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A true product of Manhattan’s legendary electronic scene, he has spun at many of The Big Apple’s most legendary nightclubs, including Exit, Roxy and residencies first at Crobar and now Pacha. His high-energy sets are famous for their big drums and bigger builds.

With a career that has spanned over 15 years, Boris has come to represent everything that’s right about house music. His tenure at clubs across the country is matched only by legends such as DJ Dan, Danny Tenaglia and Junior Vasquez. His producing and engineering skills are the crème de la crème in any group of musicians. Boris has worked with a who’s who of music industry mega stars including Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott, Jewel, Pink, Brandy, Usher, Brittney Spears, New Order, Boys to Men, 98 Degrees, Mya, Shania Twain, Salt-n-Peppa, Cindy Lauper, Jordan Knight and numerous others. With a list like that, there isn’t much more that needs to be said.

Bio

The rich heritage of New York nightlife is focused on the figure of the resident DJ: The homegrown jock that puts down roots in a single venue, bonds with its crowd, and explores the limits of a DJ set with his faithful. The DJs who flourish in this demanding environment go on to become folk heroes, not only in New York, but all over the world (see Larry Levan, Danny Tenaglia, Junior Vasquez).

DJ Boris started his ascension to these ranks in 2004, when the native of St. Petersburg, Russia took up residence at New York super club Crobar. It was the culmination of years of workhorse gigging at almost every club across the Big Apple. But it was more than that too: It was a movement that has shown no signs of fading.

Boris (birth name: Boris Inzhin) started moonlighting as a DJ while taking classes at the Institute Of Audio Research in New York. With a metronomic mixing ability and a penchant for expansive, groove-based power-house music, the jock quickly found work both in DJ and production booths, playing at clubs like Exit, and Roxy, and remixing artists like Janet Jackson, Jewel and Gloria Estefan. In 2002, his mix of Pink’s “Get This Party Started” hit No.1 on the Billboard Hot Club Play chart.

His relentless approach to bring his cult of followers the best sound and experience possible has taken his production to even greater heights. Powerhouse industry labels like *69 Records, and Stereo Productions have wasted no time in signing Boris projects to their labels. Dancefloor missiles like “Automatic,” “Everybody Tweakin’,” “Lights Go Out,” and Lisa Pure’s “Movin On” have been embraced by a culture of beat aficionados, in and out of the many clubs DJ Boris has grown to call home.

And if home is where your heart is then Boris must be endowed with a heart the size of North America. His movement has rewarded him with residencies in every major city. Now a regular on the city’s club circuit, the name of Boris started to become associated with unapologetically massive music: big drums, big riffs, huge build-ups and lots of energy. Propelled by the promise of a great party experience and by a growing affection for the approachable DJ and his humble manner, his crowd swelled. By the time Boris debuted at mega club Crobar in May 2004, his faithful numbered in the thousands, united under a spontaneously created banner: “Believe in Boris.” Boys stamped it on their T-shirts in masking tape, girls Sharpied it on their flesh, and eventually Crobar flashed it on their video screens: A battle cry for a clubber’s revolution.

While at Crobar, Boris set the 30,000-square-foot club’s attendance record (a swinging-from-the-rafters 5,400), released his first mixed compilation (aptly titled “Believe”), and started to gig regularly outside of NYC, in markets like Miami, and Las Vegas. In 2006, when it became apparent that Crobar would close, Boris uprooted and moved his crowd 20 blocks north to Pacha New York, the first North American branch of the fabled European club brand, without missing a beat. He is still a Pacha resident.

Boris’ faithful service to the clubbers of New York has been rewarded with two Club World Award “Best Resident DJ” nominations (one while at Crobar, and one while at Pacha), a DJ Times cover story, a top 5 finish in the national America’s Best DJ fan poll, and a new residency at super club Space in Miami. Add this to the already accomplished residencies he holds at Rise in Boston, Therapy in Rhode Island, as well as his regular appearances at Ruby Skye in San Francisco, 960 in Connecticut, Deko Lounge in New Jersey. He’s also become one of the reigning kings of Winter Music Conference week, throwing massive pool parties by day and after-hours marathons by night for thousands of fans. The spoils of success have not halted his enthusiastic work ethic either. His ongoing pursuit to creatively, and musically express himself to those who adore him, has no doubtedly outgrown our own country’s limited borders. With his global campaign as New York’s premiere DJ underway, believers can be found from all corners of the planet. Venezuala, Colombia, Marrakech, Barcelona, Madrid, Ibizia, London, Montreal, Mexico, and Toronto have all been blessed with his energetically extreme beat orchestration. Boris and his team are currently planning the release of his fourth mixed compilation, and a series of European, and South American dates to compliment his tremendous ability in the studio.

So world, New York wants to know: Are you ready to believe in Boris?

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In an industry where egos are liberally polished each and every day, Markus Schulz is one of the most down-to-earth and level-headed DJs it’s possible to imagine. So while received wisdom has it that nice guys don’t finish first, this isn’t the case with the German ex-pat who now calls America his home.

And while Schulz might not like to countenance the suggestion that he deserves the sobriquet ‘the nicest man in dance music’, he readily admits that he’s one of the hardest working DJs on the circuit: one glance back at his punishing schedule for 2010 attests to that fact.

“It’s been brutal,” he laughs, “absolutely brutal. This summer I was regularly playing three times in 24 hours. When you’re planning these gigs it’s very easy to say yes, but when it gets to it, there are so many unforeseen problems: missed flights, jet lag…”

As 2010 comes to a close, Schulz is determined to be smarter next year. For one, he wants a proper holiday (“I haven’t had one for five or six years,” he concedes). However, be under no illusions, he isn’t moaning. He recognizes what a fortunate position he’s in. As such, he really does sound humble when he reels off a list of highlights for this year.

“Coldharbour [his label] getting to 100 releases was a particular high point; that kept me fuelled over the summer madness, as was the release of my new album ‘Do You Dream?’.”

He’s also optimistic about the state of his beloved trance music, pointing to the bravado of countless young DJs entering the scene as helping to keep him on his toes (“They all have so many ideas”), but also the continued versatility of producers such as Michael Woods as proof that trance can constantly reinvent itself.

So while 2011 will doubtless be more of the same – despite his avowals when it comes to planning – Schulz is in a very happy place. He’s finally come to terms with the fact that his life is exactly as it should be.

“When I look back on my life, I’ve begun to realise that everything points to this. This is what I was put on the planet to do. I used to wonder what it would have been like had I gone to university and studied law. No more, I don’t second guess anything anymore. A lot of questions have been answered this year.”

Bio

Introduction: Over the last 10 years Markus Schulz has fused the individual musical identities of progressive house & trance into his own creative and now inimitable hybrid sound. Through the unique alignment of his headline DJ sets, Coldharbour label output and highly prominent Global DJ Broadcast radio show, he orchestrated a sea change revolution in the US trance scene. This success has been singularly reflected in weekly headliner sets in front of many tens of thousands, a GDJB listenership up in the tens of millions & one Beatport chart-topping release after another. Following several highly ranked positions, in 2008 Schulz punched his way into the Top 10 of DJ Magazine’s Top 100 chart, landing at no.8. In repeating the exact same achievement in 2009, he now stands, quite unequivocally, as America’s no.1 club DJ.

Early History: Born in Eschwege, central Germany, Markus emigrated to the United States. Age 13, his dance music awakening came during the grip of the country’s then-exploding breakdance scene. His early production and DJ career roughly tracked that of the Stateside 2nd coming of House and he caught his first production break in 1993 when he remixed Sagat’s ‘Why Is It? (F** Dat)’ for FFrr. Markus’ freshman production release followed in 1994 with the 6-track-strong ‘Plastik Trax EP Vol 1’. Throughout the mid to late Nineties he continued to pull in early acclaim with a range of releases on numerous US luminary labels. In 1998 he recorded ‘You Won’t See Me Cry’ for Plastik Records (his first label), a release which was picked up by Eve Records for the UK. This became Markus’ first international calling card… The world had started to tune in.

Markus Schulz – The DJ: Through his natural audience affinity, flawless (and seemingly effortless) mixing and innate tune selection, he has wowed crowds in pretty much every major district, principality and metropolis. Schulz’s DJ career has, to the greater degree, run parallel to that of his productions. In the early Noughties, having fixed focus on the hinterland between trance & progressive, he began to reach audiences further and further afield. In 2004 he was signed to the David Lewis Productions agency (also home of the World’s No.1 DJ Armin van Buuren) and his career took another big step forward. Now a regular fixture at the world’s biggest & most famous clubs, arenas and festivals, he lays down his unique trance-progressive vision on a weekly basis. In Europe, he’s smashed Trance Energy, Nature One & Dance Valley, worked tent-pegs loose at Creamfields & Global Gathering and brought gridlock to the Love Parade. Stateside the colossal Electric Daisy & Ultra Festivals have both felt the Schulz pressure and yet further afield still he’s induced floor upheaval in China and Australia (most recently at the Future Music Festival). After several significant showings in the Top 100 DJs chart, he now ranks as one of the top 10 DJs in the world and in 2008 was voted Best American DJ at the IDMAs.

Coldharbour Recordings: Schulz’s sound notably came quickest to the ears of continental European DJs. Following the formation of the Armada group in 2005, Armin sought Markus out and asked him to start compiling tracks for a new vinyl series. The Coldharbour Sessions EPs launched in 2004 (with the first 3 releases coming out on the already established Electronic Elements label). In quick succession they began to leave crater-like impacts on dancefloors and within 12 months Coldharbour the label was born. Named after Markus’ then-production base in London’s Coldharbour Lane, its output immediately brought a new fission sound to Armada. It also became a lightning rod for a new generation of prog-inclined producers – setting in motion the careers of (amongst others) Santiago Nino, Rex Mundi, Mark Otten & Niklas Harding. With 2005 under the spell of Coldharbour’s more sophisticated, minimal, but still melodic take on the prog-trance sound, Markus struck again with the first Coldharbour Sessions mix compilation. Such has been the success of the imprint that in 2007 it was joined by a sub-label, Coldharbour Red. This, in turn, was a launch pad for Marcus Schössow, tyDi, Glenn Morrison & Evol Waves and was the point of re-entry for early Schulz side-project, Dakota (see Dakota section below). Six years after its birth, in 2010, Coldharbour stands at the top tier of the world’s trance & progressive labels and stands on the threshold of its 100th release.

M.S. Productions 2005 – 2010: Perfectly intersecting the quality/quantity axis, Markus’ own productions have been the most fundamental of components in marshalling clubbers and music lovers to his sound. Over the course of the last half-decade tracks like ‘First Time’ & ‘Without You Near’ (2005), ‘Fly To Colours’, ‘Never Be The Same’ & ‘I Am’ (2007) ‘Perfect’ & ‘Cause You Know’ (2008) & most recently ‘The New World’ & ‘Do You Dream’ have each played their vital part. Markus is also a keen production collaborator. In 2005 he famously teamed up with likeminded producers Gabriel & Dresden and Departure for ‘Without You Near’ and in mid-2008 did the same with Andy Moor on ‘Daydream’ and most recently on ‘Goodbye’ with Max Graham. The impact of all the singles has been cauterized by his studio albums ‘Without You Near’ (2005), ‘Progression’ (2007). In February 2010, Schulz completed recording his third long-player, ‘Do You Dream?’, which is scheduled for release in June 2010.

The Global DJ Broadcast show: Now in its fifth year Schulz’s GDJB has continued to be a beacon for an always-growing throng of trance & progressive dance fans. Broadcast through leading station DI.fm and Sirius/XM satellite, the Global DJ Broadcast site and 50+ other FM stations around the planet, it has become every bit required listening for the EDM-savvy. Based on a regular format, the first show of each month is a two hour long mix from one of Schulz’s rolling World Tour gigs – ones that have of late included Medellin, Columbia, St Petersberg, Russia & Amnesia in Ibiza. Subsequent shows in the month feature Markus mixing his broad-span pick of the current electronic dance music best for an hour (which includes the forum-voted Global Selection track of the week) followed by guest mixes from both established and up-and-coming DJs.

Markus Schulz – The City Albums:Markus is also responsible for one of the longest running and most respected compilation album series in trance history. Kicking off in 2005 in Miami, its city-hopping concept has gone on to spotlight Ibiza in ’06, Amsterdam in ’08, & Toronto in ’09. Most recently he homed in on Las Vegas for an album that Mixmag said: “managed the rarity of living up to the hype” and “ranked as his best yet”). Providing a microcosmic view of his sound, they have become cornerstones for fans CD & mp3 collections, with each new travelogue edition bringing in a fresh wave of supporters. Notably, the Amsterdam ’08 release was nominated for an IDMA award for Best Full Length DJ Mix (in the same year that Markus took home the trophy for Best American DJ).

Remixes: Markus powered into remix action in the early 90s with a 30+ volley of high-profile reworks. Over the course of the decade he re-tooled the production works of Euro dominators like The Real McCoy & Technotronic, house masters & divas Armand van Helden & Liz Torres, legendary Nineties icons RuPaul, Bette Midler & Sandra Bernhard and fully-fledged A-listers like Madonna. As the Millennium arrived though he began to work on deeper, more intrinsically electronic dance fare… In 2000 he remixed trance innovator Pablo Gargano’s ‘Absolution’, PQM’s Renaissance classic ‘The Flying Song’ and Fatboy Slim’s ‘Sunset (Bird of Prey). Satisfied that he’d found the right dance strata to focus on Markus has gone on to rewire tracks by Oceanlab, Motorcycle, Dance 2 Trance, Cosmic Gate, Nalin & Kane, Kyau & Albert, John O’Callaghan, & Space Manoeuvres amongst many, many others.

Markus Schulz aka: Dakota: Markus has only made rare use of pseudonyms through his career – seeing them as being only valuable if they represent an outlet for something other than his ‘regular’ output. At the turn of the last decade Schulz released 3 tracks (‘Swirl’, ‘Frozen’ & ‘Lost in Brixton’) under the moniker Dakota. Over time these became focal points for the year-on-year exponential intake of new fans. In 2009 Schulz paid dividend to that by resurrecting the guise, updating its sound and directed his attentions on a whole album of new Dakota material. ‘Thoughts Become Things’ was the end product and with it came a route diversion that went into a new valley-deep sound – one that expanded to embrace the fringes of techno, house and other sub-genres. It once again fortified the Schulz’s fanbase and expanded the range of DJ support for his music. The album has thus far justified 7 single releases that have included particular fan-favourites ‘Chinook’, ‘Johnny the Fox’, ‘Koolhaus’ & ‘Mr Cappuccino’.

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There are many things that keep Argentina’s greatest prog export on his toes, despite over 14 years in the business. What excites Hernan Cattaneo the most is electronic music’s forever changing forms…. He has been most excited, as of late, about his loyal following in Japan.

“I can play whatever music I want. The clubs are purely for dancing; big black boxes with great soundsystems, and I love that as a DJ.”

As well as gigs in Asia, Australia, Europe and both Americas, 2010 has also seen Cattaneo push himself as a DJ. On the second disc of his most recent mix for Renaissance back in June, he stepped outside of his usual operational framework and pleasantly surprised everyone in the process… with downtempo, 105 BPM selections. To his pleasant surprise, the fan reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

Although said slo-mo sounds are not something Cattaneo has tried in the clubs just yet, their warm reception has given the Argentine motivation to work on a studio album.

“I always wanted to do a full length but to make it strictly full of dancefloor tracks wasn’t attractive to me. Now I know people love this slower, more downtempo sound I tried on the Renaissance mix, it’s great news!”

Bio

Hernan Cattaneo’s twenty year journey through music shows no sign of slowing down over right now – anything but. From Bahrain to Belfast, Singapore to San Diego, Hernan’s love laboured travels know no bounds in their trans-continental reach with the Argentinean on a round-the-clock mission to spread his love for electronic music. Constantly absorbing new sounds, cultures and influences from the most varied outposts possible, Hernan bleeds them into as many projects as he can – be they production work, his masterpiece mix CDs ,his radio shows or forthcoming music label.

Make no mistake, Hernan is riding a creative wave right now. Recently dropping some of his most complete productions on labels like Urbantorque, he’s also stepping up his game with his new digital label which will offer a regular output for his creative visions. But for a man literally living and breathing through the scene such endeavours are simply instinctive. Put simply, for Hernan music isn’t simply an occupation – it’s an existence.

Indeed, one thing you’ll never see Hernan do is complaining. Blessed with a passion as warm and honest as his welcoming smile, Hernan’s rich journey has been rooted with an innate understanding ever since he heard imported 12”s from Frankie Knuckles, Derrick May and Inner City back in the mid 80s. Already a lover of bands like Depeche Mode and New Order, the sound at once inspired and excited Hernan with possibility. Consumed by the nascent electronic energies of Chicago, Detroit and further a field in Europe, Hernan was driven to express his passions for these sounds through DJing and soon earned a cult residency at Buenos Aires Clubland.

The epi-central club of a burgeoning Argentinean dance scene, it is here at the legendary Clubland where Cattaneo established professional respect and personal friendships with DJs like Danny Tenaglia, John Digweed and – most significantly – Perfecto boss Paul Oakenfold. Immediately impressed with Cattaneo’s impassioned genre-traversing abilities, the extent of Oakenfold’s belief in the Argentinean was as obvious as it was instant. Just months later Cattaneo was invited to join Oakenfold on a European wide Perfecto tour.

With the window of global opportunity opened, the Argentinean ambassador impressed at every turn. Club giants Cream soon secured him their South American resident and were impressed enough to install him as international resident at Cream Liverpool. Rapidly gaining a taste and skill for the larger stage, Hernan doubled with appearances at festivals like Nevada’s legendary Burning Man as well as key debuts at European institutions like Homelands, Bedrock, Pacha and Fabric. By the time, Hernan had mixed Perfecto’s first international mix CD –South America volume – he was confirmed as one of those rare DJs able to their art in an adventure through sound – each individual set a true journey through varying genres, sounds and emotions.

Both a true DJs DJ and a peoples’ favourite, Hernan’s popularity spiralled within the new Millennium and his efforts were rewarded with festival sets at Creamfields, Homelands and Clapham Common festival in 2001. Always looking forward, the music lover soon turned his hands to production with a stream of deep, carefully crafted releases on Perfecto including collaborations with Cass and Mangan before his remix for Morgan Page courted vinyl release on John Digweed’s standard bearing Bedrock imprint. Since Hernan’s visions have explored productions many different territories, each one has been a further step on his journey through music. As a remixer labels like Deep Dish’s Yoshitoshi, Ministry of Sound and Renaissance have all called upon Hernan magic touch.

As a DJ, the most lasting documents of Hernan’s unique ability to weave stories from sounds are his many CD outings for the legendary Renaissance too. Back in 2005, it spoke volumes on Hernan’s rising stock that he was hand-picked to succeed DJ legends like John Digweed, Deep Dish and Sasha on the aptly named Masters series. But far from sitting in the shadows of his predecessors, Hernan seized the opportunity to mark himself out as a legend in his own right. Widely loved and acclaimed, his individual mix shifted seamlessly through genres and was coloured with both the rich seam of melody and lush lulling groove that his fans have come to love and know him for.

A second seamless Masters volume followed in 2006 before Hernan embarked on his own individual Renaissance series named Sequential. For many, it is here where the Argentinean ambassador truly came into his own with a mix that was as deeply international as his own ceaseless tour diary. Uniting seductive international electronic sounds from across the globe – including Belgium, Slovenia, Norway and Poland to name just a few – Cattaneo created a timeless mix CD so carefully constructed and considered that it sits and fits perfectly to this day. It was followed by another faultless Sequential in 2007.
But as much as his CDs provide a perfect snapshot, it’s that human connection that drives Cattaeno further through music. And whether he’s taking crowd on an epic journey at festivals like Coachella, Exit and Creamfields or getting down to some honest house grooves at Def Mix’s institutional night at Pacha Ibiza, he is able to be inspired and inspire in equal measure.

Indeed, as long as he’s playing the music he loves, you can be sure of three things; that he’ll be happy in whichever corner of the globe he finds himself and that those on the dancefloor are in for some special.

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