Stefano Gambarelli aka Gambafreaks è un dj e produttore emiliano che da anni calca la scena dance musicale italiana e internazionale.
Ha deciso di intraprendere questa attività per passione, per pura passione, affascinato dai primi dj del genere afro funky, Mozart, Daniele Baldelli & Co…
Gambafreak, al secolo Stefano Gambarelli, è uno dei DJ e Produttori di musica House più prolifici e conosciuti all’estero. Molti suoi dischi sono stati dei veri e propri successi nei Clubs d’ oltrefrontiera e gli artisti che sono stati remixati dal Disc-Jockey emiliano non si contano nemmeno più.
Inizia la sua carriera da DJ nel 1982 a Reggio Emilia. Ha iniziato a produrre dischi nel 1989 collaborando anche con la mitica Groove Groove Melody, etichetta storica dei Black Box. Ora produce stabilmente, ormai da qualche anno, con la D:Vision, etichetta House del gruppo Energy di Ugolini e Raimondi.
Il successo italiano è stato soprattutto legato ai Club, all’estero ovviamente il discorso è diverso, il disco è stato licenziato da molte labels e pare sia andando molto bene. Se volete qualche nome delle labels che lo hanno stampato, si può citare la Air Play francese e la tedesca ZYX.

Dj producer since 1980 has played his music around the world, producing Gambafreaks, Ste.Ga.Shop, Savage Spirits and many other recording projects.

http://www.stefanogambarellidj.com/

What’s the future of DJing? It’s already like this – proper shows in gig venues, not only clubs
Favourite app? Dropbox. I put some beats on Dropbox, and wherever I am in the world I can send my beats from my phone.
Discovery of the year? UAD-2 Satellite, which allows you to use all your UAD plug-ins with your laptop. It’s a revolution – unbelievable
Rediscovery of the year? Let’s see, I’ll open my record box… I made a bootleg of ‘Feel What You Want’ by Kristine W from 1994.
Awkward Moment? Last week, a girl was giving me pornographic pictures at the Pacha Ibiza closing party – I really wondered why? The photos weren’t of herself, it was very strange. I think she was really tripping.
Style or substance? Substance is everything. I never believe the hype. I don’t do this for the lifestyle, I do this for the music.
Pet Hate? I’m a lover, not a hater.

When we track down David Guetta in Paris, he’s already been told by his manager about his Top 100 victory.

“I’m very happy of course, I was thinking it was going to be impossible for anybody to replace Armin Van Buuren as No.1,” he chuckles. “I don’t know how many years trance DJs have been No.1?”

DJmag informs David that it’s been almost a decade of trancers at the top, with Armin (four years), Paul van Dyk (twice) and Tiësto (three times) dominating in the noughties. So lots of people in house music and elsewhere may well be pleased, we suggest, that you’ve broken the trance…

“The curse?” he interjects, laughing. “No really, I have a lot of respect for what those guys have done. But I’m happy for myself, and also think that maybe it gives hope to a lot of DJs playing house and electro.”

Winning the Top 100 really does mean a lot to the Frenchman. “I’ve had amazing success as a producer, but I always saw myself first of all as a DJ,” Guetta drawls. “So in the same way that I made a double album where one disc is pop and the other electronic, it’s also very important for me. As much as I want to speak to a wider audience, I still want to speak to my original audience – the clubbers, party people and the DJs. Those who encouraged me, and are my roots.”

Does winning the Top 100 mean more than having a No.1 hit single in America? “Yes it does, because for me it makes me more happy to play an amazing club gig than it does to sell a lot of records,” he says. “Of course I love making music, but DJ culture is everything to me – it’s been my life for so many years.”

It has been an incredible last few years for Guetta, who first started DJing in Paris in the mid-1980s at the age of 17 – pre-house music.

“When I was 17, all my friends were going to clubs because they wanted to pick up girls,” he recalls. “I didn’t care, I was going to clubs because I wanted to listen to the DJ.”

He was a DJ and promoter in and around Paris during the ’80s and ’90s before moving up some levels when he released ‘Just A Little More Love’ in 2001, featuring US gospel singer Chris Willis. The club hits and albums kept coming in the noughties, as did the ‘Fuck Me I’m Famous’ compilations – named after his parties in Ibiza – that became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Electro house track ‘Love Is Gone’ (also with Chris Willis on vocals) was massive for him in 2007, although in the US it wasn’t on the radio much, as mainstream American radio stations didn’t play dance music. “But it was being played in every club – not only house music clubs, but even in clubs that would only normally play hip-hop,” Guetta tells DJmag. “So a lot of urban artists knew that record, without knowing who I was or who Chris Willis was.”

Up until this point, Guetta was making music that he wanted to play as a DJ, “but then musically I started wanting to not only give that physical reaction due to production tricks and how phat the beat is, but also an emotional reaction that comes from chord progressions and melodies,” he says. “When I started to make songs, I loved it and wanted to grow more in that direction.”

It just so happened that former Destiny’s Child singer – and now UK X-Factor judge – Kelly Rowland was in a club in America when Guetta was playing an instrumental version of what became ‘When Love Takes Over’, and she asked him if she could sing on it. The same week, will.i.am called him to ask if he would produce some records for the Black Eyed Peas, because they loved ‘Love Is Gone’ so much. “So I sent them a few beats, and the track became ‘I Got A Feeling’,” he relays.

Soon after, he met Akon at a BBC Radio 1 event and they hooked up to do ‘Sexy Bitch’. “What was interesting is that all of those people thought they would go and do something with David because they love his music, but they never thought it could be really big in America,” he says.

Mainstream US radio didn’t play dance music, but these releases battered down the doors. All three of these records were massive everywhere on release in 2009 (including in the US), and Guetta became the go-to guy for US urban artists to hook up some dope dance beats.

“Because I worked with people that were a ‘brand’ in the US, they gave us a chance,” Guetta believes. “They played it on the radio and they realised that people loved it. They started to realise that the culture was big amongst young people, it was like the new sound in America and everybody started calling me.

“American journalists say to me now ‘You’ve brought this culture to America’, and I say, ‘No, this culture was BORN in America, what are you talking about?’” he continues. “The media had refused to see the culture.”

Guetta broke down the doors in America, and the whole dance scene internationally is benefiting. “It’s been a real revolution,” he declares, “everything is changing. Our sound is taking over the planet.”

David tells DJmag that he is happy that a lot of other big DJ/producers are working with big urban artists now. “Music belongs to everybody, I’m not like ‘Oh, now other people are doing what I was doing’, for me music does not belong to anyone,” he says. “I’m happy that I’ve been opening doors.

“For so many years we haven’t been getting the respect we deserve from the media, the radio, the TV,” he continues. “I think it’s amazing that it’s happening now, I’m really happy – not just for me, but for everyone. Even the trance DJs!”

He may have his detractors, but there’s no doubt that Guetta’s explosion into the mainstream has had a knock-on effect for all of dance music. “People are adding their flavours and it’s coming back to Europe. It’s a very interesting creative circle that is happening these last few years,” he believes. “It’s a very positive thing that doesn’t only benefit people like me who are also producing pop records, it also benefits the underground, which is great.

“Our music is so big at the moment, as simultaneously there are people like me and Tiësto and the Swedish House Mafia who are really crossing over, and at the same time you have this crazy underground scene that is exploding also,” he continues. “The fact that there are so many creative people on this level at the moment makes our music very strong.”

Guetta has just released his fifth album, ‘Nothing But The Beat’, and DJmag asks him about a couple of the tracks on the electronic disc – ‘The Alphabeat’ and ‘Toy Story’ – that have that Daft Punk/Justice sound. He reveals that Thomas Bangalter from Daft Punk really helped him out when he called Virgin Records a decade ago to tell them to sign Guetta’s ‘Just A Little More Love’, as he thought it was really good.

“He was coming to my club when I was playing, and I was looking at him like he was God – I still do, actually,” he says. “But at the time, I was working hard to sound totally not French. I wanted to be different, but now that a long time has passed I think maybe I can sound French and it is OK.”

We then ask him if he considers his track with Swedish hotshot Avicii to be ‘trouse’, but he says he doesn’t really recognise trouse as a genre.

“Genres for me aren’t so important,” he says. “I understand what you mean – bringing the melodic side of trance and putting it into a house music groove, it probably speaks to an even wider audience.

“What’s interesting is that everything is mixing together – lots of DJs have hip-hop influences, trance influences, house influences, electro… and the kids don’t even care, because it’s the internet generation, people listen to all sorts of music,” Guetta continues. “It’s perfect for me because I was always very open-minded, listening to lots of other people’s different stuff, and as much as I was never into trance I appreciated the melodic side of it, the chord progressions – it’s emotional music. That part of that music I always thought was really good, but I didn’t like the drums and the bassline.”

The duality between the pop charts and the underground dance scene doesn’t faze David. “In Ibiza, my parties are a mix of people, but underground culture is the mainstream culture there, and I wish it was like this everywhere on the planet,” he says. “We’re on the way.”

Citing 2ManyDJs, one of his regular guests at the FMIF parties, as a good example of somebody playing “the most underground acid house record and then the biggest pop record – because they just want to play good music, and have fun,” he then adds: “It’s a party! I don’t take myself too seriously. I don’t need to have a day for pop music and a day for club music – it’s the same person. I just wanna have fun, give people a good time, and make good music.

fonte

Address: Singapore Capacity: 3000 Web: zoukclub.com

Address: Playa D’en Bossa, Ibiza Capacity: 3500 Web: Spaceibiza.com
They say excellence should be rewarded. Just as well, then, that Space Ibiza has been voted to the top of this poll for the second year in a row. And quite rightly, too.

Setting up on the The White Isle back in 1989, this clubbing metropolis has been here for the long-haul, soaking up all the Balearic magic of the world’s No.1 clubbing hotspot, not resting on its laurels once. Pushing forward, embracing cutting-edge technology, better sound quality and more extravagant forms of entertainment, this club is about delivering a heightened dancefloor experience to those with a discerning flavour for electronic music on the island.

From its high-powered Funktion One soundsystem to those exuberant displays of slinky, silver Lycra-clad dancers on stilts, Space presents a level of clubbing professionalism other nightclubs only dream of. Nitrogen lunar blasts, hi-res LED screens and retina-frying lasers across a series of rooms, each imbued with their own unique sense of identity, but slotted perfectly into the overall picture of this well-oiled clubbing complex.

The Terrace, a space-age cauldron swirling with woozy energy; the Discoteca, for those looking for an explosive big-room beyond any other; Sunset Terrace and its steamy terracotta haze, and La Salon and Red Box’s hidden back room intimacy. It’s got everything. Not forgetting, the enormous car park opened only for opening and closing, complete with confetti explosions on a stage armed with a stack of Funktion Ones powerful enough to bring down a fighter plane. The entire package is guaranteed exceptional, and, for some, the only reason to make a yearly trip to Ibiza.

The technicalities aside, the DJs that play, residents such as Carl Cox, Roger Sanchez, Nick Curly and James Zabiela, speak of something other than hard facts, something more universal; a feeling of inclusion, spiritual involvement with the family ethos of the club, something garnered by Pepe Rosello and his carefully-nurtured team, a vibe that transcends the staff and bleeds onto the dancefloor.

“I love to play at Space,” says Spanish house giant Uner. “First of all, because the crew is, for me, like a family. I always love the good vibes there. Space was my first gig. I’m in love with the club, the party and the people.”

These are the same sentiments shared by Carl Cox (see box out), who celebrated the 11th year of his Revolution party last season, and looks forward to another. It’s the considered, tightly programmed flagship nights like this that make Space so special. Something for absolutely everyone with an ear for a decent beat. Nick Curly’s Kehakuma, Armin’s Be and We Love, just a few nights that make Ibiza what she is – a bonafide haven for undisputed clubbing excellence. And Space Ibiza is where to find it. Every goddamn time.

CARL COX

“Space represents who I am and what I’m about. Space was the first and at the time, the only place where you could listen to dance music under the sun. It set the precedent for the after-hours club. Before that, people just expected a 2am kick out. Here, you went to the club at 7am! To be there now, giving something back, is really special to me.”

ROGER SANCHEZ

“Space has always been one of my favourite clubs in Ibiza, especially the Terrace. My nights and days in the booth have always been magic there! I love the underground vibe there and crowd is always amazing!”

2
Armin van Buuren
Dutch powerhouse DJ/producer and scene leader extraordinaire Armin van Buuren has historically been the highest performer in the Top 100 poll, holding onto the No.1 spot for an unpreceden…

3
Tiësto
He won DJmag’s Top 100 DJs poll three times in the early noughties (2002-4), but if anything, Tijs Verwest aka Tiësto is bigger than ever now. “The whole year has been one amazing highli…

4
Deadmau5
Deadmau5 holds steady at No.4 in the poll this year, despite not campaigning whatsoever (and moaning on Twitter about others who did). But is it right that he appears at all? As he mentio…

5
Above & Beyond
For Paavo Siljamäki, Jono Grant and Tony McGuinness, 2011 has been all about ‘Group Therapy’. Which, of course, was the name of their second album (or third if you count ‘Sirens Of The Se…

6
Avicii
One of the big success stories of the last couple of years in dance music has been the unstoppable rise of Avicii. The Swedish house star may not be part of any mafia, but he is certainly…

7
Afrojack
“Of course, it’s been a fucking great year!” says Afrojack, aka Dutch producer Nick Van de Wall. “I think we can all agree on that! I mean, ‘Take Over Control’ started out as a dance trac…

8
Dash Berlin
While the past few years have seen the polished productions of Dash Berlin take centre stage after the release of ‘The New Daylight’ album, the past 12 months have seen DJing become the f…

9
Markus Schulz
There’s a whole greased-up machine behind the workings of a DJ like Markus Schulz, but thankfully it’s not changed him one little bit. “It’s always an honour and I always say it’s the f…

10
Swedish House Mafia
The notion of the ‘supergroup’ belongs with kaftans and interesting tricks with Mars bars in the antediluvian annals of rock music. Sure, there have been stellar studio-bound collaboratio…

Read More:http://www.djmag.com/top100