On Tuesday, November 22, Nervous Records and Société Perrier will bring a night of house to Cielo. Headliner Norman Doray is coming all the way from France in celebration of his latest album, “Amsterdam to Ibiza” (out on Strictly Rhythm), following an opening performance from New York’s own Theo, who recently released “School of House” (Nervous Records).
Tickets for this Nervous Tuesday even can be purchased online until 6pm the day of the show.
We’re also offering one lucky HiFi reader a pair of tickets to the event. Enter after the jump, the contest will close on Saturday, November 19 at noon. Good luck!
This past Thursday, we stopped by Cielo for the dynamic stylings of Gilles Peterson. If the diverse audience at the venue were to serve as a representation of Gilles’ music, then it would be right on point.
Spinning both records and CDs, Gilles Peterson swung back and forth with layers of music and beats, playing with tempo as he created infusions of electric rhythms. These concoctions were all then overlayed with variations of classical music, samba, and jazzy riffs and served to the eager audiece that had gathered on that stormy night at Cielo.
Famous for hosting incredible events will stellar talent from all over the world, the folks over at Dance.Here.Now. are taking it to the next level this July 1-4 with a full fledged festival on Governor’s Island. The festival will feature big name house, trance, techno, and electro DJs, who will be taking over the island just off the southern tip of Manhattan for the entire extended Independence Day weekend.
The line-up for each day is as follows:
Friday, July 1
Dance.Here.Now., RPM, and Pacha NYC in association with Massive Event present:
☛ Paul Van Dyk (Exclusive 6-Hour Set)
Saturday July 2
Dance.Here.Now., RPM, and Pacha NYC present:
☛ Fatboy Slim
☛ James Zabiela
☛ Thomas Gandey
☛ Sleepy & Boo
Sunday, July 3
Dance.Here.Now., RPM, and Pacha NYC present:
☛ Benny Benassi
☛ Laidback Luke
☛ The Japanese Popstars
☛ JDH & Dave P
Monday, July 4
Dance.Here.Now., RPM, and Pacha NYC in association with Cielo present:
☛ Victor Calderone
☛ Nicolas Matar
☛ Nicole Moudaber
The festival is open to all those 18+. A four day pass, as well as tickets to individual days can be purchased HERE. Ticket prices include $6 round-trip ferry transportation.
One of the wonderful things about living in New York City is that on any given night of the week, you can locate a wonderful event if you’re lusting for some tunes and a dancefloor. Mondays do not need to be blue, as Francois K‘s Deep Space party at Cielo is one of the best in the city, consistently drawing not only stellar talent but also a crowd that’s nothing but pure good vibes. April 11, Deep Space celebrated 8 years with the legendary producer and DJ Joy Orbison, whose reputation for excellence only continues to grow. He is particularly known for his own forward thinking dubstep productions, with tracks such as “Hyph Mngo”, “So Derobe”, and “BRKLN CLLN” skyrocketing him to notoriety at an early age.
His set at Deep Space was outstanding in its movement through dubstep, hip-hop, techno, and acid house, without the transitions through genres ever seeming unwarranted or out of place. He dropped favorites such as Girl Unit’s “WUT’, Ramadanman’s “Glut”, and Julio Bashmore’s “Battle for Middle You” with the crowd losing their heads at every turn. He also introduced new productions, in particular a phenomenal new collaborative track with Boddika entitled “Swims” – keep your ears open for that one. When he began to mix in the highly debated track “Sicko Cell” (you know the one… “I’m the information, cocaine powder…”), the dancefloor went absolutely mental, further demonstrating through their knowledge that this crowd was truly there for the music.
Ever since I first moved to New York, Cielo has been one of my favorite nighttime destinations, not only due to the Funktion One system and sleek aesthetics, but because the artists that are booked there represent the highest standard of electronic musicianship, and they in turn draw out the best of the city’s audiophiles. This past Thursday was no exception, with Giant Step bringing Ben Watt in to make the sunken dancefloor pulsate to his particular brand of deep house. Local favorites Sleepy & Boo started the night off right with a stellar set of deep house tunes, warming up the eager crowd’s ears and bodies, as everyone quickly realized no one was leaving early that night.
Ben Watt settled in around 1am, gazing from piercing blue eyes out over the glass barrier before the DJ booth, and onto the room that was packed wall to wall with upturned faces and hands in the air. His set was exemplary of his long and successful career, as a musician, songwriter, producer, DJ, and label owner. The progression of his set and the choices he made in his track selections, while encouraging movement on the floor, was also wise and insightful, demonstrating his far-reaching understanding of music across many genres, as well as his bountiful experience in and around the industry.
It was an honor and a privilege to, if only for a few hours, cross paths with such a prolific and visionary man; an true artist in a time when so many have forgotten their integrity and let creativity and progress take a back seat to fame and financial glory. I can only hope that more artists will follow in his footsteps, and turn their careers into meaningful contributions to the development of music.
This Thursday, November 18, 2010, the next edition of Greater > Than hits Cielo, bringing quality house music to the thumping Funktion One sound system and sunken dancefloor. November’s party features Swiss producer and DJ Deetron, as well as Gorge who will be making his NYC debut, Stadenco, and resident Michael Vieira.
For the creators of the event, Greater>Than represents a focus on the new school – a commitment to bringing the most innovative and influential underground talent from across the globe into our backyard. It is a platform for the best house DJs and producers to showcase their work in the greatest city in the world, and provides a space where deep and tech house can fuse seamlessly with hints of tribal drums and afro sounds to create an atmosphere like no other. Greater > Than is an event that encourages genre crossing and experimentation to draw out the best from the music they love.
Over recent years, Sam Geiser aka Deetron has emerged as a rising star in the world of techno. His popularity as a Producer has flourished in tandem with his reputation as a dynamic three-deck DJ, and as the latter discipline has propelled him across the globe, his work for a growing roster of record labels further cemented his position as a genuine talent within the international scene. His list of musical achievements stretch back to the early nineties making up quite an impressive body of work. Deetron took up DJing in 1992, with early hip-house producers capturing his attention, causing him to transition from hip-hop to more 4/4 orientated sounds. He picked up on the now classic output of Chicago and Detroit-based electronic musicians and introduced this into the sets he was playing around his home town of Bern and further afield in Switzerland. Over the years he has honed his skills and become one of the most in-demand techno producers in the world, known for his warm style with overtones of Detroit soul.
Gorge, otherwise known as Pit Waldmann, finds his deepest roots and home base in the German metropolitan Mannheim where the legendary techno festival “Time Warp” and one of Germany’s leading clubs, the “Loft” are based. Since 2008, Nick Curly and Gorge have cooperatively been running the label “8 Bit Records”, with its sound constantly becoming more and more trendsetting in the realm of high quality deep house and tech house and some publications even mentioning the distinctive “sound of Mannheim”. With a fine mixture of shuffling groove programming and deep tech house elements, Gorge is gaining worldwide recognition, and is producing records under his own moniker and other high profiled record labels.
Stadenco started his DJ career informally at the age of 2, carrying his little red record player around to play music for anyone who would listen. From there, he explored the worlds of piano, guitar and bass, taking lessons and generally being a nuisance to his instructors. He continued his music education at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, with a focus on music production and engineering. Stadenco got bitten by the house bug when he was dragged to the now-defunct club Vinyl in NYC in early 2001. Already DJing non-edm music, he gradually transitioned to playing the quirky, dirty house and techno that he is known for today.
For those feeling a little thirsty, there will be a sponsored one hour open vodka bar from 10pm – 11pm. Admission is free before midnight with RSVP to GREATERTHAN@GMX.COM. Advanced tickets can be purchased for $10 through Resident Advisor, otherwise entry costs $20 at the door.
Check out photos from last month’s edition of Greater > Than HERE.
This Thursday, October 21, 2010, the second edition of Greater > Than hits Cielo, bringing quality house music to the thumping Funktion One sound system and sunken dancefloor. October’s party features the NYC debut of Barcelona’s Coyu, a set from the UK’s Cesar Merveille, as well as the musical stylings of resident Michael Vieira.
For the creators of the event, Greater>Than represents a focus on the new school – a commitment to bringing the most innovative and influential underground talent from across the globe into our backyard. It is a platform for the best house DJs and producers to showcase their work in the greatest city in the world, and provides a space where deep and tech house can fuse seamlessly with hints of tribal drums and afro sounds to create an atmosphere like no other. Greater > Than is an event that encourages genre crossing and experimentation to draw out the best from the music they love.
Coyu, otherwise known as, Iván Ramos, is one of the most talented artists of the current European music scene. As a DJ, Coyu is daring, eclectic and innovative – always staring at the future, living in the present and learning from the past. As the label head of Suara and Atypical Farm, and with a well-know career as musical journalist, promoter and booking agent, Coyu is a multifaceted artist who has been involved in the electronic music scene for many years. He achieved international acclaim as producer with the release of “El Baile Alemán” along his partner Edu Imbernon in Spring 2009. In 2010, he has received two Deejaymag awards, played his first gigs in North America, and is set to release some material on big labels like Get Physical, Rebirth, Noir Music, Bangbang! and Tronic.
Cesar Merveille has quickly made a name for himself with releases on Circus Company, Serialism, Safari Electronique and others, with his “Chocopop Jazz” – released under the name Cesar Maravillas – making a huge splash in 2008. Making his debut appearance on Cadenza in 2009, Cesar touched down like a cyclone with his EP Descarga (already known to clubbers as a highlight of Luciano’s recent sets), which was made in collaboration with Pablo Cahn Speyer. With residencies at T-Bar and Lo*Kee, where his colorful and upbeat sets provide a soundtrack perfectly calibrated for the feel-good hedonism of some of London’s most celebrated parties, Cesar has also gotten the chance to play in some of the hottest clubs in the UK (Fabric, the Key, Canvas), but also in Ibiza (Space), Detroit (Works) and in all of Europe (Watergate, Week End, Bar 25, Club Der Visionaere).
The party is free before 12 midnight if you RSVP below, or $20 after 12 at the door. Advanced tickets can also be purchased for $15 through Resident Advisor HERE. Each entry below will be entered to win a pair of tickets.
Last Thursday, thanks once again to Robpromotions and Benny Soto, one of the UK’s premier house DJs Riva Starr rocked Cielo’s Funktion One sound system at Dance.Here.Now., taking the enthusiastic crowd on a journey through with his ecletic mixture of beats that still stay grounded in house and techno. He had no trouble at all keeping the crowd up and moving although the hour grew late, with help from New Yorkers JDH & Dave P who kicked off the night with their set of disco and funky tinged house music.
Riva Starr was also gracious enough to answer a couple of our questions for us. Click through to find out what the talented and hardworking artist is up to, and check out the full photo gallery from the Cielo event HERE.
This Thursday, Cielo’s Dance.Here.Now. party is bringing one of the most talked about UK DJs, Riva Starr, to take over the legendary Funktion One sound system and rock the sunken dance floor with his distinctive brand of high quality and accessible house music.
Riva Starr is a name that should be very familiar to anyone with an interest in modern house music. Having shot to the top after a string of head turning releases and remixes on some of the most talked about labels, Riva Starr is quickly becoming one of the most talked about artists in the genre. What’s even more remarkable is how quickly Stefano Miele, aka Riva Starr managed to establish himself so prominently within a DJ/producer circuit that’s notoriously difficult to break into. It doesn’t hurt that Claude VonStroke and Jesse Rose, the two men who sit on top of the pile, happen to be two of his biggest fans.
Riva Starr has been producing and releasing a wide-range of sounds under different guises for the past 10 years, including 2 albums. Like all good producers he’s earned his stripes and his current status due to two things: hard work and talent. With a love of reinventing any music that inspires him, Stef created the term “Snatch!” as a way of describing his bootleg remix style of snatching and pick pocketing other music styles for his own. It’s also a play on words with the type of folk/Balkan/rock music he draws inspiration from, often carrying something of a gypsy spirit. Having given away a number of widely praised and blogged Snatch! mixes online, it wasn’t too long before some of them found their way into the DJ sets of some of the biggest names on the circuit.
Like all the great names in dance music the Riva Starr sound has become very distinctive. With fans as wide-ranging as Tiesto, Carl Cox, Ricardo Villalobos and Annie Mac, he manages to make high quality accessible house music that unites many different styles and tastes. He has always described it as “Snatch”, although his good friend Laidback Luke recently described his style as “Mezcla”, a universal Spanish word that’s used to describe a mixture of different things that seems to aptly apply to Stef’s music with his World influences and eclectic beats. He is set to release “I Was Drunk” on Virgin/Positiva on the 13th of September, and plans to release a Riva Starr EP on Snatch later this fall. Hit the jump to win two tickets and check out the official video for “I Was Drunk” Continue Reading
We are very pleased to announce a new direction in nightlife indulgence, Greater>Than, launching at Cielo August 19th. Joining us for this innovative event are two of the world’s finest producer/djs, Mendo and Crazy Larry. RSVP for FREE ADMISSION BEFORE 12…
Mendo hails from Spain, which is immediately evidenced by the latin and funk influences exuding from his rhythms. He has releases on Luciano’s Cadenza imprint along with Get Physical and VIVA as well as his own label, Clarisse Records, with his partner Chab. This man knows how to get a crowd going, spinning at the best parties across the globe including regular nights in Ibiza and Paris. We are thrilled to be a part of his NYC debut. You can have a listen to one of his mixes below from his Ibiza podcast…
Hailing from Denver, Colorado, Crazy Larry is a young and fearless talent with an insatiable craving for old and new sounds, who starts as he means to go on. Having fallen in love with dance music in 2000 via the Casa Del Soul record store and a deeply held love of wax, Larry developed his infamous live PA in January of 2006, which debuted in NYC for Taimur Agha and the Blk Market crew. His live performance is much more than the average one-man-one-laptop show – incorporating vintage drum machines, live home made plug-ins, and even the Nintendo Wii.
Currently residing in the depths of Bushwick, Brooklyn, and getting inspiration from DJ’s like Koze, Three, Matthias Tanzmann and Pedro, and pushing his Time To Get iLL parties, Larry Ursini is all about the records you may not know, but really enjoy. With the party stamina of actual rock stars and the talent to back it up, the Crazy one can not possibly fail to command your attention, or leave his own lasting mark.
New York native and founder of Greater>Than, Michael Vieira, has been influenced by music for as long as he can remember. Most likely in his blood, he first picked up DJing from his father who granted him full access to his own vinyl turntables and vinyl collection. Finely tuned over the years, the art form has become a therapeutic method of self-expression he undoubtedly excels in. Specializing in his own blend of tech house, one can find hints of deep, soul, funk, and latin rhythms in his sets. Determined to “bring the vibe back” he is looking forward to the year ahead, confident it will bring his sound to new audiences. That vibe is what he considers most important and what he strives to revive and spread as best as he can.
From its state-of-the-art space in downtown’s ultra-chic Meatpacking District, Cielo provides a music program specializing in deeply soulful house music as well as various genres of electronic music. Cielo is a haven for mature individuals seeking intelligent nightlife with neither the hassles of large clubs nor the elitism of upscale lounges with too many VIP rooms. Once you are in Cielo, there will be no more ropes, checkpoints, or rules. Security’s goal is to compliment the experience, not to hinder it. Cielo has set a new level in New York nightlife by going back to basics: the best DJs on the planet, a strong door, impeccable service, stunning decor, and lighting, and a Funktion 1 sound system which will blow the most fastidious audiophile’s socks off.
We have two tickets to give away. Simply fill out the form below to enter. Advanced tickets may be purchased HERE for $10.
CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. RSVP for FREE ADMISSION BEFORE 12…
