EPISODE 104: Parafernalia – Erotize Me (Bonzai Elemental)

In 1973, after my mother passed away, I held my first guitar. I had never played guitar before but could play Fur Elise instantly. After that I had classical guitar lessons until I was twelve years old. During this period I got interested in fx-equipment and synthesizers. In 1980 I met Rasta Robert with his home studio.

In that studio he had some drum boxes, a Korg MS-20 synthesizer, guitars, percussion and some microphones. We used a 2-track recorder en pingponged all overdubs. In those days I listened to producers like Lee Perry, Henry Junjo Lawes, Chris Blackwell, Steve Hillage and more. Dub engineers like King Tubby, Scientist and other founders of the dub, gave me the feeling you needed very little equipment to achieve a lot. Eventually I started producing in an 8-track studio in a youth centre (Poort van Kleef, working together with Sander Kleinenberg) and I joined many reggae bands as a mixer when they performed live. I also composed music for some pop and reggae bands. From 1986 until 1993 electronic music became increasingly popular and important and the studio joined this digital revolution in 1991. I started working together with a computer freak who could do things on a Atari 24 ST that at that time amazed people. Later on I worked together with him on several productions including some work for Top Sound studio and the Harrow studio. In 1993 our team was reinforced by a dj from Rotterdam named Ricky the Dragon.

Rick and I had worked together for Stealth Records; Dance (h)all night EP. We also did some productions for among others DJ Raymond Heg and Sander Kleinenberg (Wonka). Eventually the youth centre was closed in 1994 and everyone went their separate ways. In the year 2000 in my own studio Raymond Heg and I made the EPs Dub U Always and Dark Dub for Wally’s Grooveworld and Babe Records. Within a short period of time my cooperation with DJ Thorin and Roelie van Lingen joined the MTR concept. We started the Promusic foundation to help people do more with music then only bedroom performances.

Thorin van Gelden

Thorin born on 7 October 1977 in Goirle, a small village near Tilburg. He didnt stay there for long. At the age of 1 year he moved to Almelo which is a medium city in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Thorin grew up in a musical family, uncles who play guitar, Drums and many other instruments, aunts who sing lets say it is all in the family. Almost everyone in the family is doing something with music. His father played in several bands some with guitar and others with percussion.

At a young age thorin got connected with music, influences from bands like Deep Purple, the Doors, Pink Floyd. Thorins taste of music is very wide from soul to funky stuff to modern music. In 1992, some friends introduced Thorin into house music nowadays so called oldskool house. While partying a lot Thorin got interested in DJing. He bought some turntables and started to learn mixing 12″ records. After 6 months he controlled dj basics. Buying records and records and getting more DJ skills. He also got interested in producing his own music, lucky for him he got in contact with an old friend from his father. That friend started with producing in the early 80s. Maurice learned Thorin the basics of Producing, Maurice already had released some music on different labels and did some things together with Sander Kleinenberg in the early 90s. He was also Sander Ks first Sound/Audio engineer. In 1996 Thorin switched from the hardcore house scene to nice and chill Progressive House music.

In 2003 Thorin and Maurice started producing together and while doing some social projects they had to start some kind of Production Company. So in 2006 the Promusic Foundation started. 2 cds released in 6 months working on a third, stichting Promusic got more projects and work than expected. With that reason Thorin decided to take a break with DJing and focus more on Promusic.

Now in 2007 Thorin picked up DJing again and started focus more on his own style of producing. Thorin bought a house and started investing more in a new studio. With a stable home base we can expect a lot in 2007.

2008, Thorin decided to stop buying vinyl and switch to digital mixing. He updated his home studio bought some new equipment and switched over to Traktor scratch with the time coded vinyl. Meanwhile several tracks got signed and released at different labels around the globe including: Reticent Recordings USA, Bit Records Mexico and Bellarine Records Australia. Thorin is working on some remix projects together with some friends in the States (Zodiacal Light, And3rsun and Dax Wadley) which will be 2 EPs.

2009, Thorin started to focus on releasing music at BonzaiMusic only. Thanks to his buddy from LagoVista in Texas the one and only And3rsun aka Wilder who he met in 2002 at the online radio station PureDJ.com he got his first release on Bonzai Music in January 2009. Meanwhile Thorin started to grow inside BonzaiMusic, being added to the dj roster of Bonzaimusics bookings agency and releasing more and more on BonzaiMusic and its sub labels.

2010, Thorin joined with the second release of Bonzai Musics R3mixed project which was a remix of the well known long time no1 dj Tiesto and his first release ever -The Tube-. Also Thorins side project with Maurice ten Brink -Parafernalia- joined Bonzai Music and their first release was a down tempo single on Bonzai Elemental. More remixes from Thorin will be soon available on Bonzai Music. The second remix job for R3mixed was a track from another trance god -Airwave- and his Above the Sky track. 2010 will be a promising year with a lot of Thorin and Parafernalia original works and remixes.

EPISODE 105: Ittai Barkai – No One Smarter Than You (Eyepatch Recordings)

Fast rewind a few years back and you’ll find Ittai gently leaning towards a turntable, headphones on, listening to music. May it be African chorals, early techno or the Beatles, it all lay side by side on the long & endless shelves of musical ideas.
Years have passed and the magic is cautiously blended into know how – Amplifiers and compressors, Drum arrangements and notes, Cutoffs and wavetables all put together side by side to reproduce and recur similar musical ideas.
After producing music for the World Wildlife Foundation and other soundtrack projects, Ittai is lately focused on producing simple yet aesthetic electronic tracks well aimed at both home listeners and club DJ’s.

EPISODE 106: Dimitry Liss – Envy EP (Eyepatch Recordings)

Dimitry Liss, was born on the 18th day of December 1985 in the city of Vladivostok, Russia. Soon after he relocated to Tyumen, Siberian City where he spend the first 15 years of his life. Music and sports were the only activities that kept him going in the oil- rigged city.

At home his father was his main influence and shaped his perception of music. Dad was deeply rooted in good old school rock, in the likes of Beatles, Nazareth, CCR, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne. Didn’t take long for Dimitry to pick up the tennis racket and rock on at the tender age of 4. In addition, his mother’s friend was a piano teacher who started tutoring young Dimitry from an early age, which initially was perceived as hardworking and difficult – became easy and interesting. Sports was his little sanctuary, where the body exercised and the mind relaxed, composing a flow of ideas that later on grew more complex.
The year was 2002, Dubai was the new city that would in turn add to his aural perception. In the United Arab Emirates he completed high school; in a poly-cultural environment were music, culture and technology coincide hand in hand. His younger brother formed a metal-band soon after Dimitry joined him to express their ideas, in a more sophisticated level. Rhythm guitar intrigued Dimitry and still does to this day. The band has composed over 20 original pieces over the last years, with tastes of heavy metal, brutal death, melodic and the like and now more diverse and stronger than ever.

After school Dimitry set off to Prague to study business, however his journey was cut short. Within a year his passion guided him to follow another path. In 2006, back to square one, he joined an audio engineering school in Dubai. Where he successfully completing his audio engineering degree in 2007 and was honored with a bachelor’s degree in Arts. The educational experience equipped him with several valuable tools; and his perception of music grew immensely. Now being able to put each and every one of his ideas on canvas.

In this educational journey, he met his co-producer artist, Costas Papa. Although Costas was heavily influenced from house, trance and techno; at some level they had similar visions. This gave birth to the Dimitry Liss & Costas Papa “coalition”, formed in 2007 to serve the global community with quality electronic music. Although the project is like a new born baby, it has crawled into several leading indie labels such as Bit Records Mexico, Xela Recordings, Stranamente Records, Total Wipes, Reticent Recordings to name a few. However, Dimitry did not stop there as in early 2009 he ventured to explore the music world in his solo career by signing with few more major underground labels like Frisky Records and Balkan Connection South America Records.

Currently Dimitry Liss supports electronic music, he is heavily involved with Dimitry Liss & Costas Papa duo project and his own work as a producer and a DJ, crafting brand new progressive, tech, deep, minimal house tracks for your enjoyment.

EPISODE 107: Lucio Grandi – Babilonia EP (Bonzai Basiks)

Lucio Grandi was born in Cali, Colombia on August 5, 1984, with Colombian, French and Italian roots.
His first contact with electronic music happens a the sweet age of 6 when Dance and House music hit the local radios. Intense happiness filled him listening to these tunes. Not long before he starts experimenting with recording tunes and making his own mixtapes.

Ten years later after learning how to mix properly on turn-tables he starts his carrier as a professional DJ playing Techno and listening to DJs like Marco Carola, Ben Sims, Cristian Varela, Jeff Mills, Samuel L Session. He filled his DJ-bag with the dark sounds of strong Techno.

But only 2 years later he finds himself tired of that sound and starts the search of his very own musical identity. DJs like Danny Tenaglia, Vibe, Victor Calderone, Carlos Manaca, Richie Santana convince him that Tribal is his call.

Still not satisfied he ends up to adapt House and Alternative Music into his sets and this turns out to be his true self. Influenced by names like Silicone Soul, Peace Division, Little Louie Vega, Armand Van Helden, Harry Romero, Alton Miller , Afrika Bambaataa gave him the needed diversification and shades in tones that this genre contains.

Actually, it is that variation, that diversification that House Music offers that marks his identity as a DJ because he can choose between one side or the other, achieving a more intense atmosphere in his sets.

He has played along with DJs like Franco de Mulero, Jose Viscaya, Malambo, Lexx, Chile, Chloe Harris of London and with David Guetta in 2009 after winning the first DJ contest of his hometown.

He has played in Mission Club, Cooseres, La Cantera, Joan of Arc, Central Valley Pacific events, private parties, etc.

Today he finds himself as a DJ and producer to be part of the infamous Bonzai label group. Convinced of their professionalism and way of working he finds his tracks released on Bonzai Basiks.
This is for Lucio the fulfillment of a dream as he always had wanted to be part of this label.

EPISODE 108: Rishi K. – Long Distance (Green Martian)

For the last 13 years, Rishi has been extremely passionate about electronic music in one form or another. Since moving to San Francisco 2 years ago he has DJ’d at several venues such as Supperclub, Apartment 24, and Project One as well as hosted his own event brining some of the hottest Bay Area trance DJs together.

Although still relatively new to the electronic music scene, Rishi has put in hundreds of hours behind the decks already, recording his weekly mixes in multiple genres which can be accessed at www.djrish.podomatic.com.
Rishi is a versatile and stylish DJ, and plays many different genres including tribal, house, progressive house and trance. His love for each of these genres is equal.

He has recently begun producing music and has been working feverishly over the last few months on many different styles. July 2011 saw the release of his first EP on Colombian Records and release on Aenaria Tribal. Since then he has released on prestigeous labels such as System Recordings, TheSounds, Spring Tube Recordings, Green Martian and others. He continues to release quality tracks so expect to hear much more from him in the coming months.
. His passion for productions range from deep and classy sounds, to tribal, to tech house, and more.