Laurent Wolf – No Stress (Dino Mannoncchi Bootleg Mix)

Sound, mix, nightclubs… Laurent Wolf has been dedicating his life to electronic music since the age of twelve. He was discovered in 1992 as he was doing his first sets in Paris: he was proposed to hold a weekly mixer party at the Queen, the mythical nightclub of the Champs Elysées. Laurent Wolf has worked for the Queen for 10 years, mixing up to three nights a week. The Queen was a real stepping stone for his DJ career. Thanks to his effective remixes, Laurent Wolf has established himself as an inventive DJ, dynamic and attentive to his public.

Source: Laurent Wolf’s Official Website.

Three Drives - Greece /Let There Be Love (Bootleg Mix)

Three Drives (On A Vinyl) defines a collaboration between Erik de Koning (DJ Enrico) and Ton van Empel (Ton TB). They are responsible for the massive hit single ‘Greece 2000’.

This single ruled the European dance-floors for a long period and after conquering the clubs, the track stormed the worldwide single charts and entered at number 12 in the Official U.K Singles Chart! Not to forget the licenses to labels such as the legendary Hooj Choons and ZYX music. Also they signed the track to diverse compilations and due to the success of “Greece 2000”, Three Drives remixed a lot of artists. SNAP, Proper Beating, Ferry Corsten, The Vengaboys, Saucerman and many more were the lucky ones who received the Three Drives remix touch.

The guys spent a lot of time in the studio to produce several albums: Theme "2000" and ‘Melodies from the Universe’. These highly appreciated albums received a lot credits and were popular among many artist such as Paul van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, Tiesto and Pete Tong. The double release ‘Sunset on Ibiza’ & Air Traffic caused a stir in the UK since Judge Jules played the white label promo for 5 weeks on his BBC Radio 1 show.

Another hit single stormed the dance charts again and this time it reached nr 1! This time the track was licensed to Xtravaganza Records and released in the UK in September 2001 containing new remixes.

Besides the Three Drives projects, Club Royale’s club anthem “Losing Sleep” (It Records) and Enrico-solo releases like “The Hardclubber” (Celebrative Records) and “The Disclubber” (Blue Records). Erik de Koning was also the executive producer of DJ Jurgen (“Higher and higher”) and many more.

As founder of Tangled65.com, Ton TB is still very active as a solo artist, which he proved by his many releases like Electronic Malfunction, Dream Machine and recently Three Drives ‘Feel the Rhythm’ Ton TB dubmix.

The last one is featured on the latest In search Of Sunrise 7 by Tiesto.

Article source: Official Three Drives Webpage. More info on Three Drives can be found at specified adress.

Suzanne Vega - Tom's Dinner (Bingo Players Bootleg Mix)

"Widely regarded as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been labeled contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs.  Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world’s best-known halls. In performances devoid of outward drama that nevertheless convey deep emotion, Vega sings in a distinctive, clear vibrato-less voice that has been described as “a cool, dry sandpaper- brushed near-whisper” and as “plaintive but disarmingly powerful.”

Bearing the stamp of a masterful storyteller who “observed the world with a clinically poetic eye,” Suzanne’s songs have always tended to focus on city life, ordinary people and real world subjects. Notably succinct and understated, often cerebral but also streetwise, her lyrics invite multiple interpretations.  In short, Suzanne Vega’s work is immediately recognizable, as utterly distinct and thoughtful, and as creative and musical now, as it was when her voice was first heard on the radio over 20 years ago.

Suzanne was born in Santa Monica, CA, but grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side of New York City.  She was influenced by her mother, a computer systems analyst and her stepfather, the Puerto Rican writer Egardo Vega Yunque. There was a heady mix of multicultural music playing at home: Motown, bossa nova, jazz and folk. At age 11 she picked up a guitar and as a teenager she started to write songs.

At first, record companies saw little prospect of commercial success.  Suzanne’s demo tape was rejected by every major record company—and twice by the very label that eventually signed her: A&M Records. Her self-titled debut album was finally released in 1985, co-produced by Steve Addabbo and Lenny Kaye, the former guitarist for Patti Smith.  The skeptical executives at A & M were expecting to sell 30,000 LP’s.  1,000,000 records later, it was clear that Suzanne’s voice was resonating around the world.  Marlene on the Wall was a surprise hit in the U.K and Rolling Stone eventually included the record in their “100 Greatest Recordings of the 1980’s.”

1987’s follow up, Solitude Standing, again co-produced by Addabbo and Kaye, elevated her to star status. The album hit #2 in the UK and #11 in the States, was nominated for three Grammys including Record of the Year and went platinum. “Luka” is a song that has entered the cultural vernacular; certainly the only hit song ever written from the perspective of an abused boy.

The opening song on Solitude Standing was a strange little a cappella piece, “Tom’s Diner” about a non-descript restaurant near Columbia University uptown. Without Suzanne’s permission, it was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo “DNA” and bootlegged as “Oh Susanne.” Suddenly her voice on this obscure tune was showing up in the most unlikely setting of all: the club. Suzanne permitted an official release of the remix of “Tom’s Diner” under its original title which reached #5 on the Billboard pop chart and went gold. In 1991 a compilation, Tom’s Album, brought together the remix and other unsolicited versions of the song. Meanwhile, Karlheinz Brandenburg, the German computer programmer was busy developing the technology that would come to be known as the MP3. He found that Vega’s voice was the perfect template with which to test the purity of the audio compression that he was aiming to perfect. Thus Suzanne earned the nickname “The Mother of the MP3.”

Suzanne Vega is an artist that continues to surprise.  In 2006, she became the first major recording artist to perform live in avatar form within the virtual world Second Life.  She has dedicated much of her time and energy to charitable causes, notably Amnesty International, Casa Alianza, and the Save Darfur Coalition.  Suzanne has a daughter, Ruby, by first husband Mitchell Froom.  Ruby, like Suzanne before her, attends the High School for the Performing Arts.  Suzanne is married to lawyer/poet Paul Mills who proposed to her originally in 1983.  Suzanne accepted his proposal on Christmas Day 2005, twenty two years later.  As fascinating as the New Yorkers she has been inspired by, Suzanne Vega herself is full of stories and surprises: the everyday revelations, the grabbed-on-the-run wisdom, the strange, random, miraculous stuff that make up a singular career – or maybe just another life in the big city.

In 2009 Suzanne was invited by Vaclav Havel to perform in Prague to celebrate the 30^th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.  Joining her on stage were Renee Flemming, Lou Reed and Joan Baez.  In early 2010 she embarked on a 38 city tour of North America in support of her new record, Suzanne Vega, Close Up, Vol 1, Love Songs, released on her own label, Amenuensis Productions.  This is the first of four CD’s that looks back through her extraordinary songbook and re-imagines the work in an intimate, striped down production, grouped as “Love Songs,” People, Places and Things,” “States of Being,” and “Songs of Family.” The tour was highlighted by a performance at Lincoln Center’s Allen Room as part of their American Songbook Series.  Suzanne also conducted a series of residencies and workshops at Universities and Music Schools on this tour, including stops at Harvard, University of California Santa Barbara and Banff in Canada."

Article source: www.suzannevega.com.  All rights reserved to the author(s) in the specified source.

East 17 - It's Alright (DJ Tayna Bootleg Mix)

"East 17 are an English pop boy band formed in 1992. The group have achieved eighteen Top 20 singles and four Top 10 albums, and were one of the UK's most popular boy bands during the early to mid-1990s. They occasionally blended rap and pop in songs such as "House of Love", "Steam" and "Let It Rain", attaining popularity as a result of the group's songwriter Tony Mortimer and lead vocalist Brian Harvey.

Formation

The band began in 1992 when Mortimer was promised a record deal after he showcased his own material. The deal was granted under the condition that he form a group, which was the format London Records were looking for. The group was named East 17 after the postcode of their hometown, Walthamstow. The original roles in the band were soon altered when Brian Harvey, who was intended to be a back-up singer and dancer, was heard singing along during a recording session. He was duly promoted to lead vocalist. The group's other members are Terence Coldwell and John Hendy.

Peak of success

Mortimer wrote the vast majority of the group's songs, which often contained rap verses vocalised by him to complement Harvey's more fluid R&B style vocals. The group was usually seen as a grittier, more political and hip-hop or rap-aligned group than rival boy band Take That, as noted by Guy Adams of The Independent;

They shaved their heads, and had tattoos, and were a lot, lot cooler than the nancy boys of Take That. In the great five-year battle that dominated British pop, East 17 were also on the winning side. Their music was sharper and more streetwise. It was infused with hip-hop and R&B, and sold by the bucketload: 20 million records across Europe, compared with Take That's paltry 19 million.

East 17 scored twelve Top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart between 1992 and 1998. Their debut album, Walthamstow, shot to #1 on the UK Albums Chart. It featured a string of Top 20 singles, including "House of Love" and "Deep". "It's Alright" became a major success in Australia, reaching #1 in early 1994 for seven consecutive weeks, and #3 in the UK in 1993. The lyrics to some of their songs, such as "Let It Rain", had political undertones, talking about war, peace, equality, love, and other political issues. Their popularity reached Mongolia, particularly with the song "It's Alright", helped by music television channels, Channel V and MTV.

In 1994, upon the release of their second album, Steam, they scored their only UK number-one single with "Stay Another Day", which remained at the top for five weeks and was also that year's Christmas number-one. Following the somewhat low-key release of the next album, Up All Night, their drop in appeal became apparent compared to previous albums. The album's songwriting duties were split among the four members of the group, rather than Mortimer alone, although all of the singles released from the album were penned by him.

East 17 also appeared on the Childliners record The Gift Of Christmas, alongside acts such as MN8, Boyzone, E.Y.C., Sean Maguire, Deuce, Ultimate Kaos, Let Loose, Backstreet Boys, Peter Andre, Michelle Gayle and Dannii Minogue. In 1996, the group hit #2 with the track "If You Ever", a duet with the singer Gabrielle.

Decline

In 1997, Harvey was engulfed in a drug-related controversy when he claimed that he took twelve Ecstasy pills in one night, stating that "(i)t's cool to take drugs"[citation needed] and claiming that Ecstasy "can make you a better person"[citation needed]. The act went against the group's "boy band" image, and there was a huge media uproar, leading to questions being raised by John Major in the House of Commons.With the group's career and reputation tarnished by the affair, Harvey was sacked and Mortimer decided to leave several months later, due to creative differences between himself and the rest of the group. The band's split in 1997 has been described as "one of the greatest break-ups in pop history".

Coldwell and Hendy later reinstated Harvey and attempted a comeback in 1998 renaming the group "E-17" and landed a record deal with Telstar Records after recording an album's worth of self-written material in their home studios. Their first single was "Each Time," which reached #2 in the UK. But without Mortimer's songwriting influence, the group's initial success soon wavered, and after disappointing sales of the next single "Betcha Can't Wait" reaching number 12 in the charts, and their album Resurrection failing to make the UK Top 40 and not selling as much as the record company would have liked, the band were dropped by their label in 1999 and subsequently split up.

2000s

In 2001, Harvey launched himself as a solo artist in a collaboration with Wyclef Jean on the Top 20 single "Loving You (Ole Ole Ole)", but returned to E-17 to perform numerous gigs on the nostalgia circuit with Coldwell and Hendy. On the ITV1 docusoap Redcoats, the group were shown performing at a gig that was held at Butlins in Bognor on a bill which also featured Keith Harris, whilst in 2005, Harvey, Coldwell and Hendy performed a gig in Mongolia. Harvey made the news in May 2005 when he accidentally ran himself over, and required surgical treatment. He suffered severe, life-threatening injuries as a result, falling into a coma for several weeks following the incident.

Mortimer attempted to create two bands of his own, but each time opted to return to production work for other artists from his Essex-based studio. He also recorded his own solo material, released in January 2006 on his now defunct, official website.

On 4 February 2006, Harvey appeared on the UK music television show CD:UK, where he announced that East 17 might make a comeback with its four original members. In mid-February 2006, the group reformed, and played their first comeback concert on May 30 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. After reforming for the one-off gig, it was reported that East 17 had split up again, since Hendy was unable to fully commit to the band because his roofing business took up a lot of his time. Friction also flared up again between Harvey and Mortimer, who were "involved in a punch-up", resulting in the latter's departure, with the remaining members continuing to perform as a three-piece at various club events. A Channel 4 documentary, East 17: The Reunion, which charted the group's rise and fall, along with their subsequent attempt to re-launch, was broadcast in May 2007.

East 17 performance in Sibiu, Romania, on New Year's Eve 2007.East 17 continued to perform as a three-member group without Mortimer. They played at the University of Strathclyde on September 24, 2006, after DJ Colin Murray was unable to attend. Since then, the group has performed in clubs around the UK. A new single, "Fuck That" was due to be released in early 2008, but was ultimately cancelled. The group performed at the 2009 Glastonbury Festival on 25 June in the dance lounge. In November 2009, all four members of the band re-united again in aid of the Born Free Foundation, performing two of their best known songs—"Deep" and "Stay Another Day"—for the Wild & Live! event at the Royal Albert Hall. After the performance, the band agreed that it would be best if they never sang together again."

Article source: www.east17.net.  All rights reserved to the author(s) in the specified source.