A capacity crowd of clubbers came cavorted & were captivated by what is already being hailed as the best WE Party in London yet, stunning stage show visuals, matched by an amazing atmosphere & exceptional entertainment which was masterminded by the mesmeric music from a podium position pack of players, meaning we simply had to serenade these stunning sounds in a special feature ahead of our resplendent event review.
With the most awesome anniversary on the 2012 capital clubbing circuit mere hours old, WE Party celebrated two years of triumphant turns with their “Formula 2” event at The Coronet last night (Sat 1st Dec), boasting a main room D.J. line-up that matched the towering talent found on the front rows of a grand prix grid. And so given the magnitude of the mesmeric music delivered by this “Formula 2” dream team of dynamic drivers, we couldn’t let these magical music memory making moments pass without sharing some of those scintillating sounds, while also focussing on the fabulous three fella’s that, from our privileged position on stage, each stormed off the starting grid with their wonderful WE music making . We will naturally make reference to their set showings, while also pointing you to podcast pages & video clips, although while no proper Grand Prix podium position is right without a first, second & third slot, we will leave it to your imagination as to who we placed where in our WE “Formula 2” ranking, while for those followers of F1, some of our references may possibly give the game away.
So we come to our first podium position contender and the D.J. that set the early race rhythm pace, Berlin based D’Johnny sprinting off the sound starting line akin to Michael Schumacher, weaving in & out and up & down his tech infused track of tunes with exceptional effect, a crowd that built before our very eyes lapping up his twists & turns and he shot through a captivating chicane of sound choices. Indeed, with his experience playing for WE party akin to his F1 comparable, D’Johnny having played at virtually all the London events and having represented the brand in Madrid for the last two years, he has become part & parcel of Victor Pallas promotional & player pack, although with a career behind the decks that has seen him play for brands such as A:M, Beyond, A:M, Later, Matinee, Salvation, SuperMartXe & UP, while a multitude of venues across the capital have played witness to his magnificent music, his long standing friendship with fellow Swede Per QX manifesting mounds of magical memories from the Barcode days as well as a recent appearance for Per’s party Gutterslut.
But the D’Johnny sound story stretches much further afield, he having played out in countries across the near continent, city stop offs including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris & Rome, while Egypt, Ibiza, Israel, Miami, New York, Rio, Shanghai & Sydney all mean that his music has been much marvelled across the globe. That aside, D’Johnny hit the club promotions trail a few months ago, masterminding the re-launch of iconic underground club brand, Detox, and while to received a mixed reception on its first outing, the second showing was much stronger which has set it on a capital clubbing circuit calendar return in the early New Year. All that aside, having moved from the capital a couple of years ago, from his base in Berlin, D’Johnny also dips his toe into the recording studio from time to time, many of the podcasts produced re-pressings of his performances at many of the clubs mentioned above, a considerable collection available through his podcast page at http://djohnny.podomatic.com/, each one symptomatic of his style of sound so well worth a listen. In addition, he has a soundcloud site where you will find two podcast pressings developed straight from the studio, “Deep Pool Mix” & “Winter Warmer Chill Deep” both accomplished & appetising additions to his live sets, so well worth adding to your collection by going to http://soundcloud.com/djohnny.
But back to last night as like his other two podium position players, to mark WE’s 2nd Anniversary, D’Johnny was asked to nominate his ultimate WE track, he plumping for his own bootleg of one of our favourite tracks from last year, the Michael Gray, Damism & Rae “You Will Remember”, here in main mix form
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkaZ__QD4CU[/youtube]
while Johnny’s version neatly samples in another favourite of ours which, for quite a while was simply known as “track 3” but was eventually revealed as the towering tune “I Really Want To Say”, one produced by the studio partnership of Etienne Ozborne & Zolton Kontes, featuring the vocals of Polina and one sure to feature in our 2012 top 40 track chart
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrTtUHmixjU[/youtube]
D’Johnny cleverly combining the two, both which have vocal infusions that seem to stamp mark the WE formula of fun through uplifting & euphoric sounds. And it went down an absolute storm last night, for us probably the highlight of this superb Swede’s set, so is a sound well worth sorting into your stack by going to his soundcloud site or by clicking on direct link http://soundcloud.com/djohnny/michael-gray-danism-rae-you.
Onto the second set showing at this WE “Formula 2” event and one we had been anticipating with accelerated excitement from the day his inclusion was announced to the actual day of his appearance, the pressing of a specially devoted podcast only serving to heighten the unbelievable build up & emotional entrapment that had completely consumed us. Indeed, it would be fair to say that 2012, musically & otherwise, has been dominated by one Steve Pitron, a towering talent for whom we have been following for a over a baker’s dozen of years, the early days bookmarked by our weekly cavorting to his magnificent music at uber cool underground club Crash, while more latterly it is Beyond for which we are indelibly linked, the connection between us on our spot & him in the D.J. something quite unique & special. But Steve’s gig repertoire is much more varied & extensive than that, the likes of Horizon, Juicy, Matinee, Orange, PLAY>TIME, PSP, Room Service & SuperMartXe among others, he having pretty much been at the top of his game since making the short switch from homeland Essex to London, the crowds reactions to his sets, his popularity among party heads & his solid reputation for always coming up with the goods, lifting a drab party & commanding a fabulous following incomparable with any other D.J. on the capitals clubbing circuit we could wish to mention.
But as much as Steve’s live sets are nothing short of scintillating each & every time he plays, without exception, it is his podcast productions, particularly this year, that attract amazing attention, the walls of social networking sites lighting up with fevered activity as either the anticipation of or the actual release of his podcasts make headline house music news. Indeed, like that fabulous following the download figures on his productions speak volumes more than any other, “Jan 2012” for example attaining a number exceeding 63,000, while the following three releases combined with the former exceed 178,000, this from a podiatric database he was forced to build from scratch last year, previous numbers way in excess of this. However, while each & every Pitron podcast production mesmerises us with its magical music, his mixing simply sensational & seamless, it is this “WE Formula 2” compilation that has, unequivocally comprehensively consumed us since its release on 18th November, this towering twenty one track triumph erupting our emotions, tumbling our tears & shivering our spine with its spectacular sound selections with the same magnitude now, some fifteen days down the line. With a stunning remix of “Symphony”, the scintillation of “Strange Fruit”, the magic of “Murder The Dancefloor” & the soaring “Stand Alone” showing a deep & delirious size to Steve’s sounds, the balances it beautifully with uplifting vocal tracks that engulf our emotions, “Finally I”, “Can’t Stop Me”, “Naturally” & “Let The Sunshine” right up there, while there are two which are something extra special which we will come to shortly, this masterful mix an absolute must addition to your collection by hitting on his podcast page http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com/ & heading for the download button.
But we haven’t talked about his set last night yet and while we were expecting a prolific performance we could never have imagined just how incredible it would be, Steve sending the crowd senseless from the start, racing off his own starting grid position like Sebastian Vettel, “hitting them with “Somebody I Used To Know” as we sped to our privileged position on the stage, our arrival simultaneously hitting us with the realisation that, after all the anticipation of the previous weeks, it was actually happening. So as tracks unfolded, our tears tumbled like never before, “Timebomb”, “Can’t Stop Me”, “To The Moon & Back” & a 2012 remix of “Gotta Be You” all having the same effect. But the best (how could it get better) was yet to come as, out of the blue came “Not Alone” the DHP dance dream featuring the vocals of Sunday Girl given the terrific remix treatment by Taito Tikaro, along with studio partner Flavio Zarzi
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbESoQ_tWI8[/youtube]
the first of those two extra special tracks from Mr Pitron’s podcast we deluded to. Indeed, with Taito having ascended in our estimations beyond belief this year, “Lady Luck”, “Lift Me Up” & My World” three exceptional examples of this truly dynamic D.J./Producer’s wonderful work, while “Not Alone” is without doubt off the scale in comparison. However, we were to be hit by another heavenly house hit that, until the production of this WE podcast, was heading for a top three spot in our Y.E. chart, Nero’s “Must Be The Feeling given the Funkagenda remix treatment,
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1p3UvQrXQE[/youtube]
and one that may still make it in, despite the stiff competition. However, there would be one track that would dominate Steve spectacular set and it was the one he selected when asked to name his ultimate WE track, he saying of “Beautiful Lie” in Keemo re-release format, featuring the vocals of Cosmo Klein, “…I think it is great for WE, a quality cover version of the Yaov classic from a few years ago and I cannot wait to play it…”, his choice of the Dick-Ray remix
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaQIss9iGqs[/youtube]
that second extra special track selection from his WE podcast and one that totally stopped us in our tracks with its brilliance when we first heard it two weeks. And as you can imagine it has erupted our emotions ever since, not least on stage with Steve last night and has every chance of wrestling that Y.E. chart topping spot from the equally emotionally enthralling “Take Me Higher”.
So that was Steve’s set but there was another podium position contender in The Coronet “Formula 2” anniversary event circuit last night and it was Spanish superstar Carlos Gallardo, without doubt the D.J. face of WE both home & abroad, having been on board since the brand launched in December 2010, he in the thick of the action at the first “A New Formula” outing here in London. But having been fortunate to see Carlos play in Barcelona for WE, as well as here in the capital, we can also count ourselves extremely honoured to have made a connection with him & his marvellous music at a number of WE events this year, “Safari” a purple patch moment in time when we dived into an impromptu “doing the Disco Matt” dance with him on stage, while subsequent showings have seen us support his sets from the stage, he always appreciative of our encouragement and actually admirably modest when it comes to his stature & standing with WE. But we have said before and will say again, no WE party is quite the same without him, his set showing at “Formula 2” akin to Fernando Alonso’s 2012 grand prix season, brilliance, character, consistency, excellence, exuberance & flair, all words to exemplify what was a solid & sterling set that captivated the capacity crowd from start to finish, cementing Carlos as a capital & Coronet clubbing crowd favourite.
His set showing yesterday aside, Mr Gallardo flies the WE flag fabulously, being an intrinsic ingredient in their “On Tour” programme, while he is known right across his homeland Spain, particularly the Balearics, his involvement with radio show, Clubbing Is Moving, having made him a household airwave name with many and from which he has laid down a series of compilations, currently extending to thirteen. And while his recording studio activity is generally centred around track production, through his Mixcloud site, Carlos, in addition to the above series, has composed another series of “World Tour Sessions” the first inspired by his trip to London for WE “Fast Food”, while Mexico & Tel Aviv are two other destinations in Carlos’s globetrotting that have been captured in compilations, the latter marking his gig alongside the D.J. darling of Israeli’s, Offer Nissam, each & every one worthy additions to your collection by heading to http://mixcloud.com/djcarlosgallardo/. But the podcast picture doesn’t end there, as there is a minicast out there from WE “Candy” the theme that set a significant standard that subsequent parties have aimed themselves at, one still available at http://wepartylondon.podomatic.com/player/web/2011-05-16T06_26_59-07_00, while before they days of WE, club promoter Logan Schmitz featured Carlos on a couple of his “Presents” podcasts, marking his appearances for SuperMartXe.
But what of those tracks?, well, while there had been a host of track productions before it, the one that would really put Carlos on the production podium, especially in terms of WE, was “We (Eloise)”, a track adopted by the brand as its original anthem for the “A New Formula” launch & successive parties into 2011, Mr Gallardo employing the vocal services of Bobby Alexander for the 2010 release
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOnM2-Y0qMU[/youtube]
although it would be PA Peyton that would perform the track at WE parties across the “on tour” programme, his performance at “Attacks” in London on NYD 2011 probably the singular best we have seen at any club or event EVER, that is how good it was. And this impromptu collaboration has since led to a number of projects between the two, the first full-on track production being “Let It Go”, while it would be the latest recording creation that our Mr Gallardo would name as his ultimate WE track, “Desert Rose” having centred stage his set last night
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XElpyvkY2s[/youtube]
and one sure to signal further collaborations between the two. But if we were to choose our ultimate Carlos Gallardo track, it would be the superbly spectacular “Feel It Inside” which, for us, shouts his Spanish roots from every orifice and with the vocals of diva icon Rebeka Brown making this a tune worthy of our Y.E. top 40 track chart rundown, although as fabulous it is, it does face some stiff competition, 2012 having been a great year for music, particular from Spain, Carlos very much in the hunting pack of prolific Espaniol players.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAinI_VxzzU[/youtube]
So, that’s it for our special feature on our WE podium position pick of players, three marvellous men whose set performances were a pleasure to behold and who certainly proved to us that, in their heavenly house hits hands, Music Is The Answer! (DISCO MATT)
