Ahead of a weekend of partying in Paris which will include a reunion with our Parisian pal, we couldn’t think of a better bloke to lavish a special music feature on than the one, the only Leomeo, this dynamic D.J. & prolific producer hardly ever out of the scene spotlight, a succession of recent sets & podcasts along with an inspiring interview the driving force behind this our first focus delivery of 2014.
When it comes to worldwide acclimation, Parisian based D.J./Producer Leomeo Carandang (better known simply as Leomeo) pretty much has it in the bag, not one corner of the globe untouched by his musical magnificence, this amiable & handsome man boasting a career in the industry spanning over twenty years, the clubs & events he has played making for resplendent reading. And while Leomeo considers Paris as his home & France his naturalised country, his Asian roots combined with his penchant for travel, sees the vast majority of his weekends traversing the continents of the clubbing circuit fulfilling one of the most hectic schedules of any D.J. we know, covering virtually every country in Europe, regular trips back to his native Asia, Singapore especially, tours of duty to the America’s, both north & south, as well as the African sub-continent, a recent visit to South Africa where he played to packed crowds in both Johannesburg & Cape Town.
With major brands craving for Leomeo’s services, his impressive C.V. of clubs includes massive global group Matinee, for whom he represents their major parties in both Paris & Barcelona, while NYC based but worldwide exposed Hustlaball has seen him star at smash events in Brussels & London for a handful of years now, while other regular highlights include Splash in Rome, XXX in Frankfurt & Propaganda in Moscow, as well Room Service & Lovechild in London, all this on top of regular appearances on the French Riviera for Glam, a roving residency for Fun House in Amsterdam and bookings across at the world renowned Fly in Toronto. But with a list of club appearances that would surely make many of his compatriots envious of his pronounced presence & popularity across the global scene, it is the festivals he has racked up that are the most impressive, biggies that include Circuit in Barcelona, Arena & Riviera In Mexico, Gay pride events in Madrid & London, gigs throughout the hugely popular Ibiza season for the like of Space, Café Ole and, of course, Matinee.
However Leomeo’s studio accomplishments are every bit as noteworthy, he managing to pack in regular week day sessions with his hectic live gig schedule, he constantly working on track remixes, mash-up’s & private edits to compliment & include in his live performances, while his discography is pretty impressive too. With huge worldwide hits including “The Sound of C”, “Give Me Love”, Do U Feel It” & “The Bomb” having been snapped up for remixing by a whole host of artists & fellow D.J.’s, there is no doubting this man’s terrific talent in music production, while with his style traversing genres that include tribal, tech, uplifting, vocal & progressive, his ability to switch from one to the other to suit the mood of the moment a major asset and a major reason why his services are in such demand. Indeed, despite his non-stop schedule he remains no slouch when it comes to podcast productions either, two releases racked up this month alone, while he has new track productions already in the 2014 pipeline including a special collaboration with a rising Parisian vocalist star, the product of which is set to take the dance music scene by storm.
But it’s those podcasts that we focus on for now, looking back into 2013 and spotlighting sets for the phenomenal Paradisio festival, preceded by his stunning showing for Matinee La-Leche in Paris, both exceptional examples of this prolific player at his live performance best, as is his WE Party players pressing from August/September, while the more recently released pressing of his New Year’s Eve set spin for Glam Club in Nice is right up there with the other two, exemplifying Leomeo’s skill in playing both to the crowd, the moment & the mood. However, we find particular favour with his podcast productions pressed away from the dancefloor, ones that bookmark his expeditions around the globe, being the trotter that he is, his “Cape Town Sunset Edition” simply sublime, at least equalling his impressive “Ibiza Chilled House” session which is every bit a marvellous measure for the best Hed Kandi compilation. But it doesn’t stop there, as Leomeo has given us a fabulous preview of what we can expect come this Sunday at the “Just Dance” soiree in Paris, the podcast of the same name, together with all the others mentioned, a spotlight scroll away within his Soundcloud site at https://soundcloud.com/djleomeo.
Back to the present and 2014 has already gotten off to a splendid start for Leomeo, an inspiring interview for lifestyle blog come website “Look Book 360 Degrees”, this a taster of what is a interesting & rapturous read, “…Leomeo is internationally renowned for his capacity to give people goose bumps on the dance floor. Since the beginning of the year 2000, his mixes have been pumping vibrations into the bloodstream of respected clubbers and socialites alike! It is by far thanks to his talent and not just his good looks, that he has become one of the most important ambassadors of the global gay community…” the author adding “…his contagious energy is what makes clubbers worldwide, go-off on the dance floor. We hope that his percussion sounds and Diva voices will continue to penetrate our senses and get under our skin. That is why we interviewed DJ Leomeo for you…” the full interview out at http://lookbook360.com/2014/01/09/who-is-dj-leomeo-a-disciple-of-garage-music-a-gay-icon-or-house-visionary/. But with a schedule of gigs around the world, starting with next Sunday’s soiree in Paris, a real highlight of this year will clearly be his headline showing at Sydney’s Mardi Gras, this his second time at this fabulous & world renowned festival, his last appearance in 2010 alongside David Guetta & Carl Cox, while this year he stands out in both the Australian international line-up crowd, very much vindicating his draw & appeal.
So, life in Leomeo land couldn’t be looking better right now, while with the man & his music continuing to rock our world and thousands besides, this is surely the first of many more feature focusses to come, this prolific Parisian player & producer very much proving that, in his hands, “Music Is The Answer!” (DISCO MATT)
