DJ Sneak/ Doc Martin/ DJ Three/ Nikola Baytala at Output and Love & Logic/ Joe Pompeo/ The Wig/ Roddy & Rusty/ Meshugs & Bob Evil in The Panther Room

In 1983, Carlos Sosa aka DJ Sneak, moved to the city of Chicago from the island of Puerto Rico, where his early musical experiences and influences were rooted in salsa, meringue and Latin orchestras. Chicago, like Puerto Rico, is a city rich with musical styles and sounds. In Chicago Sneak found inspiration in underground house music, Warehouse parties and "old school" mix tapes from the early pioneers _ Farley Jackmaster Funk, Ralphi Rosario, Steve Hurley and local radio station shows played on WBMX.

Sneak earned his nickname rocking graffiti-tags and began working at retail stores as an airbrush artist, which kept him out of trouble and allowed him to make important local industry contacts. Development as a DJ came while working regular mobile DJ jobs and local nightclubs. But, in an already saturated DJ pool, Sneak focused on his music production and started his independent label - Defiant Records.

In 1992, using the fundamental studio pieces, Sneak began recording tracks with an unusual new style. In 1994, while still working at local store Gramophone Records, Sneak met Cajmere (Green Velvet) owner of Cajual and Relief Records. Cajmere released three of Sneak's catalyst tracks, which helped to bring Sneak international recognition, and with it, a global DJing career.

In 1995, Sneak's new sound revolutionized house music with inspirational sounds and rhythms never heard. The disco filtered house grooves became Sneak's signature sound. Innovator to many, Sneak's love for music inspired others like Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, Armand Van Helden.

In 1996, DJ Sneak's 'You Can't Hide from your Bud', on Derrick Carter's Classic Recordings, ironically became an instant classic itself; a blueprint for funky, filtered disco-influenced house - Sneak Style - redefining Chicago's underground music. From 1996 to present day, DJ Sneak has perfected his remix skills, seizing opportunities to work with world-class talent and fine-tune his sound. His highly anticipated remixes take dance floors around the world to levels of climactic frenzy with his trademark booty-shakin, bass-heavy beats and rhythms.

After years of development, DJ Sneak is a familiar name across the world's club circuit playing the very best venues and events. A frequent visitor to Ibiza - the island of spiritual parties and Mecca of dance music culture, Sneak has participated in several events with the best UK production companies - Ministry of Sound, Cream, Manumission, and Miss Moneypenny's to mention a few.

A favorite at United Kingdom's summer festivals (Homelands, Creamfields, T in the Park), Sneak shows no mercy on the sound systems and is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Recognized as the disco filter innovator, his productions and musical style has maintained his status as one of the Top 100 DJs in the world for 5 consecutive years. Dynamic in style - from furious banging Chicago tracks and Latin tribal beats, to disco filtered reworks of retro classics and melodic rhythms to suit your soul.



In fall 2001 Sneak launched a new record label Magnetic Recordings, where he has been releasing new music, with compilations to come, along with the introduction of new musical talents. He continues to contribute to the evolution and definitive sound that is Chicago House Music.

The future brings light to DJ Sneak's journey, focusing on the development of electronic music's revolution and ongoing struggle to be acknowledged as the sound of tomorrow.


DOC MARTIN
Sublevel Music | Nervous Records | Classic | Music For Freaks | NRK | Moonshine | Shaboom | Siesta | Greyhound | Imperial Dub | Leaf | Sublevelcalifornia.com | Los Angeles, CA

Doc Martin's live sets truly bring people together and the variation in his style of music is virtually endless. What makes him so different from the rest? It's his unique ability to spin everything from deep house vocals that have so much depth and meaning to us all in some way and his funky tribal bass lines mixed with threads of acid; his passive collection of classics and rare records that are only to be heard at his gigs.

He has releases out on every major house music label such as; Sublevel Music, Nervous Records, Classic, Music For Freaks, NRK, Moonshine, Shaboom, Siesta, Greyhound, Imperial Dub, & Leaf, there is no doubt Doc Martin has developed the respect as a house DJ that so many of us admire. It is this respect that keeps him constantly touring, from New York to London, Japan and everywhere in between.

Doc has rocked dance-floors and played at venues and events like… Coachella Festival, Fabric (London), Panorama Bar (Berlin), Womb (Tokyo), Club Heaven (Seoul, Korea), Faith 10 Year Anniversary (Garden Festival), Trouw (Amsterdam), Secret Sundaze (London), Full Circle (UK), How Sweet it is, JuJu beats (Los Angeles), The End (London), Cielo (New York), Back to Basic (Leeds), Yellow (Japan), Pacha (New York), Viper Room (LA), Club 5 (DC), Sound Bar (Chicago), Santenera (Playa Del Carmen), Ghost Bar (Las Vegas), Club Minc (Dallas), Vinyl (Denver), La Sereta (Juarez), Ruby Skye (San Francisco), Twilo (New York), Sublevel (Los Angeles), Perfecto with Paul Oakenfold at The Palms (Las Vegas), The End Up (San Francisco), Kudeta (Bali), Café Del Mar (San Francisco), The Love Parade (San Francisco), Nocturnal Wonderland, (San Bernadino), DEMF (Detroit), Temple (San Francisco), Democratic Convention 2008 at Town Hall (Denver), PS1 (New York), Santa Fe Music Festival and Seven in Australia. DOC was also the featured artist on The Bassment Jaxx & Daft Punk tour Australian tour.


Currently residing in New York City, Three has been tirelessly holding the flag for underground electronic music in the US since his rise out of the sunny state of Florida in the early 90's. In that time, he's emerged as one of the brightest DJ talents in the US and continues to be a true inspiration for many of us. Three's tour dates show both diversity in audience and a genre-bending passion for good music; he's held residencies at NYC's Twilo, Cielo (Robots), Love and Blk Market Membership, as well as Florida's legendary Simon's while playing lauded guest spots at San Francisco's Wicked party, Fabric (UK), Panorama Bar (Berlin), Blk Market Membership (NYC) and forward thinking events like Japan's Labyrinth Festival and Australia's Rainbow Serpent.

Three's label Hallucination Limited was started in 2003 by Three as an off-shoot of the seminal US 90's label Hallucination Recordings which was founded by dance music legends Rabbit In The Moon. Hallucination Recordings was responsible for some of the freshest techno (licensing the Hazed - Bells EP to Richie Hawtin's Plus 8 label in '94), proper electro (miami bass legends Dynamix 2 and Jackal & Hyde) and benchmark releases like Second Hand Satellites - Multiple Mirrors EP (produced by Three and Sean Q6). Armed with a sound that borrows equally from vintage acid-house, techno and underground electronica Hallucination Limited is held in the highest regard getting attention from a wider audience than most most reach. One of the ethos of Hallucination has always been to release music that years later that is still relevant and feels timeless. A perfect example of this is Cassy's Circo Loco mix CD for the July 2011 issue of Mixmag... which contains no less than five tracks from the label catalog! Three's eclectic taste as a DJ and producer shine through just as brightly in his choices for the label.

Following the path of his appeal as a DJ, his rare forays into producing have become staples for DJs of all styles. Three's remix of Mish Mash feat. Lois - 'Speechless' (Lost in Translation mix) for heavyweight UK label Crosstown Rebels received praise across the board including "pick of the month" in the 15 year anniversary issue of DJ Magazine while other productions such as the underground staple that is Second-Hand Satellites and remixes as Three A.M. (with David Christophere of Rabbit In The Moon) like U.N.K.L.E. feat. Ian Brown - 'Reign' continue to be played on dance floors around the world from DJs as diverse as Harvey, Ricardo Villalobos and Lee Burridge.

Coming from the school of American DJs like Josh Wink and Doc Martin, Three has a wide ranging musical palate akin to Andrew Weatherall or Laurent Garnier, and was recently featured as part of DJ Times Magazine's DJX20 Anniversary profile series as one of twenty DJs who embody the spirit of the American underground along such contemporaries as Josh Wink and Claude Von Stroke.

Aside from his natural ability on the decks, Three sets himself apart from the rest of the pack by presenting eclectic sounds with an open-minded attitude towards everything he does. From DJ sets to musical output, Three is a "DJ's DJ" who has always leaned toward the cutting edge without losing touch with the roots of house and techno.


DJ Nikola Baytala has become a crucial component of the minimal-techno collective known as Kontrol. But don't typecast him as a one-dimensional droid with a M-nus Records logo tattoo. He's been exploring the upper echelons of the techno/house continuum since the early '90s (including the last 10 years at The Top, a weekly event hosted by S.W.A.T., aka Special Weapons and Tactics), gaining a reputation as a DJ's DJ, with acclaim coming from house-music legends like Derrick Carter and Doc Martin. Moreover, Baytala's list of musical influences and loves is vast, eclectic, and impeccable. The following roll call just scratches the surface: dub/reggae (Lee "Scratch" Perry), jazz (Pharoah Sanders), world (Ravi Shankar, Mulatu Astatke), funk (Cymande), soul (Bill Withers), hiphop (Gang Starr), Krautrock (Can), electro (Egyptian Lover, Kraftwerk), disco (DJ Harvey), Latin (Tito Puente), soundtrack/new age (Vangelis), rock (Steely Dan), post-punk (ESG, Liquid Liquid), and post-rock (Outhud). As for his bread and butter, Baytala similarly displays excellent judgment, with a heavy preference for quality-pushers like Jeff Mills, Gas, Monolake, Robert Hood, Theo Parrish, and Mr. Fingers. When you see a DJ possess such wide-ranging, outstanding taste, it instills confidence that he/she will rarely, if ever, veer into wackness. Baytala clearly has put many hours of study into his craft, and it's paid off with smooth mixes and world-class track selection. Besides his formidable technical skills and profound knowledge, Baytala reportedly exudes a lot of personality and passion behind the decks, which must have served him well while opening for acts like Jane's Addiction. Everything I've heard by Baytala suggests that his sets avoid the supposed pitfalls of minimal dance music. They're kinetic, dynamic, and, of course, cheese-free. I can't believe I've only just recently found out about this mensch.


Soup. King Street. SRR [NYC]