John 'Johnstar' Witsenburg is a Electro/House DJ/Producer from Tilburg, Netherlands.
Since early childhood John has had an obsession with music which has just grew & grew, and has now earned him respect amongst his peers, especially fellow Dutch DJ supremo Fedde Le Grand.
John is currently busy with lots of new projects, his most recent being a remix of Oded Nirs 'Power of the hair' out now on Beatport.
What is your earliest recollection of music? And how did it make you feel?
JW:Wow, that's a hard question! I was raised on music! Between my dad being kind of a DJ in his student years and my mom loving music I grew up with vinyl. Major influences were from Santana to James Brown and everything from Motown to Pete Townshend! I remember my dad being cross with me as he was afraid I would brake his turntables when I was 3 years old and my mom having discussions with my dad because he bought me my first professional gear and tape recorders when I was just 4 years old!
Can you tell us the feeling you had when you played your first ever gig, and how old where you?
JW:I played my first gig when I was 10 and my first official club gig/DJ contest when I was 11.. matching beats with 2 cassette decks with a pitch knob and a Sony handheld drumcomputer to mask when beats weren't matching lol! From then on I knew this was what I was hooked on .... Music. I remember getting bored every two weeks when I didn't hear new music, thats why I fell in love with house music later on because in those day's that was the only music which was in constant development. You never knew what would be next...
What is your favorite thing to do from the following:-
DJ at a club (small audience)? DJ at an event (large audience)? Sit in the studio & make sweet music?
JW:Well maybe I sound old skool but I think a good dj should be able and wanting to do it all! I love playing a small audience because you never know beforehand if the set will be banging, underground or soulfull with a twist. I think the bigger the crowd, the easier the gig, because of the massive energylevel/feedback from the crowd. Making music in the studio just helps when I have grooves in my head that I know will work on the floor but I can't find in the online music stores. On a different note I think producing great housetracks that work on the floor is only possible when u play alot. Converting the dancefloor energy from the gig the day before into a beat is always a thrill!!
Who would be your dream person to collaborate with ( dead or alive ) ?
JW:Pffffff..... another hard question. I am working hard to get some collabs with the DJ/producers in my direct circle like Peter Horrevorts, who is a good friend of mine. But also club kings like Fedde Le Grand. I also used to work alot with Hollands top jazz artists which I love, so if she were still alive I would love to hook up with Nina Simone to do a great, dark and musical track!
Are you working on any new material right now that you can tell us about? An exclusive maybe??
JW:Just recently my remix for Oded Nir's Power of the Hair has been released which is doing quite well!! Next to that I'm working on a lot of new material. I am looking forward to record a second e.p. with MC Spyder (from the Tick Tock Track). I am going to introduce some new vocalists to the scene which I think are great (within two months) and got some underground stuff lined up as well, but you will have to keep track of the social pages to find out what's what!
Where can we expect to see you in the next 6 months?
JW:You can always find me in my studio working music ;) but I hope my new releases will fall through nicely and I am trying to get my abroad gigs handled so hopefully like last year I will be playing UK, Germany, France, Belgium and of course Holland the coming months! Also I'm finally getting my artwork sorted which means my website and all my socials will be pimped shortly..so also find me there!!
When you are not DJing or working in the studio what is your favorite thing(s) to do to relax?
JW: To be honest.... between working in the music and handling my own djing, productions and radioshow, I don't really relax. My motto is that I can relax when I am really old. (I must say my girlfriend and dog do not really share that opinion:) If there is a day that I have 2 hrs off I like to hit the studio, turn off my phone and produce hiphop music, my first love when I started dj'ing. Also this past year has been pretty tough for me on a personal level, which made me appreciate my friends even more. So finding the time to just hang out with them and relax is something that's really on my to do list this year!
And finally, can you spare some of your wisdom to advise newcomers to the music industry?
JW:Well first and foremost, dj'ing is not getting a laptop and pumping one hand in the air for 120 mins!!! Try to find your own sound and stick with it. In my beginning day's we had to find out everything ourselves, including lining up at the record store to find that 1 tune that would rock the clubs. It's a good thing all the tools you need can be found on the internet! Also if u get stuck with your productions, go online and check out youtube or other forums! All the information you need as a producer can be found online. I'm still learning everyday from guys that post movies, techniques and other stuff, and there's so much gear nowadays! Don't let anyone tell you what's good music and what's not. Be true to yourself, work hard and everything will work out!
Editors note: Thank you so much John for taking time out of your busy schedule to enlighten us about your life as a DJ. Wow you were so young starting out! Your dad must of been a great influence:) I'm really looking forward to hearing your new material...your latest remix rocks!! All the best.
* Special thanks to Susanne
Nicky Romero ft. Mitch Crown -- Schizophrenic (Johnstar Big Love Remix)
“After hosting the segment ‘Young Guns’ on HouSeductive Radio, I soon began to realize a lot of young talent is out there undiscovered. I wanted to create a community where these ‘Young Guns’ could be heard. By giving these young producers radio play every week on our radio show, they became more motivated in their productions and as word spread more and more producers started submitting tracks. I found myself going through 20 to 30 clips of their amazing work, I needed to do something about it.”
byGeorge Monev
Young Guns is a brand dedicated to showcasing the talent of aspiring producers. Founded in 2011, it was initially featured as a segment on HouSeductive Radio, a weekly radio show aimed at the dance culture of Melbourne, where young artists were given their opportunity to have their productions played on National radio.
Overwhelmed by the interest and talent of unknown underage producers, George Monev decided to create a platform on which the young guns can display their skills by releasing original material by producers less than 20 years of age.
Currently featuring more than 20 young artists, Young Guns is fast becoming a leader in the Australian Dance scene. What makes Young Guns internationally unique is that it is the only brand that is completely dedicated to assisting young producers in making their debut in the music industry.
"Here is my special guest mix for "Too Much Bass EP 55" podcast by Riste Markov! Hope you like it!" "All kinds of feedback will be more than welcome! Thanks for listening & support!" DOWNLOAD LINK: http://soundcloud.com/kristina-d/too-...
Shade was born and raised in Amsterdam. However his story is not of someone who started listening to music from an early age on. With an occasional exception Shade never listened to any music at all. This lasted until he was 16 years old. When finally hearing some music he liked he found out about the existence of ‘Remixes’. A friend of his who had just come back from a vacation in Spain had remixes of the songs that Shade liked. Shade was intrigued by how those 3 minute songs became 8 minutes long. When that friend also showed him what megamixes were and told him that they were done by DJ’s, Shade knew that he wanted to make those as well.
Within 3 months Shade had bought himself 2 turntables and a mixer. Another 3 months later he would do his first DJ gig. That was at a disco night organised by the high-school he attended. Later on he would participate in a mixing competition which he won. He also started DJ’ing at people’s parties. Basically playing in living rooms.
By this time he was listening to so much music and learnt so much about music that he felt he could make music himself. Buying a small keyboard confirmed his suspicions. In the later years he would expand his gear. He made songs for several local artists. He also started his own hip-hop group called VCE.
By now Shade started DJ’ing in a club called ‘De Prins’ (translated: The prince) which was based in Almere. It lasted until a friend who wanted to start DJ’ing borrowed his record collection and lost them. With no more record collection he now concentrated more on production. He was asked to do the music for a major television commercial for a Dutch Internet provider called ‘Nok-Nok’. It was a last minute job but the commercial was aired on all major Dutch television channels. Many times in half time of Champion league games.
While he was getting deeper into the business he started his own record label. He produced tracks for artist and formed groups. With one of his groups (T-Nice) he would release an EP called ‘Summerlove’ and later on a single called ‘Sexy’. The music video became the video of the week of local TV station ‘L1’. He also had formed a girl band called ‘Exhale’. He trained them in singing and dancing and eventually shot a music video of one of their song (called ‘Fantasy’) in Los Angeles which became #3 in the ‘Box video chart’. However he had trouble with the name of the group. At the same time former Heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield also had a girl band called ‘Exhale’. He discovered this after the Midem festival of 2002. At the Midem festival of 2002 he had seen Evander Holyfield but did not speak with him or know about what he was doing. Shade always jokingly said: “I was very disappointed when I discovered that there was another ‘Exhale’ out there. But the man is Evander Holyfield. Former Heavyweight boxing Champion of the world. I could not go to him and beat him up, right?”
In late 2004 he began to DJ again. It was easier now to get back in the DJ game because it was easier building up a CD collection than a record collection. Things started taking off from there. He got residencies in La Rumba, Club Classics, Three Sisters and most of all Club Smokey's. That is where he grew a name. He also played for various other clubs like ‘Club M’ and ‘Club 7’ He was able to do this full time. He also started doing his own parties. In 2006 he made a remix of the Lambada and small music video to promote one of his party concepts called ‘Dare 2 Be Sexy’.
Right before he was going to play in White Russia he found out that there were more people named ‘DJ Shade’. Remembering what happened to Exhale he began to imagine what would happen if he would not be able to keep the name ‘DJ Shade’. When driving from a gig in Gomel to a gig in the Minsk. He began to form new ideas about his future.
Shade states: “DJ Melnik was driving like crazy on the freeway. And the other drivers on the road were just as crazy. This was an 800km long trip. I was tired of seeing my life flash by so I just laid down on the backseat of the car. I didn’t want to look at what was happening. Two things popped in my head. One was a song called ‘My name is….’. The other was a possible new name for me. It was ‘Mr.Shade’. Immediately I liked the feel of it. I knew that ‘Mr.Shade’ would be different than ‘DJ Shade’ in just about anything. However I did not follow up on this yet”
In Mid 2007 he started living and DJ’ing in Barcelona. He DJ’ed in various clubs. He also started doing his own parties. His most successful party was called “Shade’s party”. Together with a promotion company called ‘Jamsonik’ he transformed a lounge area of the 2nd floor of a Restaurant called ‘Living’ into a club. The club became a huge success. It was originally intended to open only 2 days a week. The success made it so that it opened 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
In Spain he received a mail from someone claiming to be the real DJ Shade (which) he wasn’t. Also back in Amsterdam someone started calling himself ‘DJ Shaade’. To make matters worse someone living in Barcelona about 10 minutes walking distance from Shade’s address had just taken the name DJ Shade and also the URL djshade.com. Shade had tried to get this URL for many years and now it was lost again. He had enough of it and changed his name to Mr.Shade.
In 2009 he moved to Berlin seeking new challenges. Berlin changed his view and his music. Seeing how the city was and how other DJ’s like DJ Size and Mr.Crowdrocker operated, he changed his view. Mr.Shade should no longer be the man behind the artist. He should be the artists. His production style change from pop and R&B to House and electro tracks.
One thing was missing. He felt that he had to do this in the UK. This time he moved to London making it his 4th country in just 4 years. He made that move in 2011. After some preparation Mr.Shade is ready to make his return. Together with the company ‘Silverkoi’ he has shot a music video for his track ‘Shake that ass’. The video will be released in January 2012. Together with PR Agency ‘ANP Media’ he is setting up a promotion tour that will start in late January.
Check out this sneak peek of behind the scenes of the music video 'Shake that ass' :-
We present to you a new mix from Nutritious, a dj/producer HighTimes has called "a musical healer!" alongside various other publications and esteemed industry folk around the world publicly touting his performances, remixes, and string of mixtapes as everything from "inspiring" to "just, so sick" to "fuckin rockin". From the esteemed artist management group Dope Den who rocketed the career of fellow dj Mark Farina, to his own talented and celebrated booking agency, Apt Entertainment, who's steady placing djs like Nutritious, Heather, Colette, Honey Dijon, and many others at fine parties around the globe, Nutritious has the masses talking.
Every year, at the wrap of the North American summer, Nutritious bundles his favorite uptempo songs from the Spring & Summer seasons in an eclectic and wild mix aptly titled, Body Out Of Control. Today marks the release of Body Out Of Control, Three, a stylistic and heady journey widely anticipated by his family of supporters and fans.
In all of it's 67 minutes of dance-inducing fury, BOOC3 highlights the scene's hottest talents -- Danny Daze, Shur-I-kan, 2 Billion Beats, Cajmere, Locussolus, Kraak & Smaak, Captain Planet, Los Charly's Orchestra, and many more all make appearances as the rhythms twist and turn and rhymes shift from soft spoken soul to full-on discofied funk. No matter what your pleasure; be it a mix to tune your body to at the gym, or lose your mind to in the after-hours, one can expect a highly proper mixtape, from a proper fine dj.
Nutritious // Body Out Of Control, Three by Nutritious
01. Chemars - The Caddyshack Club (Discouraged Ones Remix) - Ginkgo Music
02. Senor Stereo - Unintentional ft. Danny Daze (Craze's Quiet Storm Remix) - Slow Roast Records
03. Shur-i-kan - One Night In Tokyo - Freerange Records
04. Nate Laurence - No Crapalous From Minneapolis (Emil Lanne Remix) - Flapjack Records
05. Soydan - Katana - Illuminati Records
06. 2 Billion Beats - The Moodymann - Paperecordings
07. Funk Mediterraneo - In Silence - Uma Recordings
08. Abu Maxim & The Praetorian Steppah - Sweet Love - KAT Records
09. Jeff Dougler & Balu - Sample Hits - Kinjo Music
10. Cajmere - Funktified - Cajual Records
11. Locussolus - I Want It (Lindstrom And Prins Thomas Remix) - International Feel
12. MuSol vs Bongoloverz vs Jackson 5 vs Doug Lazy - Dancin Machine - MuSol Recordings
13. DJN Project ft. Eman - Open Your Eyes - Newav Media
14. Captain Planet - Ningane - Bastard Jazz
15. Los Charly's Orchestra - Nuevo Disco (Funkanova (Nu Disco Version) - Imagenes Recordings
16. Kraak Smaak - Call Up to Heaven ft. Lex Empress (SmooveRemix) - Jalapeno Records
17. Musaria ft. Saturna - Moment (Dave Barker Remix) - Headset Records
In the Soul Free room, assembled by Peter Oakden himself, Phil Asher & Soul Renegades will be going deep and soulful all night long with the night being kicked off by Simon Briggs.
...and if that wasn't enough, for all those that have the stamina when the sun comes up the party will continue at South London's coolest after hours club, Brixton Jamm where you will be joined by Rebekah, Krankbrothers, Ande Foster and Peter Oakden until the last person is dancing. The legend that is Colin Dale will be playing the Karma Carry on and this truly will be a morning to remember.
Calling all up and coming DJs. Karma is on the lookout for fresh talent to play at every single Karma event. If you think you have what it takes to be a karma DJ simply hand in a mix CD at any Karma event and we will book the DJs we like. You will be backed by Karma with huge marketing spend and have maximum exposure all over London, the web and national magazines such as Mixmag as well as the experience of playing in London's most prestigious venues to up for it crowds.
Michael 'Micha' Moor is an Electro House DJ/Producer from Germany and is probably best known for his distinctive technical skills and amazing mixing abilities.
So I guess you can say we have been left wanting Moor!
Well I have been lucky enough to get to ask some questions to Micha...who inspires him?...how does he spend his spare time?...what can we expect in 2012?? What else can I say but watch this Space ;)
What is your earliest memory of music?
MM: That must be around the first years of my life. My father was a drummer and as soon I was able to find my way into the music-room on my own, I was sitting behind his drum-set and went nuts…
Where do you get your inspiration to make music from?
MM: Not only my father was a musician, also my mum and later on my sister… Everybody in my family is surrounded with music all the way. So I got in contact and infected with many different styles of music right from the beginning. Listening to good songs, no matter which genre, makes me wanna hit the studio again every time…
Who is your favourite music producer right now?
MM: That´s hard to say cause there are so many good producers out there at the moment. But I think my buddy Deniz Koyu is doing an amazing job right now… Banging stuff all the way!
What has been your favourite track of 2011?
MM: There are so many good tracks coming in my inbox every week, for me it´s not possible to pick only one track of the year. I fall in love with new tracks very fast so I have a new favorite track every day, hehe. But the song I did with Terri B! was definitely one of my favorites in my sets during the last year… Working with him was a lot of fun and the result is pretty good I think.
When you are not travelling & working, what is your best thing to do to relax?
MM: I love doing sports… Although it´s very exhausting it gives me the energy for all the long and late night studio sessions. And, for sure, the most important thing is to be with my friends and family…it´s quality time!
Who is your hero ( musically ) & ( non musically ) ?
MM: Thats a tough one, musically I think I have to choose Paul Simon. He was, for a long time, my musical hero and I can sing along nearly every song of him (and Simon Garfunkel for sure). He´s a big inspiration and I was so lucky to meet him personally for some minutes. Non musically I can only pick my mum and thank her for everything she has done for me and letting me do what I love, even though to be musician is not that safe than being a teacher like she is… haha
What can we expect in 2012 from Micha Moor?
MM: Lot´s of new singles for sure and a lot of traveling the world. I´m just releasing my forthcoming single "Love is Chemical" and there are a lot more tracks to come in the near future. So keep an eye on my homepage or Facebook and you won´t miss them…
And finally, if someone who wanted to start a career in music came to you for advice, how would you best advise them?
MM: Do your own thing and just do it for the love of music!! It´s a hard and long way… But if you really love it, the passion will keep you going!!
Editors note: Thank you so much Micha for that little insight into your amazing life! I totally agree about Deniz Koyu, Tung has been one of my personal favourite productions this year. I wish you every success in all that you do & will be following every step of the way.
And here's a little sneak peek at Michas new floor banger 'Love is chemical'...
Dutch DJ and producer Fedde le Grand (Put Your Hands Up For Detroit) has been confirmed as the official guest artist for Coldplay’s American Express ‘Unstaged’ concert at the Plaza del Toros de Las Ventas in Madridon October 26th, following the global success of his remix of Paradise, the second single to be taken from Coldplay’s critically acclaimed fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto (Capitol Records).
The track, #1 on influential music download site Beatport – and Le Grand’s fifth number 1 this year alone – premiered worldwide on Pete Tong’s Radio 1 show and has taken international dance floors and radio stations by storm.
Le Grand, who rises 7 places in this year’s DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll to the #14 spot, will open the concert, which will then see Coldplay streamed live across the globe to millions via the power of YouTube and VEVO, filmed and directed by award-winning filmmaker and photographer Anton Corbijn (The American, Control). Fans in New York City will also be able to catch the performance on four large LED screens with in-built sound situated in Time Square.
For Le Grand it is a dream come true. “I think this is the first time Coldplay has asked a DJ to join them for the support. It is a huge honor. But at the same time it feels like a logical next step. In my music I am always looking for exciting new connections. Different elements that come together and create something new. I feel you can hear that in the remix I did for Coldplay's "Paradise" as well.”
To view Coldplay Live In Madrid at Plaza del Toros de Las Ventas visit www.youtube.com from 4pm ET(9pm GMT) on Wednesday October 26th 2011.
I am pleased to be able to bring to you another monthly podcast by an up & coming new talent.
After the success of Kristina's exclusive mix for my blog I now introduce to you a young talent from Serbia : DJ vEljko....
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