Ardie van Beek born in Breda, The Netherlands, is best known to us as the Dutch DJ sensation, Funkerman. Funkerman lives up to his name with his funky track beats such as Slide (ft Mitch Crown), Automatic (ft Shermanology) and his most recent hit Paperbag Revolution EP . Co founder of Flamingo Recordings along with fellow dutch DJ Fedde Le Grand, this dynamic duo have wowed us with smouldering, sexy tracks : New life, 3 mins to explain & my favorite An old technique. So where does Funkerman get his passion for music? What influences him, & how does he like to spend his spare time relaxing? Here we will get a little insight into his exceptional life as an international deejay :-
What was the first album you ever bought? And do you think it had any influence on your musical style as a deejay?
F-Man: Schoolly D by Schoolly D. Somewhere....in the land of no rap. ( check out the album artwork below):-
Who has been the biggest musical influence in your life?
F-Man: My best friend & studio partner Raf. There are a lot of musician's that I love, but working that close with someone, is the biggest influence, because you start to understand each others views on music.
I love your collaborations with Fedde Le Grand. Do you have anymore planned, or can we expect to see more in the future?
F-Man: We are in a good relationship, so it may be possible that we do something together again.
Out of all the songs you have ever played, either your own or a remix, which has had the biggest reaction?
F-Man: For me Speed Up has always had a big response, because I think it is the first record that we produced that got big throughout the world.
When you are relaxing at home, what genre of music do you enjoy listening to the most (besides EDM)?
F-Man: When I want to relax : soul, reggae, and for other moods I listen to rock, hiphop or whatever feels good for that particular moment. I just love music.
Editors note: A massive thank you to Funkerman for taking the time to answer these questions for us, & a special thank you from me for following me on Twitter @Miss_Ess_Jay We wish you all the best in your future plans.....we can't wait to hear more of the magic!
And an extra thank you for these stunning picture's :-
Check out Funkerman's latest funky track ( I ♥ this video! ) :-
RELEASED: 21st March (Beatport), 3rd April (iTunes)
Tiësto & Mark Knight feat Dino ‘Beautiful World’ combines the outstanding talents of 2 of dance music’s most influential artists and features the vocals of Dino Lenny, creating a fervent and euphoric masterpiece with exclusive artwork from one of the UK’s most talented contemporary artists K-Guy.
Widely regarded as THE world’s biggest DJ/Producer, Tiësto has wowed millions of clubbers with his epic live shows whilst working alongside global superstars such as Nelly Furtado and Goldfrapp. Mark Knight's legacy already ranks him as a leading player in dance music culture with 2010 producing a Grammy nomination for his work on the multi-platinum Black Eyed Peas album ‘The E.N.D.’ and collaborations with legendary acts Faithless and Underworld.
Flash-forward to 2011 and these two masters of electronic music have created a colossal crossover classic that’s already generated lots of hype within the dance industry, received major support from key Radio1 tastemakers Pete Tong & Zane Lowe, crashed the UK’s Buzz chart straight in at No.1 and is currently at No.1 on Beatport.
The music video, which follows the compelling story of an all boy cheerleading team from the city of Leeds in the UK, has received rave reviews on MTV-dance, The Box, Clubland TV and 4music. Once you watch it, you are left in no doubt that this is a powerful, life affirming anthem that ‘If you close your eyes’ provides the perfect escape into a ‘Beautiful World’
Beautiful World is taken from Mark Knight’s forth-coming album Life At 33,000 Feet, due for release early July 2011.
Imagine being picked from hundreds of entry's & having your remix (Rockin' High -Johnny Deekay Remix) released by Fedde Le Grand 's record label Flamingo Recordings, and you may just get an idea of how excited Johnny Deekay felt on the 1st of November last year!
Johnny's passion for the decks started at the age of fourteen and since then he has been developing his own sound & style along the way. He has gone from strength to strength since then & is now a successful producer with a bright future ahead of him.
Today Johnny will give us a little peek into his life as a deejay & see if we can find out what is next in store for the Johnny Deekay sound :-
Where did your inspiration to Deejay come from?
JD: My inspiration to become a DJ? Well it was more an inspiration to become a producer. I really love to make music. And to share my music with others I also started DJing. I started producing at the age of 14. The DJing started a few years later at the age of 18.
How did it feel to play your first ever gig?
JD: I was really nervous. I started DJing when most of the DJ's were playing records with vinyl. So I also started with the vinyl records. At the first gig I was so nervous that I hardly could get the needle on the record properly. But when it was on, and the people started dancing and enjoying my music, the nervousness went away real quick.
And the real kick is when you play a record of your own. And then when you see the people reacting to it... throwing their hands up in the air, that gives me the ultimate pleasure.
JD: Well, my DJ and producer hero's come from the Netherlands. I really respect the producing skills of Ferry Corsten and Armin van Buuren. But of course also Fedde Le Grand I really respect. The way they stay close at the top all those years, shows that they not only have the producing and DJ skills, but they also know to re-invent themselves over and over.
You have a loyal fan base following you at all times, what does their support really mean to you?
JD: I have a small fan base. But they mean a lot to me. Without them it has no meaning for me to produce or play music as a DJ. The love and respect they give me is the most important thing that keeps me going on doing what I do.
Did you have to pinch yourself when you found out you had won the Rockin' High remix competition?
JD: Well I was blown away when I found out I won the remix contest. Because I said to myself: Don't count on anything, there are over 400 remixes turned in. You are never gonna win that contest. So you can imagine that I was really happy when the results were announced. It was also very important to me. Although I knew I could produce high quality house music, winning this contest was a confirmation that I am a good producer. And of course winning this contest also gives me much more exposure. A lot of DJ's all over the world have seen my name! And that creates a lot of new opportunities, new friends, new connections and so on. And if it wasn't for winning this remix, I would never have met you ;)
Awww Thank you! Another reason why I ♥ FLG!
If you could pick one of your DJ hero's to play along side, who would it be & why?
JD: Definitely Fedde Le Grand. The way he performs is just mind blowing. Combined with his great production skills, he will stay on top for many years to come.
What can we expect next from Johnny Deekay?
JD: Well, this year I will be producing a lot. That means, I will be doing a lot of remixes. But also bringing you a lot of new Johnny Deekay productions. As I am typing this, I've just signed a new Johnny Deekay track to Beyourselfmusic.com. It will come out on their Big & Dirty label. As you can imagine I am very proud of this. And hopefully I will be DJing more this year at the big summer festivals. Also I will be present at the Amsterdam Dance Event. So if anyone is going to the ADE also, I would love to meet with you :)
And lastly, any advice to anyone wanting to start out in DJing?
JD: Well, the only advice I can give you is: Do it for the love of music (whatever music that is). That's the most important reason. Also stay true to yourself. And don't let anybody tell you what you should do. Follow your own path!
Editors note: Congrats to Johnny on his new track! We wish you all the best with this & all future projects. Thank you so much for your time.
And here's Johnny's remix that caught the attention of Fedde Le Grand :-
"Johnny’s break down was massive, it’s the kind of thing I look for in a track, that moment when the tune collapses on itself and you know the dance floor is going to blow up. He got it perfectly.” Quotation taken from Feddelegrand.com
