. I found an interesting award-winning book and documentary about Burmese punk called Yangon Calling.
image source: http://www.yangoncalling.com/
It’s a must-have if you want to know more about the underground scene. Music here is usually sold directly on the streets. During my comeback trip from Ngwe Saung beach to the city of Yangon I’ve heard some urban-oriented music. Me N Ma Girls are one of the first and most successful dance-pop act of the country and Bunny Phyoe is the Justin Bieber of Myanmar: Good-looking guy loved by all the teenagers.
image source: http://www.annasieniawska.com/
Rap music is now very popular in both Thailand and Burma. It emerged in the late 1990s and is now the prevailing style of music among Thai and Burmese youth. ThaiTanium are one of the biggest rap groups in Thailand. The band has released five albums and has performed at the MTV Asia Awards, opening concerts for 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. Turntablism is growing and there are talented Djs such as Dj Butung or Dj Nutty.
Thaitanium
image source: http://www.channelvthailand.com/
If you want to dance Phuket, Ko Samui and Bangkok are for you. Bangkok is the place to be if you want to party hard, with a wide range of music styles from Funk to Techno. Prominent djs are Dj Nakadia, who is well-known outside the country for her Techno dj sets and Dj Orawan, founder of Bass Clef night in Bangkok, more oriented towards UK Funky, Dubstep and Bass Music in general.
I have been living in the city of Chiang Mai for about 4 months now. There are a lot of festivals here with Western and Thai bands being part of them. At the Balloon festival last December I saw many groups and I have particularly enjoyed the jazz-funk sound of the Jazz Bacanus. I used to go to the jazz jam sessions of the North Gate, one of the most well-known live music locations here. Tuesday nights are dedicated to anyone who wants to jump in for a jam session. Music lovers should definitely go there when visiting this nice city!
The North Gate Jazz Co-Op, Chiang Mai
There is however very limited number of clubs here. They are basically a sort of enclosed areas with standing tables where people dance around the tables. Looks like it’s the typical style of club here. So chances to spin music for me are very few. In few days we are moving to the island of Ko Samui which seems to have more of the nightlife I am used to. I will update you on it soon…
Links:
Dj Orawan @ Bedd Supperclub in 2012
Dj Butung (Thailand) Scratch freestyle
The story of Dj Nakadia. From Thailand to the World!
Me N Ma Girls
Francis Grasso – The First Modern DJ
From Wikipedia:
Francis Grasso (25.3.1949-20.3.2001) was an American disc jockey from New York City, best known for inventing the technique of slip-cueing and beatmatching (sometimes referred to as mixing or blending) which is the foundation of the modern club DJ’s technique. Francis started his DJ career in 1967 at a New York City nightclub called Salvation II. When the primary DJ Terry Noel failed to show up on time one night, the owners offered Francis a chance at the job. The crowd responded almost immediately and soon he had his first regular gig. It was there and at subsequent New York City clubs such as Tarots and his most famous nightclub, Sanctuary (featured in the movie Klute) where Francis perfected his craft. Though he died in March of 2001, the skills and techniques he pioneered remain the foundation of what is heard in a modern nightclub.
Francis Grasso was the first dj to require headphones as part of his setup. This allowed him to preview a record on one turntable while another played on the second turntable. By using headphones in combination with slip-cueing, he forever changed the art of djing. The records that Grasso was mixing used live drummers and not beat machines. It took incredible skill and a good ear to mix these records for more than a few seconds which Grasso perfected to longer and longer sequences. The most impressive addition Grasso brought to dj culture was music programming; the art of picking up on the energy of the crowd and sending that energy right back to them through the next track. Early on, Grasso used Thorens turntables although they were a far cry from the Technics turntables most djs use in clubs today. Soon he taught others and Grasso spread the art of mixing by maintaining a constant beat and working the crowd with the music throughout New York.
From “Disco” by Albert Goldman, 1978.
“One of the greatest draws at Sanctuary was the only straight guy in the place, its legendary DJ, Francis. The most influential spinner in the short history of the craft, Francis Grasso is (sic) a small, muscular, long-haired lad from Brooklyn who got his start in the business working as a dancer at Trude Hellar’s club in the Village, where he was obliged to perform on a narrow ledge against the wall that allowed him to move only laterally, like a figure in a frieze. One night while visiting Salvation II, a club perched on top of an apartment house on Central Park South (today, the site of the Bengali restaurant, Nirvana), Francis was asked to substitute for Terry Noel, who failed to show up for work. Grasso approached his trial with fear and trembling; but when Noel appeared, the manager fired him and hired the novice. Francis soon demonstrated that he had a fresh slant on spinning. Unlike Terry, who was heavy into rock and kept a picture of Elvis Presley stuck up in the booth, Francis worked the soul track. When he got up on the altar at Sanctuary, he would preach that old-time religion with Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Booker T. and the MG’s. Into this mix he would drop Chicago’s and Cat Mother’s Track In A. Once he had the crowd hooked, he’d dip into his African bag with Olatunji and the authentic Nigerian drums and chants of Drums of Passion. Francis was the first DJ to perfect the current technique for stitching records together in seamless sequences. He invented the trick of “slip-cuing”; Holding the disc with his thumb while the turntable whirled beneath insulated by a felt pad, he would locate with an earphone the best spot to make the splice, then release the next side precisely on the beat. When he got Thorens turntables with speed controls, he supplemented his cuing technique with speed changes that enabled him to match up the records perfectly in tempo. He also got into playing around with the equalization controls not only to boost the bass for ass-wagging but to compensate for the loss of highs that occurred when a record was slowed down for mixing. Eventually, Francis became a virtuoso. His tour de force was playing two records simultaneously for as long as two minutes at a stretch. He would super the drum break of I’m A Man over the orgasmic moans of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love to make a powerfully erotic mix that anticipated by many years the formula of bass-drum beats and love cries that is now one of the clich»s of disco mix. What this pioneering jock was doing was composing a hitherto nonexistent disco music out of prefab parts. What’s more, he was forging the new music right in the heart of the discotheque, with the dancers freaking out in front of him and sending back their waves to his soul, exactly as Lindy dancers used to turn on jazz musicians in the old swing bands. Not a high-powered show-biz jock like Terry Noel, who wanted to sweep up the audience and carry them off on his trip, Francis was instead like an energy mirror, catching the vibes off the floor and shooting them back again recharged by the powerful sounds of his big horns. Eventually, Francis taught other jocks his tricks and established his style of playing as the new standard.”
From the liner notes of the Rhino Disco Box Set:
New York, Francis Grasso, The Sanctuary. “Back then, you couldn’t adjust the speeds. You had to catch it at the right moment. There was no room for error. And you couldn’t play catch up. You couldn’t touch the turntables. I had Thorens, and you couldn’t do that on Thorens. All you had to do was start at the right moment. Nobody mixed like me. Nobody was willing to hang out that long. Because if you hang out that long, the chances of mistakes are that much greater. But to me it was second nature. I did it like I walk my dog.”
Web files:
Francis Grasso @ DJ History interview
Photo: Testing Audio Equipment @ Club Francis
Exclusive interview with Jackie Columbo-Pasternack, who was Francis’ girlfriend during early 70s, when Francis was djing @ the Sanctuary and when he tried to open his Club Francis.
Enjoy!!
– When did Francis start his dj Career?
I believe Francis’s DJing started in the winter of 1968 when he was all of 19 years old. Although I did bump into him just about when he got that job, I never went to the club to see him. But my guess and from what I remember him telling me later on is that he just fell into the job. But from what I remember about Francis, I would guess he watched the DJ he replaced who I believe was Terry Noel (who was terrible) and saw what the clientele didn’t want. The usual DJ who announced what song he was going to play and paused between records. I’m sure Francis was thinking how great it would be if one song just went into another and played continuously. I’m also sure Francis knew what music the crowd wanted to hear since he and they were part of the times. He must’ve realized slip cueing then and when he started DJing the crowd’s loved his choice of music and the flowing of the music. So a pioneer was born.
– Where did Francis buy his music?
Francis bought his records at a small record store near his home in Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY. I also went with him to the larger stores in Manhattan, somewhere on Broadway but don’t remember the name. Strange thinking about it now, we don’t use records anymore.
– Tell me what i could see if i joined the Sanctuary in the early 70s (Atmosphere, People, Soul…, Music). I have read that Francis was the only etero inside. Is it correct?
Don’t know if you saw the movie Klute which was shot at the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary was a converted church and it was packed with people. It had both gay and straight crowds. The music was loud especially because the music echoed up to the steeple. Everyone was dancing, and the music was great. Francis would be up on the pulpit dancing along with the music. He was a great dancer and really into the music. He’d kicked his legs up real high when he danced. There were a lot of drugs also. Cocaine, tuinals(? downers), speed, pot, you name it. The crowd was young. Francis started working at the Sanctuary from around February 1971 through summer of 1973. The girls had long hair, either straight or natural waves and some afro’s. The clothes were pretty much what NY is wearing now. Hip hugger dungarees, but everyone was thin, skinny and the guys had long hair. The shoes were platform and I don’t know how we danced in them but we did. The atmosphere was up beat, lively, kick up your heel kinda thing. (Hope you know American slang). Everyone was friendly, no fights, no drinking and it was a place to escape. Remember, America had a bad economy, Nixon and Vietnam. Francis liked soul music, not the Beatles, America, Neil Young‘s type of music, although he would play that when we were alone. What was in is what we heard.
– I think at that time Francis was a beautiful and sexy guy so… i think you were angry with him because i think he fell in love with a lot of women!!
Francis was straight and what we called macho at the time. He was a very hot, sexy guy who had a great body. I started our real relationship in the summer of 1970 when he was DJing at the Haven which was a 90 per cent Gay Club. In fact Francis’s friends were mostly gay then. I did meet Steve Aquisto, who was straight and he used to come to the Haven a lot and we would all go to breakfast together when the cub closed which was about 5am. I wasn’t threatened about other girls at the time because there weren’t any at the Haven and Francis wasn’t the type to hurt me. When he was at the Sanctuary that was another thing. I broke up with him after he filmed Klute because it went to his head. He was high on an ego trip. I dated others but caught him with a blonde at the Sanctuary. We were respectful to each other and I never saw another girl with in or suspected there was one, but there were groupies and they’d wave to him and be outside watching him walk in. I’m sure that during our break ups there were girls and groupies all over him and outside watching him enter the club. He didn’t confess that to me, but he was a healthy 22, 23 year old at that time.
– What can you say about Club Francis?
About Club Francis. That’s a nightmare. In the fall of 1970 Francis told me that these guys wanted to open a club which was over the Cafè Wha which was in Greenwich Village and name it Club Francis. He was thrilled at first and was excited. He would DJ and be a partner as well. Then, as the Club was being built, he started getting nervous and frightened. He advised me that the people he signed a contract with was a part of the Mafia and he didn’t trust them. He also told me he had a bad feeling about signing the contract and didn’t like the way they were treating him. He wanted out while they were setting the club up. I’m attaching a picture of him in Club Francis when Francis was checking out the sound equipment. He still worked at the Haven at this time but gave notice before Club Francis’s opening.
I believe the opening was around Christmas time 1970. Finally Francis didn’t want to go through with it so he went by himself to the Club to get out of the contract he signed. Strange, I don’t know why he didn’t go to a lawyer, but who knows about those times. It was either a Thursday night or Friday for the Grand Opening and Francis wanted out and wouldn’t work. Three men took him outside in the back and two held his arms while the third beat his face up. Francis’ nose was broken his face was badly bruised. The bastard put a cigarette out in his face and he had a burn mark. Francis called me the next day when he left the hospital and picked me up for dinner. I almost fainted seeing him He had a bandage from one ear to the other, covering his nose, cheeks and all you can see were his blackened eyes, lips and chin. He was lucky they didn’t kill him. He went into a depression and became paranoid for awhile after that. He would insist they were outside his apartment and for weeks, maybe a month, he didn’t go out. I literally babysat him. But eventually he took a job at the Sanctuary and he snapped out of it.
Club Francis wasn’t opened for long, I remember seeing the sign on top of Cafe Wha, Club Francis it felt like he was famous.
I hope I didn’t write too much. Francis was a beautiful person and I’m happy he died with the recognition he should have had in life. I don’t think Francis, who was raised without a father, had the right support system and self worth to further himself. He should have moved on into sound and music, maybe the movies or records. Why he went into construction? Brooklyn mentality. Get a job where you don’t have to go to an office and get benefits. I guess he was 30 + and DJing was too much. He was a genius, very smart and he could have done better. But he loved what he was doing.
– I have only a few things to ask:
You said Francis went into the Sanctuary from 1971 and he went into an ego trip after Klute’s movie (yes, i have seen it… Francis appeared 3-5 seconds djing inside the club!) what was the club he worked before Sanctuary, from 1968 to 1970? Do you remember… Arthur Club? I have understand that you didn’t go to his first club but only at the Sanctuary first… true?
I’m pleased you liked my answers. When I first met Francis in the summer of 1966 and when he was 17, he was in college. From 1967-1968 he was a Trude Heller’s Dancer. From 1968 through 1969 he first dj’d at Salvation II where he replaced Terri Noel. From 1969 to 1970 he worked at the Haven. It’s at the Haven I bumped into him and we started our two year relationship. I watched him dj at the Haven and the Sanctuary. The last time I saw Francis was in August 1972. He was still at the Sanctuary but I believe it closed soon after that.
Performing live @ Sanctuary in Movie “Klute”, 1971
interview: late 2009 by ROMO
Post Update: Sep 13, 2018
IDA World Dj Championships 2016 – Kraków, Poland
IDA World DJ Championships 2016 report
- Final results
Show category:
1. Beatbombers — Portugal
2. Skillz, Mendo Sam, kTDR1 — France
3. Tas — Poland
Technical category:
1. Erick Jay — Brazil
2. Dom-Auto — Japan
3. Datflex — Spain
Scratch category:
1. VaZee — Poland
2. Fakser — Italy
Krakow is a wonderful city and the ICE Krakow Congress Centre is a great location to host a world championship.
As soon as I entered I was welcomed by a modern and futuristic building. Impressive.
The first thing I noticed was the great sound system that welcomed us into the competition. Great stage lighting and a perfect view with a maxi screen completed it. I could see all the action and hear each sound clearly and loudly.
There were Djs from all over the world competing for different categories: Technical, best show and scratch. I was impressed by Beatbombers from Portugal. The duo’s performance was very exciting and inspiring. They used multiple machines showing us their great skills as finger drummers and turntablists. The Prodigy mash up at the end was very much appreciated!
Special mention goes to Tas and VaZee (who won the online scratch battle) from Poland that showed us how talented Polish Djs are.
I also enjoyed the special performances by Dj Rafik and Kentaro that were just a confirmation of their huge talent as musicians and performers. The overall level was very high and it was indeed a great night. Well done Poland and IDA!
Winning routines:
Romo – Italian’s Got Groove Mixtape 2016
Listen to my new mixtape Italians Got Groove. It hit No.8 in the mixcloud chart!
A journey through great and obscure italian tracks.
This 42 tracks selection includes rarities from the likes of Piero Umiliani, Riz Ortolani, Tullio De Piscopo, Franco Micalizzi, Claudio Simonetti, Celso Valli (Azoto, Tantra), and Alessandro Alessandroni. Including a re-edit of italian singer Loredana Bertè.
ROMO – Hitchhiking Funk: Produced using Soundsnap sounds
For my last song, I decided to challenge myself and create a song based fully and exclusively on samples taken from my Soundsnap account.
Soundsnap is a platform where you can find original loops and sound effects created by its users and buy them legally. The website has something like 200,000 sounds and loops at your disposal. That’s pretty big!
Finding the right loops for my new song was easy. I just had to type in my search terms, and Soundsnap gave me exactly what I was looking for. Read More
Winter Music Conference 2015 Tips & Tricks
From March 24-29, 2015, I went for the first time to the Winter Music Conference, a week full of panels, concerts, pool parties and DJ sets all around Miami Beach.
It was a dream come true. I was very excited about the whole thing, hoping to meet a lot of people and make new connections. It was a fabulous experience I will always remember. The Deauville Beach resort is the perfect location for the conference. It’s an ultra-stylish hotel with a very large pool and an awesome beach within walking distance.
How to GET THE MOST out of the WMC? Read below!
Romo – Back2Groove Mixtape (2015)
ROMO‘s back 2 groove!
New Mixtape out!
You can also download it here.
Koan Sound – Dynasty Ep (Owsla, 2014)
Bristol, December 2010. It was a very cold winter. First one in the trip-hop city. I went there because I’ve heard of the vibrant artistic scene. You know, Banksy, Massive Attack, Smith & Mighty, the Pop Group and then Dubstep came out. Before landing there I’ve heard about Joker and Pinch with his 2007 full length Underwater Dancehall. Once there I met some guys in a club and they mentioned me about this two “friends of him”. I googled them and found their Soundcloud page. Since I’ve heard their songs I started loving their music. A colourful mix of funky drops, elastic basslines topped with complex grooves.
Energetic and funky are the words that better describe their music. Songs are vibrant, colourful and groovy. Can’t stop my feet when listening to 7th Dimension or Infinite funk. A little departure from their usual style but I do not regret this change in favour of a much more groovy sound. In “Dynasty” the Koans bring us to the Far East by adding an epic and adventurous mood to the EP with the inclusion of a more familiar bass-driven sound in the middle of the song that could easily be the perfect soundtrack for a Journey into Asia. Last track on the EP is the dreamy-jazz Lost in Thought; a great ending for this beautifully-made EP.
Every release of the duo is always one step forward, every time looking for new directions in sound. I cannot wait for the duo’s first album hoping for it come soon!