Loveland ADE 2011 (22-10-2011)

They say that fortune favours the brave. For Eric Prydz, a bold musical agenda and an unrivalled ability to combine commercial success (3 x Top 2 UK hit singles) with underground notoriety (fastest selling release ever on cult download store Beatport), has allowed him to achieve worldwide recognition with his integrity intact.
The softly spoken Swede hasn’t given an interview in 6 years, he neve…r appears in his music videos, and avoids ‘artist tweets his breakfast’ self-promotion. His refusal to play the media circus stems from the fallout ignited by ‘that’ video. His first No.1, ‘Call On Me’, was accompanied by a music promo that he didn’t clear, much less approve of. He shied away from the publicity and ensuing success (the Steve Winwood-sampling track he’d made “just for his friends” clocked up over 4 million sales), and retreated into his studio to continue making the dark, brooding electronica he was becoming known for.
But, every so often, and always at the time of his choosing, he’s emerged with a hit record – 3 of them and counting. Following his debut for Ministry Of Sound’s label, Data, he was the only artist ever to be given the go ahead to sample Pink Floyd, Prydz released the Grammy nominated ‘Proper Education’, the reworking of Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ that reached No.2 in the UK charts. This time Eric took charge of the music video; the resulting promo and its accompanying environmental theme was hailed by Greenpeace, used as part of the NGO’s own marketing campaign, and is still requested by schools across the world.
He followed this in 2008 with ‘Pjanoo’. After becoming Beatport’s fastest selling release, the instrumental track was championed by Zane Lowe and Pete Tong, given 4 separate Radio 1 ‘Record of the Week’ accolades and was playlisted by the station seven weeks upfront of its release; it hit No.2 that summer.
His next move was typical of his personality. While most artists would have been frogmarched into producing an album and encouraged to run the promotional gauntlet, Eric simply played a handful of gigs, and then went back to his studio in London to tend to his two record labels, Pryda and Mouseville.
It’s Pryda and Mouseville that have allowed Prydz to remain something of an enigma while being a household name. Both labels are held in the highest regard by an adoring underground scene, though their releases are made available with scarcely any promotion. Musically, they’ve become genre-defining stables in their own right, and are two of the most successful and influential dance labels in the world (acknowledged by Beatport as being among their biggest grossing imprints).
On Pryda, and under the same alias, Prydz explores his house influences with a plethora of tracks that have become huge club tunes around the globe. Songs like “Aftermath”, “Armed”, “Muranyi” and “Melo”, layer harmonies, melodies and hooks over his unmistakable basslines.
His Mouseville imprint has seen Prydz produce under the alias Cirez D, releasing harder and more upfront techno tracks to great acclaim. “On Off”, the biggest selling EP from the label epitomises the Mouseville ethos with its succinct nod to the Swedish underground. Eric also created Pryda Friends as an outlet for tracks created by his friends. This has created a number of collaborations, including the inimitable “1983” with Paulo Mojo and “123” with fellow Swedish producer, Axwell.
Since his arrival, Eric has inadvertently broken into uncharted territory for dance music. The man with an infamous fear of flying but a worldwide demand for his DJ sets is often faced with an uncomfortable choice before touring. That said; festivals, events, and venues across the planet have rocked to his performances, safe in the knowledge that they’re witnessing something special.
With his first artist album ready to drop very soon, Prydz is set to make another return to the mainstream, but as any underground electronic music fan worth their salt knows, he’s never far from proceedings, you just need to know where to find him.

There’s a new kid on the block and he’s the first-ever disciple of one of the most celebrated dance music producers of all time; Eric Prydz.

The hugely talented up-and-comer, Jeremy Olander, is set to cause quite a storm in the world of dance music throughout the course of this year. Championed by Prydz as ’the next big thing’, a man with 3 top 2 records under his belt and countless underground h…its, Jeremy is already booked to tour Europe supporting the label boss at every major festival and event in 2011.

In addition, he is also so to appear alongside Prydz in Ibiza as well as at the ground-breaking EPIC show in London on April 2.

With his inaugural EP for Pryda Friends hitting the digital shelves of Beatport in the beginning of March to much critical appraise, Jeremy effectively joins the ranks of a star-studded roster in the likes of Felix Da Housecat, Sébastien Léger, Axwell and Paolo Mojo.

Big things are to be expected from the young Swede, whose productions range from heavy melodic progressive to darker beat oriented techno and seem to transcend all genre classifications, appealing to a broad spectrum of fans.

Predicted by enthusiasts and industry pundits to become the next big thing out of Sweden, a country synonymous with fostering the brightest in all of music, Jeremy is on his way to becoming the next shining star in the already studded sky of Swedish electronic music exports.

Sebastien Leger begins 2010 in fine form. His label, Mistakes, has further strengthened his role as one of Europe’s leading proponents of contemporary underground techno. The antithesis of the showman that is fellow countryman, David Guetta, Leger mines a wholly different vein, updating the rich musical histories of Detroit and Chicago with a quiet determination and no-nonsense approach.
His much lauded musical ability stems from a classical background, but formal training is but one half of the story; having served his ‘apprenticeship’ in clubs around France in his teens. The 1990’s saw the first explosion of French dance music culture, and as a young producer and DJ, he saw his heroes such as Laurent Garnier, Daft Punk, and Etienne De Crecy, begin to carve out a distinctive new wave of electronic music. He began producing at the end of that decade, and though surrounded with French filter house, he looked across the Atlantic for his own inspiration, with Underground Resistance, Derrick May, and Juan Atkins being a few prime examples.

Heritage techno might be an influence, but it’s a mere reference point for Sebastien’s productions and the output from his label, as he’s always made technology dance to his very own, distinct tune. Leger is thoroughly 21st century in his delivery and execution, packing a punch that has seen Mistakes become a best-seller on Beatport, and an imprint that is defining a new sound away from the soulless beats and clicks of minimal. Tracks such as ‘Binola’, The White Island’, and ‘The Rhythm’, lie at the funkier end of the techno scale, throbbing and coursing with a proudly European sensibility; but regional influences aside, the reception to Leger’s recorded output ensures his popularity remains truly global.

Over 50 Eps for labels including Black Jack, Ovum, Intec, Pryda, and beyond, make for an enviable discography, but as the cliché goes, you’re as good as your last record, and Leger has always kept the bar high despite a prolific release schedule. His latest remix, for Cirez D’s ‘On/Off’ on Mouseville, shows that he doesn’t just keep his best ideas for himself. Léger has consistently pushed his production boundaries and adapted himself to the sounds and technology around him. Despite his more cerebral sound of late, he brings to proceedings a dancefloor sensibility that is all about the ‘funk’, injected with a heart and soul attitude that means his music is never clinical. In addition to his studio exploits, a busy DJ diary means gigs across the planet, from Germany to Japan, the UK to Ibiza, and the US to Asia. It’s
a schedule that means Sebastien remains at the forefront of modern EDM, taking his music to wherever dance culture shines brightest.

Format:B are Franziskus and Jakob. Jakob is a Berliner, from Kreuzberg to be exact. As all good parents do, his wanted him to play an instrument. After years of successfully dodging music lessons and his parents wishes, he finally at the subtle age of 15 decided that he desperately needed a bass guitar, which then through diligent practice manoeuvred him from hardcore bands to funk and jazz bands. But suddenly, there was a small problem: he liked Techno parties much better than rock concerts. So, as one does, he began buying the odd techno maxi here and there until one day little Jakob thought to himself: Why heck, I can do that too! So off he went and bought himself an overpriced Atari St40 and a cheap synthesizer, only to realize that oops those guys from Detroit really do know what theyre doing and that it wasnt that easy after all. Well, that is basically where Jacobs ambitiously planned out life suddenly took a screeching of the wheels turn in another direction.

Franziskus is from Erfurt, a small and rural part of Germanys quite rough and wild East, which didnt stop him from starting piano lessons at the innocent age of 6. His musical interests took him from the usual suspects like Michael Jackson and The Pet Shop Boys through to Hardcore (obviously not on the piano). But then one day, or night to be exact similar to Jakob, all was to suddenly change.. A fortuitous night out at the legendary E-Werk in 1993, made this young mans heartbeat skip from Chopin over to a 4/4 beat where it was to remain, probably forever. Three years later Franziskus took up residency at the infamous Sub ground Lighthouse After hour, resulting in numerous further bookings. The paths of these two young men crossed whilst they were both studying to be sound engineers. Seeing as all the other students in there year were long haired Metal heads it was only a matter of time until their paths crossed. So, after spending a few long Berlin party nights together they decided to see if they could start a project together. And so the story ends or better yet, begins with Format:B.

After they were banging numerous hit-singles like “Vivian Wheeler”, “Edding 850″ and many others, they decided to found there own label Formatik Records in August 2009. In addition to that, they build up a new studio in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg to work on their second Album called “Restless”. Meanwhile they catched up a lot of brilliant Techno artists like Sébastien Léger, Hugo and Super Flu to work with. Super Flu were remixing the track “Gospel” – an outstanding Club hit, which finally brought Formatik Records to the ears of the world. As a consequence of their great success, Jakob and Franziskus were “forced” to play live on the whole planet. So they toured to Australia, Asia, USA and discovered their biggest fan-base in South America. In Berlin they found the Watergate Club as the best place to celebrate their own label nights.

As a jazz trained musician, Hugo found inspiration to make music from a combination of elements and influences. His 10 years career takes him all over the world. Since the beginning Hugo focused his efforts on the “live performance” side of dance music, creating several live projects as UBIT, that delivered the Ibiza anthem A-sid chosen by Mauro Picotto for his Meganite mixed set in 2004 and COMADISCO, an electro-punk trio experiment built to explore the darkest side of his talent, releasing its mega hit “Love in a bookshop” on Irma Elettrica in 2005.
After several dancefloor burner, HUGO started to explore the brighter side of his dance attitude releasing a series of fresh tunes which blended jazz, house and funk that brought him out on the worldwide scene. In 2008 Hugo released “The Sloop and the Siren” on Jay Haze’s label Tuning Spork. The Sloop rapidly became a must have for all the dj’s of the global scene, a contemporary classic for dance music market.
Hugo’s works have been appreciated by the most influential artists and his remixes are gaining great feedbacks all around. Hugo is rocking the globe with shows in the most valuable world clubs as Womb, Fabric, Paradiso, Footwork, Watergate, Rex and traveling around 12 months a year.
His anthem “The Sloop” has been selected as official soundtrack of Detroit Movement Festival 2009 and his production has been released by labels such as Tuning Spork, Mobilee, Systematic, Viva, 2020 Vision, Great Stuff, Om, Cr2, Claque, Rebirth, Material, Formatik among the others.
2010 will see the first steps on his new project, Goodvibe Records, where he is going to release with his fellow mates and producers from all over the electronic music global scene. Goodvibe Records headquarter will be in Turin, where Hugo built a new studio, Nipple Slip Studio, and where he is working silently at his next vision, a solo album.

Jeroen Verheij has been churning out dance floor smashing tracks under his aliases Secret Cinema, Grooveyard and Meng Syndicate to name a few for almost as long as many of today’s clubbers can remember. Tracks like Timeless Altitude, Mary Go Wild (EC Records), Shake Ur Tech-Ass and Kurzweil (Cocoon) invoke warm memories in many of us. This long track record in techno leaves an audible mark on his sound today for those with a trained ear. But above all, this is the sound of a pioneer that keeps pushing boundaries and reinventing himself!

The 90’s
Verheij started producing as Meng Syndicate in 1990. His first release ‘Sonar System’ was an instant
rave classic. In 1993 Michel de Hey recognized Jeroen’s excellent producing skills and invited him to
release his tracks on Immaculate Music. The melodic anthem ‘Meng’s Theme’ came within a year of
signing in 1994. At this point ‘Secret Cinema’ was born to vent Jeroen’s more refined side as a
producer. The first track he released under this alias was his second international hit for ’94, Timeless
Altitude. It sold over 20.000 copies within six months and proved to be more timeless than anyone
could have expected at the time as illustrated by its successful 2011 re-release on Gem. Verheij came
up with yet another identity: Grooveyard. It was under this guise that he released Watch Me Now.
This energetic track also made its way into musical history, sold ten thousands of copies and was
licensed to dozens of compilations in ‘95. By now Verheij had become one of Holland’s most
respected producers and started playing mainstage gigs for festivals like Mysteryland and Dance
Valley. The follow-up Grooveyard release was Mary Go Wild which went on to top Dutch and Belgian
charts and won Jeroen ‘Update’ Awards for Best Dutch Producer and Best Dutch Single in ’97.

The 00’s
2000 saw the production of another massive Grooveyard hit in collaboration with Michel de Hey;
‘Compound’, which again sold ten thousands of copies and is still a popular track with many DJ’s.
Verheij then went on to reinvent his Secret Cinema live set. A year later his first full album ‘White
Men Can’t Funk’ was released. A string of techno classics like Volt, Saccades and Another Sweater
followed and the albums ‘Revenge of a Nerd’ and ‘Skunk & Espresso’ were released. The techno
scene was booming at the time and Secret Cinema headlined many festivals around the globe
including most major Dutch festivals and events. One of the highlights was the closing set at the main
stage of Awakenings Festival. A spot that only Secret Cinema, Richie Hawtin, Adam Beyer and Dave
Clarke have filled.

In 2009, after 16 years of releasing on Michel de Hey’s imprints, Verheij started to shop around for
new labels that could accommodate more growth for the Secret Cinema brand. Cocoon Recordings
picked up ‘Kurzweil’ and spawned one of Secret Cinema’s biggest hits since the turn of the
millennium which was soon followed up by the even bigger Jazz Me EP from which Shake Ur Tech-Ass
presided at the pole position of the Beatport techno charts for weeks.
The late 00’s also saw the development of Secret Cinema as a business man, establishing his own
brand for music, events and an agency: Gem Records, -Sessions and –Bookings.

The 10’s
With Gem becoming established as a strong brand in the field of electronic music, developing talents
such as Egbert, Peter Horrevorts and Roger Martinez to name a few, Verheij’s profile continues to
rise. New collaborations with artists such as Ramon Tapia, Psycatron, Christian Smith and Slam have
been resulting in interesting projects and many weeks in the charts. Secret Cinema is rapidly
becoming one of the most popular names in quality techno! On May 16th 2011 his double album
‘Minerals’ is due to be released. Some say this could be some of the best work from one of the
Netherland’s top techno producers of the past 20 years!

You’d be forgiven for wondering just where Psycatron have sprung from over the past few years to their current position as one of the leaders of a new school of techno on the international electronic scene. Currently one of the most in-demand Irish production outfits, live acts and DJs, their discography is beginning to read like an A to Z of the world’s finest labels, while their tour schedule reflects the ever-growing number of fans honing in on Psycatron’s forward-thinking take on techno. Although difficult to define, their sound has it’s roots based somewhere between the dance music capitals of Detroit and Berlin, but it’s Psycatron’s distinctive Western European take on things that makes them stand out and peddle their own groove, regardless of what’s flavour of the month.

In 2008 they’d became the first Irish act to appear on Carl Craig’s Detroit based Planet E Communications. ‘Deeper Shades Of Black’ was and still is a Berghain anthem that became one of the label’s biggest selling tracks and turned heads the world over on to this relatively unknown duo. Showcasing a sound that stands head and shoulders above the sea of mediocrity that exists in electronic music today, Psycatron releases are keepers. Tracks that will still deliver in 10 years time when the whole thing has gone full circle for the nth time. They’ve since delivered two more releases for Planet E with ‘She Is Music’ calling in the talents of Detroit hero Blake Baxter on vocals, while they further consolidated their long term relationship with the label when Carl Craig invited them to perform on the Planet E 20th Anniversary Tour, with label showcases at Berghain and in London all lined up for 2011.

Psycatron’s ability to deliver timeless classics was further illustrated when legendary Belgian imprint R&S picked up ‘Is What It Is’, a pulsating melodic anthem that had ‘end-of-night’ written all over it and had the likes of Francois K scrambling to sign it for an exclusive mix compilation and amazing feedback coming in from Ewan Pearson to Sasha, Digweed and Derrick May, while Psycatron ended up on a roster of artists at R&S that begins with Aphex Twin and has Joey Beltram and Model 500 among it’s ranks.

With two huge releases under their belts for two of the world’s most well respected labels, it wasn’t long before the remix offers came flooding in. Unkle, Secret Cinema, Alex Long, Vince Watson, The Psychonauts, Blake Baxter, Jamie Anderson & Jerome are among the many high profile names to have undergone the Psycatron treatment. By the end of 2009 they had Depeche Mode’s Martin L Gore listing them as one of his favourite producers, they had tracks featured on the Essential Mix two weeks running and had interest coming in from all over the globe and gig offers racking up.

Throughout 2010 they appeared at some mammoth electronic festivals, from Detroit (Movement/DEMF) to the Amsterdam Dance Event for Dave Clarke’s Annual White Noise bash at the Melkweg, while everywhere from Tresor in Berlin to the Rex Club in Paris hosted slightly more intimate club shows. On the release front they deliver 4 EP’s and 5 remixes, including the follow up to 2009′s ‘Directions’/'Tipping Point’ double-header for Christian Smith’s supercool Tronic imprint with ‘Celestial Symphony’ marking their second release for the label.

Their increasingly popular Electronic Avenue Podcast hit it’s first 10000 subscribers as the year drew to a close, while their mixes also appeared on WhiteNoise with Dave Clarke and John Digweed’s Transitions which is broadcast to 42 countries globally. They rounded off the year with two collaborations, ‘Thunder’ and ‘Cloud 9′ (alongside Paul Woolford) was picked up and released by Sven Vath for his Frankfurt based Cocoon imprint, it featured as an Essential New Tune Contender on Pete Tong’s BBC Radio 1 Essential Selection for two weeks running and closed Cocoon’s 2010 release schedule with a bang.

Egbert Van Der Gugten is currently one of the hottest acts within the field of electronic dance music.
Jeroen Verheij alias Secret Cinema, whose attention was drawn to Egbert via Myspace.com, invited him on the spur of the moment to his parties in 2009.After spending some time in the studio with Verheij, working through hours of material Egbert had created over the years, an EP was born. ‘Vlammen EP’ was released on Michel de Hey’s EC Records and introduced a new face to the scene on February 2nd 2009.
During the summer that followed Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, Mauro Picotto and many other DJ’s hammered the EP at the big festivals and on Ibiza with ‘Magie’ ending up on Väth’s Sound of the 10th Season.
The success of Vlammen EP and later Dezelfde Weg on Verheij’s Gem Records earned Egbert a spot in both the Gem Bookings and Cocoon Bookings Agency catapulting Egbert’s performances onto the international scene.
A rollercoaster ride followed taking him from Sonnemond Sterne through Amnesia and Space Ibiza to Awakenings Festival and Timewarp NL. With an ever growing demand for his powerful live set he has already seen most continents in the past year.
Many fellow producers noticed his playful original signature ‘Egbert sound’, best described as funky melodic techno with a hint of floor destroying rawness. Remix requests started poring in resulting in some great collaborations with Carl Cox, Marc Romboy, Funk d’Void and Phil Kieran to name a few.
With a full album and multiple EP’s to be released soon on Cocoon and Gem, all eyes are on one of the freshest artists of the moment!

Remy Unger has been one of the driving forces behind the electronic music scene in the Netherlands. With bookings on all continents under his belt, Remy left his mark on the worldwide scene. Recent years have been treating Remy well with high profile gigs like Timewarp NL, A Day At The Park, closing sets at Awakenings and of course his wildly popular residency at the ‘Click’ club nights and festival. His latest venture the ´Fone Audio´ record label, in collaboration with Patch Park, is taking him back to his roots releasing a unique mix of pumping energetic techno and tech-house. Let´s explore the background of one of Holland´s finest and yet most modest artists.

The Roxy
Remy’s adventures started in ’89 with his first visits to the legendary Roxy in Amsterdam where resident Dimitri
brought a new sound to a new generation: house. “It was love at first sight” Remy remembers. “The energy that
was released was so heavy, I just had to be a part of it!”

The First steps
Unger bought turntables and during the next year spent all his money on records, sometimes even forgetting he
also needed to feed himself every once in a while. The hard work paid off and by 1990 Remy found himself
behind the decks at the Roxy. International bookings started piling up and soon he was playing Twilo in New
York, John Digweed’s Bedrock Nights and Ibiza’s finest clubs. “I learnt a lot in those days” Remy reminisces, “I
was thrown in at the deep end, going straight from being a clubber to being a DJ in the most respected clubs. It
couldn’t have been more intense”.

The next level
It was a time when house was synonymous with hedonism and new peaks were reached every week.
“Sometimes the crowd went so berserk, you couldn’t hear your own mix!” Unger laughs. After two years, an
overflowing schedule caused young Remy to spread his wings and break loose from his residency at the Roxy.
The next steps in his career took him to all the hot spots in Europe, Asia, South Africa, North and South America.
His straight forward no-bullshit approach to electronic music and good empathy with the dance floor have made
him one of the silent forces in club land today.

The Producer
Remy has always been actively involved in all aspects of the record industry as a label boss, producer, remixer
and compiler. His first successes as a producer came from collaborations with Sven van Hees on Wonka
Records. Sven and Remy then went on to found the widely respected Global Cuts bringing forward classics such
as ‘Piano Power’. His work with Roland Klinkenberg also resulted in some classic material like, ‘Ignite’, ‘Mexico
Can Wait’, ‘Till Ya Drop’ and their remix of Eye Wall – Bad deal on his own labels Taste and 68 Recordings. Big
solo tracks on these labels included ‘Backstabber’, ‘Mano’ and Serious Damage under his own name and many
hits under his alias Wavecatcher. Many of these tracks were licensed by EMI who got artists like Nathan Fake,
James Holden, Jark Prongo and Mike Monday on the remix.
In 2003 Remy released his album ‘Bang!’ which brought forth his hit records Dustsucker, Scrambled and of
course the title track Bang! which all made it on to many compilations. All eyes are on Remy now with big
releases on Fone and Gem coming up!!

Some of the world’s greatest DJ’s play his tracks, some of the world’s greatest producers request his services as a remixer and for years his music has featured on world renowned labels. None the less, Peter Horrevorts has stayed in the background whilst studying Modern Music Production at the Rock Academy, evolving and developing into the artist he is today.

After setting his mark with a full abum on Kanzleramt in 2007, followed by appearances on labels such as Global Underground, Ministry of Sound, Renaissance and Underground Resistance, Horrevorts’ name is starting to echo around the globe.

As a youngster, Peter focused his creativity on drawing, painting and sculpting. But once techno made its way to Holland in the early nineties, he found a new passion The futuristic themes appealed to his interest in science fiction and the rhythmic structures of techno, unlike any other music before, made Horrevorts feel like dancing. He was fascinated by all of the new and exciting sounds and was keen to understand how to create them. After years of experimentation with music production software and a long search for his own sound, he made his first digital release on Sublogic Corporation, a digital record label. The rest is history…

Nicknamed “The Godfather of House,” Frankie Knuckles is known as a true originator of the House Music genre.  Some of his numerous accomplishments as a DJ, artist and remixer over the last 30+ years are as follows:

 

• In the early 70’s Knuckles DJ’d at the infamous Continental Baths in New York City.

 

• Moving to Chicago in the late 70’s he became the resident DJ at The Warehouse until it closed in 1983

 

• Along with contributing to the birth of House Music in the mid 80’s, Knuckles began his production career with remixed versions of “LET NO MAN PUT ASUNDER” by First Choice.

 

• While on tour in Japan, Knuckles met DJ Satoshi Tomiie. The pair collaborated on the track “Tears” which was released on ffrr / Polygram UK.  The song has since become a classic.

 

• After moving back to New York, Frankie Knuckles joined Def Mix Productions in 1988 and formed a partnership with David Morales and Judy Weinstein.

 

• Signed to Virgin Records, Frankie’s first artist album entitled Beyond The Mix is released.  The album’s first single, “The Whistle Song,” reached #1 on the Billboard Dance chart and Top 5 on the UK Pop Chart.  This success led to a performance on the infamous Top of the Pops TV show.  The track was also featured in a Lipton Iced Tea ad campaign produced for 1992 Summer Gay Games in New York City.  Frankie released an updated version entitled “The Whistle Song Revisited” in 2007 on his label “Noice”.

 

• Sophomore album, “Welcome to the Real World,” was released on Virgin Records in 1995.

• Resident DJ at The Sound Factory Bar nightclub in New York City until its closing in 1996.

• 1997 Grammy Award Winner for “Remixer of the Year” – first recipient of this award

• Honored in Chicago for his contributions to music and to his adopted home with a street named “Frankie Knuckles Way” was established on “Frankie Knuckles Day” August 26^th, 2004.

• Frankie Knuckles 2004 album, A New Reality, featured the track, “Back in da Day,” which hit #1 on Billboard’s dance chart.

 

• Knuckles has remixed and/or produced such artists as Mary J. Blige, Sounds of Blackness, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Michael Bolton, Toni Braxton to name a few.  Currently along with his partner Eric Kupper in the production duo “Directors Cut”, remixes of Depeche Mode’s “Wrong”, Hercules & The Love Affairs “Blind”, Michael Jackson & The Jackson Five’s “Forever Came Today” and Whitney Houston’s #1 Dance Hit “Million Dollar Bill” has not only garnered commercial success but has also sparked the attention of his peers.  “Directors Cut” are putting the finishing touches on Frankie’s next album featuring Jamie Principle….their first collaboration in 20 years.

Frankie is also enjoying the success of “Motivation Too”, a follow up compilation on Nervous Records

• Served as a Governor and Trustee for the NYC Chapter of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

• Currently lends his services to organizations including Meals on Wheels, GMHC, Pediatric AIDS, and the Harvey Milk School.

• At present, Frankie Knuckles is working on a book with Austin Downey to be completed in early 2010.

• Continues to tour around the world with upcoming performances in Italy, Asia and Australia.

2010 is already booked choc full of hot domestic and international gigs, remix requests and original productions in the pipeline for Hardsoul brothers Roog and Greg van Bueren.

2009 saw Hardsoul Defected in the House – Amsterdam 09. What an honour! Only the very top electronic artists get to turn in tracks for this heavyweight UK label, and Roog and Greg made the most of it, turning in a double disc compilation of exclusives and a whole slew of their own stunning original productions and remixes.

Greg releases his debut solo single on Hardsoul Pressings entitled Waiting For You to widespread acclaim

Greg’s DJ career blossoms, with gigs all across Holland, and rising demand to play at some of the top dance festivals the country has to offer.

Other Hardsoul highlights of this year were gigs for Defected in Tokyo for Roog, and a massive event in the RAI Amsterdam conference centre for the brothers at Dirty Dutch.

Hardsoul step it up again in 2009, with hits such as Dancin’ With You with Ron Carroll and Let Ur Spirit Go on Soulfuric Trax USA bringing the studio love to global dancefloors

2008 was another major year, with Roog and Greg joining forces for a stunning live set outdoors at the Rockit festival as Hardsoul Live, and Roog playing for Defected @ Pacha in Ibiza and at Ministry in London

Greg’s solo DJ career begins to take off, following his brother’s footsteps with gigs in the best clubs in the country. His own Deep Heat night at the small but sweaty Club NL in Amsterdam goes from strength to strength also, becoming one of the best kick-offs to the weekend.

This was also the year that productions went even bigger. Tracks such as Michael Canirot & Hardsoul‘s ‘Feel The Spirit’ and Hardsoul’s ‘Nothing Better Than Your Lovin’ on the boys own Hardsoul Pressings push the boys profile even further.

The duo are inundated for remixes, turning in slamming interpreatations of David Penn feat. Daren J. Bell – Revolution and a remix of Ida Engberg smash hit Disco Volante.

The 2007 release Greg Jeroenski & Roog – ‘Your Mind is Twisted’ on the R&G imprint was huge! Aside from wdespread radio play and club success, the track wis licensed to Ministry of Sound (UK) and Cyber (France).

Roog and fellow Dutch superstar DJ Erick E teamed up to form Housequake and consistently sell out every club they perform at. In 2006, Holland’s dance magazine ‘Release’ devoted seven pages to the phenomena. The Housequake CD/DVD made it to the No.3 spot in the Dutch compilation chart. For more info www.housequake.nl

In 2006 the brothers started a new label called R(oog) &G(reg) Electronics for music that wouldn’t necessarily be suitable for release in the Hardsoul Pressings label and requires an alternative outlet.

Roog and his long term booker Anouschka Erhl from Holland’s Risk Agency started their own DJ agency called Beyond Bookings in 2005. More info at www.beyondbookings.com

Hardsoul/Roog were nominated for breakthrough DJ of the year 2005 at the International House Music Awards. MN2S (UK’s biggest DJ agency and London based clubnights) asked Jon Cutler and Hardsoul to mix their ‘10 Years Of Our House’ compilation in 2005. It was voted ‘Compilation of the Month’ in UK’s M8 magazine.

In 2005 the brothers revived their label Hardsoul Pressings. The label was quickly adopted by both big name DJ’s and the record-buying public. The releases can be found on numerous international compilations such as Hed Kandi, Defected In the House and Ministry of Sound.

In 2004, Hardsoul presents Roog & Greg’s release entitled ‘Uber’ on UK label Toolroom saw the brothers take their sound to a next level. The track was named BBC ‘Track Of The Week’ and was included on numerous international compilations.

After the huge success of ‘Back Together’ Defected asked Roog (Hardsoul) to join their international Defected In The House tour that brought him to London, Ibiza, Sydney and Melbourne, etc.

Roog plays in the world’s hottest clubs like ; Pacha (Ibiza), Cielo (New York), Yellow (Tokyo), Ministry of Sound (London), Zouk (Singapore & Kuala Lumpur) to name a few..

Roog has compiled ten CDs to date. The sound of Love and Dedication (United/Zomba, 2000) was the first compilation under his own name and was critically acclaimed by Dutch audiences as well as Dutch music press. The follow-up was released in 2003 on his own Hardsoul Pressings label and became one of the biggest selling house compilations of 2003. The third installment of the series was released late 2005.

Roog is playing an astonishing average of 225 gigs a year in and outside Holland.

With his brother Greg he forms Hardsoul, the internationally successful production duo (for more information on Hardsoul, check the Hardsoul bio and www.hardsoul.nl).

Roog played the main stage at Sensation in the vast Ajax Soccer stadium to 40.000 people in 2001, which was broadcasted live by TMF and Radio 538. This event elavated him from an underground house talent to the Dutch DJ super league.

One half of the Hardsoul duo Roog was voted No. 1 house DJ of Holland for three years straight by Dutch magazine Basic Groove, was voted Holland’s most popular club DJ in 2004 by Nieuwe Revu magazine and was the highest ranked house DJ in the Dutch DJ Award poll of 2003, 2004 and 2005.