Tecktonik is a new dance style originating from Paris France by two French promoters. It involves a mixture of rave-style arm movements mixed with hip hop (almost popping and locking style) and is blowing up around the world via word of mouth and youtube video clips. Here is one of the top ranked Youtube video clips (with close to 7 million views at this time) on Tecktonik dating from November 2, 2006:

In fact, my research indicates that the dance style of Tecktonik took off at the 2007 Paris Techno Parade and at Gay Pride events throughout Europe in 2007. However, it was initially reported to have started at the Metropolis nightclub in Paris back in 2000! The word Tecktonik originated from the name of theTecktonik Killer events at Metropolis. Who knew?

You’ll notice that the interesting thing about Tecktonik dance is Read the rest of this entry »

Last time I wrote about the 5 Elements of a Good Night Club, if you haven’t read that article have a look and you’ll see me getting into a little bit of why I thought the #1 most important element of a good night club was the DJ. In essence, it’s all about the music!

So is it really hard to be a great DJ? Or does it require a lot more than meets the eye? Let’s look at just 5 points that make a great DJ.

1. Being ahead of the curve. How hard is it to be ahead of the curve? Well in my opinion if you want to make it as a DJ you have to give it your all, there is a ton of competition out there and you have to set yourself apart from the rest. Simple suggestion…get on the newsletter list of all the top mp3 download sites such as Beatport.com, Trackitdown.net, djdownload.com, etc. As you listen to the latest music being produced you’ll be able to see where the music is going and how it is changing (this comes with years of experience). Now you have one leg up.




2. Master the art of mixing. Don’t be freaking lazy, you are a DJ and your art is to be able to blend two tracks together seamlessly. Immerse yourself in this, get books, watch videos (youtube is a great free source), ask friends to listen to your mixes and give you constructive feedback. Then when you post your set to a site (plug here for www.thefreshpage.com!) become part of the community and ask for feedback. The only way you can get better is by listening to this feedback.




3. Be prepared when you have a gig. Plan your track listing out beforehand, in fact, plan out more than one track listing and gage the crowd and the night for which direction you want to take people. Practice these mixes several nights leading up to your gig and record them so you can review the mixes and think of ways to improve it. This sounds smart doesn’t it? How many dj’s do you think actually do this? Do they really not have time for it, or are they simply being too lazy and wasting too much time on facebook?

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Now I’ve been to many clubs, small and big and even super-clubs such as Miami in Space. But what are the elements that make a good nightclub? Is it the sound system? The lighting? Or perhaps it’s all about the promoter and the crowd that he targets.

But what were my best experiences? Most definitely it has been about the music. In other words, the DJ and his/her ability to spin tracks that have made me want to shake my body uncontrollably in ways only music can. Some that really stand out include John Digweed back in the 90’s, to Bad Boy Bill (almost every single time!), to Derrick Carter and DJ Heather. Somehow each of these artists were able to make a night full of magic, they were able to fill their bins with records carefully pre-planned in advance to rock a nightclub. And the most crafty of these dj’s? Well they were also able to watch the crowd and not only predict their taste but also to manipulate their senses to enjoy this music just as much as themselves.

You know who stands out? DJ Heather, if you ever get a chance to watch her perform, look carefully. You’ll see her smiling and watching the crowd, and then when the music reaches it’s peak, she’s shaking it and just immersing herself into her craft and her art.



But this wasn’t supposed to be an article about how to be a good DJ. I’ll save that one for later. Now it doesn’t matter whether the club is in London, Miami, New York, LA or some small city. In my humble opinion here are the 5 Elements of a Good Nightclub:

1. DJ
2. Club Promoter
3. Sound System
4. Venue Layout
5. Crowd

Do you agree? So here’s the blurb explaining:

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“Chunky, deep and funky with plenty of basslines to go around..” - Joey M explains his latest set perfectly. In Slobbery Knobs Vol.2 - The After Party the first track by Special Interest opens up magnificently with I Like It. Following, funked out tracks undulate with flirtatious rhythms climaxing with Chips & Salsa by The Craftsmen. But it’s just not complete until you’ve heard the final track When I Think by Lawnchair Generals. Pure goodness…


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For more funky house music click here


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DJ Yovan releases another stellar progressive house mix entitled Sky. A warm intro of ONE leads to an aggressively tight sound of If Only by Eddie Thoneick. And things get a little funky with Ian Carey’s Keep On Rising. But nothing is going to prep you for the standout Seamus Haji mix of Colours by Calvin Harris! Now this is the kind of progressive house that lights fires, DJ Yovan shines and reaches for the Sky in this mix. Recorded December 15, 2007.


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Aaron Bradley’s Comments about this release: Hey Everyone! I totally went down memory lane this past week when I just RE-listened to DJNK’s mixes… Even the topics back and forth in the thread brought back some good memories.

Here’s a little 55 minute 9 track mini mix @ 128 kb/s of some great classics from 96′ to 99′. All of the tracks except for 2 have wicked (repetitive) female vocals and ALL of them will get you on the dance floor

Some of tracks I’ve heard for the first time were from from Mark oliver, Carlos Fuerte, sneak, Terry Mullan, @ Fever and on global groove…

Anyway, this mix represents what I would have described what I liked when back then… I hope you enjoy too! let me know what you think about the tracks.

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For more funky house music click here

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Janet Jackson continues to dominate with her smash single ‘Feedback‘ from her highly anticipated album DISCIPLINE (read below for more info on her new album.), due in stores February 26. And now she has released the music video for Feedback which is quite out of this world once again. Mixing electronic rhythms and powerful dance moves this girl can rock it every single time. All we need is for her to do next is another tour, because trust us on this one, you will be blown away. Few artists in this world can sing and dance like her, and every song has a completely different theme (our favourite was the colourful neon mushrooms and circus freaks on stage for her song Escapade).

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Winter Is Hot is a compilation of some killer mixes of most well known tracks such as Delirium’s Silence and Armin Van Buuren’s The Sound of Goodbye. Feeling a little cold this winter?….this set will make you Hot!

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Mark Farina is currently completing his Live In Tokyo CD Release tour across North America (with a few destinations left shown below). His recent stop in Vancouver at the Commodore was quite a success selling out far before midnight of the event. This is quite an accomplishment for Vancouver as the Commodore holds close to 1100 people and being so close after New Years and on a Friday night usually means not enough people get off their butts to go party.


Nevertheless, the promotion company Nordic Trax has been well known in Vancouver for bringing in the right dj’s and collecting an incredible crowd to party it up the way it was meant to be…with no attitude and a chance to really dance to house music. Here is a short video clip we took of the night which gives you a glimpse into some of the magic that was happening (please excuse the blurriness at the end we just got a new Sony camera and are just getting used to its recording capabilities in dark environments with no additional lighting.).

So packed venue, and Mark Farina did his best, he really pumped out the deep west coast house he is so well known for around the world. He represented his OM Records label proudly for the CD release of Live in Tokyo (please see full review here). Happy beats with happy people all around you, this was a night which really showcased the best of Vancouver for an international dj/artist.

Brandon Bass releases his winter 07/08 promo Funky Rub Out. Deep funked out basss in Late Night Society’s Bring Me Down gets your mojo flowing nicely and ready to take on the even deeper basslines of Really Don’t Stop. If that hasn’t gotten you all wrapped up then watch out for the warm sounds of Don’t Give It Up and Not Crazy by Inland Knights. Now this is what we call a Funky Rub Out!

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For more funky house music click here

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