Smash FX, a Zurich based DJ Duo has been making music together for some 8 years now and since roughly 3 years they go from strength to strength. They successfully copromote a monthly Breakbeat Night called „Miami Vice“ at Zurichs infamous UG club, playing next to people like Adam Freeland, Meat Katie or Freq.Nasty and have gone weekly a year ago. Besides they are busy playing the trendiest spots in town and have just released a Nu Skool Breaks mix on Muve (Offshoot of Swiss major Musikvertrieb) featuring a hot selection of their favourite tracks and remixes by people such as Ils, Koma & Bones or Meat Katie.
Smash FX have so far submitted one remix and one original track to the growing list of Ritmic tracks and it is highly possible that more good things will follow from these two cats.
Tobias Schmidt's techno sound has landed him albums on such respected labels as Tresor and Telepathic. Originally from Scotland and then relocating to England, Tobias built his name through vinyl-only singles and EPs. He has also worked with friend Neil Landstrumm, under the guise Sugar Experiment Station, and Dave Tarrida. Strictly a producer, Schmidt has traveled the world performing live to loyal fans and techno heads. His first full-length on Telepathic, Immigration, was issued in 1995, followed by two more releases including the more recognized Dark of Heartness. The album was followed a year later, in 2000, with Destroy on the German techno label Tresor. ~ Diana Potts, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
Raised in the bosom of a working class family, daughter of a male flamenco singer and a female dancer, Isabel Pantoja was strongly influenced by her parents to become an artist, debuting on a stage at the age of seven. As a teenager, Isabel Pantoja joined a dance group, later she moved to Madrid where she met Juan Solano and they decided to start working together. The singer debuted in 1974 with an album called Fue Por Tu Voz. After falling in love with bullfighter Francisco Rivera, the couple got married in April of 1983. A year later, Rivera passed away after a tragic accident during a bullfight. In 1985, Isabel Pantoja recorded Marinero De Luces, dedicated to her former husband, presented live at Madrid's Lope De Vega Theatre. That album became the artist's breakthrough. ~ Drago Bonacich, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
Brooklyn native Victor Calderone has been cranking out house tracks and remixes since the mid-'90s, when his 1996 production "Give It Up" became a club favorite around the globe. Since then he has been in demand, remixing tracks for the biggest names in pop music, including Madonna, Garbage, Bette Midler, Gloria Estefan, and the rarely remixed Sting. Calderone is equally busy as a DJ, with residencies at the Roxy in New York and Liquid in Miami. He's issued a number of mix CD's, including E=VC2 (1999) and Resonate (2003). ~ Wade Kergan, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
When Orlando native AK 1200 started his career in electronic music in the late '80s, almost no one in the country had ever heard of it. Nevertheless, the artist managed to carve out an extremely successful career in the realm of underground electronic music while simultaneously introducing countless people to the up-and-coming genre. At this point, he boasts one of the most illustrious careers of anyone in the business. He is not only a DJ, but also a producer, promoter, remixer, magazine publisher, and record store owner, not to mention a pioneer of breakbeat, jungle, and drum'n'bass.
The artist, whose real name is Dave Minner, first started playing generic early techno music in Orlando clubs in 1989. He has always had fairly progressive, edgy, and specific musical tastes, however, and club techno was not a very good match for him. The emerging U.K. breakbeat sound, on the other hand, suited him very well. AK quickly found his niche in hardcore breaks and left the mainstream techno scene behind forever. He was instrumental in helping keep breakbeat alive in the U.S. underground scene after it had lost popularity in the U.K. As the early '90s saw the birth of jungle and, later on, drum'n'bass in the U.S. underground, AK found his place as a tireless pioneer of the new sound. He toured extensively, scored a residency at San Francisco's legendary club Spundae, and published the magazine Junglized with musical colleague DJ Jeffee. His pattern was fairly predictable: He would champion a new subgenre only until everyone else had heard about it and jumped onto the bandwagon. When that happened, he'd veer off into another new niche of electronica that no one had yet heard of. Finally, in the mid-'90s, he decided to focus on producing and remixing, jumping into a prolific career that included collaborations with the likes of Keoki and Rabbit in the Moon. In 1999, he came full-circle, headlining the national Planet of the Drums tour. For this tour, he was the organizer and founder, as well as the star.
AK's discography and resum� read like a laundry list of who's who in underground electronica. He has remixed tracks for A Tribe Called Quest and the Crystal Method and collaborated with Dieselboy and Danny Breaks. His lengthy discography includes releases on Moving Shadow and Moonshine. Full-length releases include Prepare for Assault and Lock & Roll: A Drum & Bass DJ Mix. He also followed in Carl Cox's footsteps, releasing the second Mixed Live album on Moonshine Records in 2000. ~ L. Katz, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
DJ Icey has established himself as "The King of The Funky Breaks". For years now kids from all over the world have been coming out to see and hear this Orlando native. It's easy for kids to see him live due to the fact that he's on the road most of the year. Quite simply, This is where it all started for the hardest working DJ in America. His spinning career got into full gear with his residency at the now defunct clubThe Edge. Not only did DJ Icey use that time to pioneer funky breaks and launch his remix-producer career, he also made history by convincing the then unknown Chemical Brothers to play their first U.S. Show on July 4th, 1993 at The Edge. Building this solid foundation led to DJ Icey getting requests from other clubs wanting to book him. He hit the road and hasn't looked back. Now regarded as the "King of Funky Breaks" (Mixmag April 1998) by creating a sound that is uniquely his own, he's won a legion of followers all across the U.S. Furthermore, due to the eclectic nature of his set, it's no wonder that on any given moment his dance floor might be packed with breakdancers, B-boys, Ravers, Club Kids, Suburban Kids, and even Inner City Kids all brought together by DJ Icey. So what does the future hold for DJ Icey? He has his own label "Zone Records" through which he has released 12" mix's such as "As If". He will be following in the footsteps of other Essential DJ's such as Pete Tong, Fatboy Slim, and Paul Oakenfold, with the release of this summer's "Essential Mix - mixed by DJ Icey". In addition, DJ Icey will continue playing his heart out, spinning in his own inimitable style, and definitely appearing at a venue near you soon.
DJ Icey's breakbeat funk helped jump-start the increasingly fertile dance scene in and around Orlando, FL, during the '90s. Born and raised in the Sunshine State, Icey first got into music via early-'80s synth pop, industrial, and hip-hop. The boom in club music during the late '80s hooked him as well, and when he began DJing early in the '90s, he usually played out acid house and funky breaks. He gained a residency at The Edge, one of Orlando's seminal clubs, and soon began playing farther afield thanks to the burgeoning U.S. dance underground. (The club later went under, though not before hosting the Chemical Brothers' first American appearance, an invite extended by Icey himself.) When British DJ and longtime A&R kingpin Pete Tong heard an early single produced for Icey's own Zone Records in 1996, he signed the big-beat precursor Galaxy Breaks to his ffrr label. Even while spinning in several cities per week, DJ Icey managed to produce a good dozen singles per year for Zone, usually out of his studio in Orlando. His first major mix set, 1997's The Funky Breaks, was followed one year later by his full-length production debut Generate. Following in the footsteps of notable DJs from Tong to Fatboy Slim, DJ Icey released a volume in the Essential Mix series in 2000. Three years later, DJ Icey returned with his slickest breakbeat effort to date. Different Day appeared on System in March 2003. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)