Osunlade | Hu’u bar | Friday 12 April

Roots
Osunlade is a house DJ and music producer. This shaman-looking DJ with Christian Warren as his real name was born on March 13, 1969 in St Louis, Missouri, USA, which is home to Miles Davis and Chuck Berry. He first got in touch with his first instrument, piano, at the age of seven, and soon drums, bass and guitar followed. He was the president of his school band and playing trumpet, The major milestone of his life was at 17, when he left his native St Louis and embarked on a journey to Los Angeles. There Osunlade successfully impressed Tony ‘Mickey’ Basil and was offered a music score composer role for a b-movie titled “Rockula” and also for Sesame Street.

Sounds
House, deep house.

Where you might have heard him
After international success at such a young age, Osunlade’s music career has never been the same. He started to work for major labels, producing scores for other artists; some of them are Gerardo “Rico Suave” (1991), Freddie Jackson “Was It Something” (1994) and Nadirah Shakoor “Love Song” (2006), but only to find himself feeling like losing his passion for music, because the artists are still the ones that claimed most credits. That spurred him to found his own label called Yoruba Records in 1999 with a great focus in its integrity and spiritual connection, so as to not to let material benefits take precedence over spiritual ones. Osunlade himself is an ordained priest of Ifá, a Yoruban way of life. His debut album dropped in 2001 titled Paradigm caused quite a stir amongst the house scene followers, making people refer to him as the master of ancestral house music. He has been in and out of USA, has moved to London, Greece and Puerto Rico among others for quite a number of years while playing in various clubs in town all over. Yoruba Records also runs a radio show, which regularly features Yoruba Soul Radio signature series, which is available for free on its website.

Why see him
If you have been longing for some soulful house sounds, this veteran DJ is just bringing to you what you need. With a good balance of spirituality and music, why resist the tempting opportunity of seeing him live at Hu’u Bar on April 12. Hear his sound and feel his spirit.

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Justin Martin | Woo bar | Friday 12 April

Roots
Justin Martin is an American DJ and dance music producer. He was born in Vermont on May 1, 1975, and is now living in San Francisco, California. Justin was a college ice hockey player prior to becoming a DJ, he even got called up for NHL entry draft by the Los Angeles Kings in 1993. Ten years down the road, Justin awakened his passion for dance music which he always kept since he was banging pots and pans at the age of two. Justin Martin’s transition from being an ice hockey player into a pro DJ is probably one of the more remarkable DJ stories we’ve heard.

Sounds
House, electro, techno, tech-house.

Where you might have heard him
In 2003, Justin made his breakthrough with his first record, The Sad Piano, which was released under Ben Watt’s Buzzin’ Fly label. Several high-ranked DJs such as Derrick Carter and Pete Tong played the track over and over again and it soon found itself in the spotlight. It was also included into Steve Bug’s Bugnology compilation by Poker Flat. Justin left a remarkable impression on Dirtybird Records’ first four releases and followed with a chain of solo EPs. Together with his brother, Christian Martin, they formed The Martin Brothers, under which hits like “Stoopit” and “Dum” were released. He also impressed the world with his remixes of Radiohead’s “Nude”, Marshall Jefferson’s “Mushrooms”, and TG’s “Revox”. He has performed at Exit Festival (Belgrade), Sonar (Barcelona), Panorama Bar (Berlin), and several others. Some of his most notable works include Chaos Restored mix series and a DJ mix for Ministry of Sound’s Underground series compilation.

Why see him
Being one of the hippest dance music DJs around San Francisco, Justin is still retaining his own underground music scene credentials. Catch him live at the W on April 12.

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Chris Fortier | Mint | Saturday 06 April

Roots
Chris Fortier is an American DJ from Melbourne, Florida who currently is based out of the tiny island village of New York.  Before delving into the nocturnal art of Djing in 1990, he was a surfer. Chris has used many monikers including Fade and 40oz and was introduced into the EDM scene by friends who were DJs. He started his first residency at Aahz nightclub in Orlando. In 1993, Chris and Neil Kolo founded a music label called Fade Records and released their first track as a duo called “…For All the People” one year later.

Sounds
Progressive, techno, house, tech house.

Where you might have heard him
Two years after Fade Records was founded, Chris stretched his limits to establish another label called Balance Record Pool. He has done a number of singles, remixes and compilations, either by himself or through collaboration with renowned names like Joel Mull, Ed Davenport and Mark Broom. His well-known remix of Delerium’s “Silence” even reached one million copies sold online. Chris’ love for New York City’s underground house music scene has also produced albums and  EPs, such as Balance 007 (2005) and As Long as the Moment Exists (2007). Standing strong and steady at the top of his 20-year-long career, Chris has garnered more residencies overseas, most notably at The Cross in London and at Twilo in New York. His Balance Record Pool was awarded at the 2005 and 2006 International Dance Music Awards, while his Fade Records has helped DJ Steve Porter make a name for himself early in his career.

Why see him
Chances are you’ve definitely heard Fortier’s remix of Delerium’s “Silence” featuring vocals by Sarah McLachlan, Head down to Mint on April 6 to see him for yourself.

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DJ Ronski Speed | A-Club@Akasaka | Saturday 06 April

Roots
DJ Ronski Speed or Ronny Schneider (real name) aka Sun Decade is a German DJ and producer hailing from the city of Löbau, the city where Kyau & Albert also hails from. Back in school, Ronski started Djing by playing for his classmates. He went professional in the early 90s and began working as a producer in 1997. Coming from the same city as another German trance musicians, Kyau & Albert worked well for Ronski, he signed under Kyau & Albert’s Euphonic label as soon as it was established back in 1997.

Sounds
Trance.

Where you might have heard him
After joining the German-based label, , Ronski’s developed a name in the world dance music scene by doing remixes of Kyau & Albert’s “Outside”, “Not With You”, Armin van Buuren ft. Justine Suissa’s “Burned With Desire”, Above & Beyond’s “Alone Tonight”, Loverush UK ft. Bryan Adams’ “Tonight In Babylon”, just to name a few. Ronski has also has been regularly featured on Paul van Dyk’s albums, like The Politics of Dancing, which was released in 2001. In 2009, he was ranked as #69 in the DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJ, and he also has his own radio show, Euphonic Sessions which is broadcast on various radio stations in the region. His sounds have been voted as Tune of the Week over 20 times by Armin van Buuren’s radio show ASOT and by Above & Beyond’s radio show TATW. He has played numerous gigs at international clubs and festivals, notably at Pacha (New York), Zouk (Singapore), Loveparade and Nature One (Germany). His most recent and highly sought after work is his “Sanity Dub”, which is released on Above & Beyond’s Anjunabeats’ Volume 10.

Why see him
Ronski’s marvelous remixes and collaborations with top DJs has fostered his image as a true blue track DJ and \ his skills behind the turntables are undeniable. See him playing some hits trance tracks at A-Club@Akasaka on April 6.

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Aeroplane | Hu’u bar | Friday 05 April

Roots
Aeroplane is a solo DJ consisting of Vito de Luca in the pilot seat. Vito de Luca was born in Belgium to Italian parents. De Luca used to own a record store when he was 19 years old, which in a way helped to develop his eclectic taste of music and incorporate it in his tracks under the guidance of his mother’s brother, who is a DJ too. The Italian-Belgian producer and DJ created Aeroplane together with his Italian buddy, Stephen Fasano in 2007, after meeting him for the first time in 2001. However, the latter chose to focus on his own project and amicably left de Luca to be the sole man in the cockpit in 2010.

Sounds
Techno, nu-disco, house, Balearic beat.

Where you might have heard him
Aeroplane’s first album was We Can’t Fly (co-produced by a French producer – Bertrand Burgalat), alluded to French dance music and was released in September 2010 under the UK Wall of Sound label. Soon after, the tracks leaked online and amassed a lot of positive reviews by fans and disco music critics alike. Some of the most famous singles in it are “Mountains of Moscow”, “London Bridge” and “The Point of No Return”. Aeroplane has also done several remixes, most notably for Grace Jones’ “Williams’ Blood” and Sebastien Tellier’s “Kilometer”. He also did a very notable remix of the Friendly Fires’ “Paris” featuring Au Revoir Simone. If you’ve been to the W at all, you may notice it playing as it’s in constant rotation in their Symmetry album all across their hotels worldwide.

Why see him
Aeroplane is not just a DJ that has a mixed background, his slow disco-house sounds coming from the decks allow people on the floor to breathe and be ready for more of it. That is just how he soars. Expect some in-flight tech-house music with sprinkles of disco atmosphere when Aeroplane embarks on a night-to-dawn journey at Hu’u Bar on April 5.

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DJ Patricia | Boshe | Thursday 04 April

Roots
DJ Patricia is yet another female DJ who worked her way up the ladder in the dance music scene through the hustle and bustle of Jakarta, Indonesia. Born with a mix of German and Chinese blood, one might mistake her for being a foreigner at home. She started her R&B gig while studying in Australia back in 2001 and a year later she went back to Jakarta and found herself to be one of the first female DJs in Indonesia, having been invited to perform her DJing skills at a hip hop party. In that same year, DJ Patricia met DJ Riri, who was just about to establish his own music label and soon enough DJ Patricia became part of the label – Spinach Records.

Sounds
Hip hop, electro, R&B, house.

Where you might have heard her
During that period, it was quite rare to find a female DJ, let alone those with R&B and hip hop skills. To Patricia’s amazement, she performed at various first-class clubs all around the archipelago, such as Embassy, Centro, Club Monaco, just to name a few and also at several big music events, like Godskitchen, Ultimate Midnight, and Lost Chapter. Her desire to explore other genres like house was realized after four years of being the queen of the hip hop scene. Punters and critics all gave great reviews for her performances and soon after, many collaboration acts were made such as with Dewi Sandra, 3 female violinist, Duo percussion, Rejoz (The Groove) among others. She also has a great voice. She sang together with G.O.A (Andre Chillink and Derry Bunglon) in a single called “Wandering Song”, released on Jakarta Movement 2005. A few years down the road, DJ Patricia teamed up with DJ Riri to create “Grooving Me” and was released on DJ Riri’s Last Call. She also joined her DJing force with a widely-acclaimed drummer – Tyo Nugros in 2009.

Why see her
DJ Patricia is one-of-a-kind female DJ. If you want to have a rare experience of listening to some house and hip hop sounds by a female DJ, she is definitely the one you are looking for. Feed your soul with the sounds from her deck, when she plays at Boshe on April 4.

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