DONNACHA COSTELLO (POKERFLAT,MINIMISE) / IRL –live-
There are few artists these days who consistently succeed to focus their passions, talents and
instincts into deliciously individual, melancholic, beautiful and timeless recordings. Irish born
Donnacha Costello is amongst the highest ranks of such artists.
There can be no question that Costello is in electronic music for the long haul. Since his production
debut in 1996, he has forged his very own brand of emotional and highly refined electronic music;
timeless club music which has consistently found its way into the crates and playlists of house and
techno’s biggest DJs.
Releasing records since 1996, and founding his own label Minimise in 1999, Costello first came to
wide-scale international attention with the albums ‚Growing Up In Public‘ and ‚Together Is The New
Alone‘ on the legendary Force Inc and Mille Plateaux labels in 2000 and 2001 respectively. However,
it was the release of his famed ‚Colorseries‘ in 2004 that brought him wider recognition and placed
him firmly at the top of his field.
This success was solidified in 2006 with the release of his now infamous 6x6=36 project on Minimise.
2007 brought another hit with ‚Black Bag Job‘, 2008 saw the iconic It Simply Is/Trust. In 2009,
Costello expanded his business to encompass a new label, Look Long. So far, the label has released 4
records from Costello, to critical and commercial success.
The bold outline of the year 2010 brought with it a new project in the form of his first ever longplayer
with Poker Flat Recordings. ‚Before We Say Goodbye‘ is an exquisite work to say the least.
Focusing on a rich blueprint, with echoes of Chicago House, Detroit Techno, and UK Ambient Techno
flowing through its futuristic core, Donnacha explores further his love for deep, hypnotising grooves,
rich synth themes and emotive harmonies.
Known for his love of classic studio equipment, Costello combines the spontaneity and strong
character of his older machines with the finesse of the computer to achieve a hybrid sound that
transcends arguments concerning old school versus new school. Such concerns have become
irrelevant to him as he pushes forward with the self confidence that 14 years of releasing records and
performing all over the globe have brought him.
One of Donnacha‘s main goals is simply to keep on producing music from the heart, and indeed to
ensure that the quality is high, thus allowing listeners and buyers a good return. He has set out to
communicate, to express himself, and establish emotional connections through music.
http://www.myspace.com/donnachacostello

SALVATORE FREDA (LIEBE*DETAIL) / CH
When you first meet Salvatore, Italian native but Swiss born man in 1978, one would not guess the
role he plays in the Swiss electronic scene. His discretion is legendary, but behind the twinkle in his
eyes, is a man with vision and passion.
His immersion in music began during vacations in Rimini with his older sisters, at the tender age of
12. He heard Lil’ Louis’ “French Kiss” on a big sound system for the first time, in the charming
context of the famous touristic club “Baia Imperiale”. After this lovely shock, within 2 years Salvatore,
still a teenager, was playing in bars and parties, making solid futurist and eclectic sets out of genres,
travelling through sounds, from deep house to original Techno with extreme ease. This is still today
considered one of his hallmarks.
Not satisfied with only mixing, he started to produce at 17, (while starting studies in Psychology at
University, that he achieved in 2003). After a first experimental music project, which has been
discreetly released on an obscure Londoner label, he flirted with some “success” with his first
accomplished E.P. titled “The Fredator E.P.” It was released in 1998 on Lausanne Swiss label: CHIC
recordings, (the one where also Attias and Ripperton started their production career). The Maxi,
contained the track “Nighclubbing Heroes” which got many licences and the plays from Eric Morillo,
Carl Craig as well as Chicago House legends Ralphie Rosario and Marshall Jefferson.
This fierce activist, also created one of Lausanne's first “Techno” platform from 2002 to 2005 This
period saw the birth and development of Adrenogroov, Salvatore’s own label which brought out 13
releases with internationally acclaimed artists and remixers such as Fabrice Lig & Jean Vanesse, Vince
Watson, Deetron, Diego, David Duriez, Taho, Moody Preachers among others. The label gained rapid
recognition and got several spots as “record of the month” on magazines such as Trax, Dj Mag, and
De Bug; while big Dj's like Laurent Garnier, Slam, Adam Beyer, Michael Mayer, Funk D'Void, Rolando
often filled their boxes with material coming from this “swiss quality made” imprint.
Being one of the young and talented dj-producer in town, main local clubs and events open the doors
to Salvatore, so that he started residencies in some of the most important clubs in Switzerland since
2000, most of them having also an international appeal: Dolce Vita, The Loft, Mad and at last D! Club,
where Salvatore is piloting since 5 years one of the most famous Party in Town called “FREAKS ON
FRIDAY” welcoming friends & guests like: Laurent Garnier, Steve Bug, Kiki, Derrick May, Dan Bell,
M.A.N.D.Y., Djul'z, Shinedoe and more, still to come...
Salvatore is also one of the Swiss most regular artists being invited to play the prestigious Montreux
Jazz Festival: in 2005, 2008 and 2009 amongst national and international gigs inSpain, France and
Italy. He's also often appearing on French-speacking Swiss national Radio “Couleur 3” where he can
spread his love for electronic music and talk about “what's hot!”.
Salvatore is a “purpose maker” that loves to share and motivate friends and “home” talents to give
life to the electronic scene of Lausanne, which is gaining always more visibility, (confirmation could
be found with the new instalment of Cadenza in town). This source of inspiration and “forward”
attitude is the starting point of some very successful productions released on 1st class labels like
Cadenza, Liebe Detail, Freerange, Remote Area, Trapez with partners in crime: Michel Cleis, Volta &
Massimo Steffanelli.
The stunning “Uva Fragolina EP”, released in march 2009 as the first EP on Cadenza after their pause
and move from Berlin to Lausanne, got the status of “classic”, playlisted by a wide bunch of
Maestros: from Louie Vega to Carl Craig, as well as Derrick May ( who used the track “Sassicaia” in
his last anthology mix for BBC radio in July 2009) to Dennis Ferrer. The track was also licensed on
“Fuse presents Deetron” compilation. Other outstanding tunes have seen the light during this last
year: “Bombolone “ on Liebe*Detail ( december 2008) became a true house anthem still played
today in the clubs worldwide. Without forgetting “Patatas Madras” on Freerange (May 2009), that
stayed comfortably in the “deep house” section top 10 sales on Beatport a couple of months. New
projects & collaborations are still on the pant today, with immediate releases on the “shaking“
Remote Area label. Also Salvatore is planing an album project that could be born in 2010... so stay
tuned !
http://www.myspace.com/salvatore_freda

JOHN DALY (MULE MUSIC,WAVE) / IRL
Producing music for nearly 20 years, John Daly has a DJ sound that is all his own. Now in 2010, he's
officially bringing his live set on the road, catapulting his capabilities to manipulate sound to a new
level. Resident Advisor had noted that John's full-length Wave Music release of Sea & Sky "nails
Daly's breadth of style—he's equally at home plumbing oceanic depths as he is soaring through the
atmosphere.” Over at Clone Records, the label commented that his Mule Musiq release, Space Walk,
is comparable to Mr. Fingers, and that all three tracks are "timeless pieces of music."
His style mixes the influence from his wide variety of musical tastes with deep-house and techno,
pulling off sounds that are as classic as analog synths. In addition to DJ Koze and Ada, John has
released two 12"s on IRR, a subsidiary of Areal Records out of Cologne. A review of the release noted
that "while they're not tracks that will have you rushing up to the booth, they're the crucial sort of
tune that every DJ desires: Set builders that have enough personality to keep the average punter on
the floor, and the music geek trainspotters happy."
But in addition to having remixes released on Rekids (Radio Slave's label), Poker Flat (Steve Bug's)
and Internasjonal (Prins Thomas), John continues to DJ constantly around the world. Dublin, Berlin,
Cologne, Frankfurt, Lausanne, Zurich, Barcelona, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Moscow, Batumi and New
York are just a few of the stops along his journey. In addition to be warmly received by the press -
who have compared him to Moodymann or Lindstrom - his tracks have also appeared on mixes
released by the likes of Mobilee, Ostgut Ton and Drumpoet Community. In addition to his currently
established label, Feel Music, John has just launched One Track Records, which is just that - focused
on one creative piece with elemental bits that are useful for live mixing and remixing.

DOLLAR MAMBO (NICE TRY REC.) / CH
Dollar Mambo is a fantasizing. His name is taken from the title of Paul Leduc's film. A movie realized
in Panama where you find no dialogues but only music and dance to narrate the story. Like in the
"seven dollar" album, all tracks have an authentic "south" colour and are built, not like a film but in a
way where everyone can easily imagine a sketch.
All tunes are about dancing, intensity, surprising and finally a great tribute to musicians.
You'll find a lot of sampled instruments from massive percussion, trombone, trumpet, voice (Soleil)
to guitar, gitarone (Gringo) and marimba (Wonderful)... Like a dream, his music is for those who are
searching for something different, illuminating and deeply happy.
http://www.myspace.com/dollar_mambo

THE GROUND FLOOR (LITTLEHOUSE) / FR –live-
The Ground Floor, live, c'est une rencontre entre deux musiciens DJ, amoureux des musiques
electroniques. Deux parcours et deux visions musicales qui s'entrelacent dans un set au laptop et
claviers, avec, en priorite la volonte de faire passer une emotion, de creer un climat, une
atmosphere, dans une musique qui empreinte autant a la minimale allemande qu'a la techno de
detroit. Entre melodies etherees et boucles hypnothiques, The Ground Floor se forge une identite.
Une demo dans TSUGI mag pendant l'ete 2008, un reportage par France 3 au bord du lac leman avec
le collectif Feeling & Sound, et depuis peu une carte de membre chez le label genevois Littlehouse.
Une belle aventure est en marche.
http://www.myspace.com/thegroundfloorlive

ANDRI (CITYFOX) / CH –live-
Even before he was sweating in the clubs with the record case, he experimented with the program
"Music 2000" on the Playstation. Such a studio dinosaur was still served about the television. About "Reason" he came to "Ableton LIVE" with whom he has been working in the studio since the first
version. With an education in audio engineering he generated samples of everything: Soundtracks,
CDs, Accapallas towards to ambient noises using Field Recorders.
Starting in clubs such as the "Dachkantine" still under the pseudonym "Knallkids" he fully focuses
from now on as a solo artist on his live sets. With his first release on the label "Slutfunk" he is
becoming a solid party anchor in the Zurich club scene.
Quickly, Andri is notorious for his energetic performances throughout Switzerland. He stroke on
enthusiasm after a few gigs abroad. His experiences are especially effective at the "BAR25" closing
party: "Feeling, mood, people – pure magic! I make music exactly for this atmosphere." He carried his
audience onto a multi-sensory trip on the cultural universe of the "Fusion Areals" – the dream palace
for each rising artist.
Thanks to his EP "The Change" he finally landed on he international dancing floor. The disc record
counts as brilliant sound work at DJs and music experts alike where his talent literally spills over into
the room. Musical thinkers such as Ricardo Villalobos and Richie Hawtin are aware of the enormous
energy, which the disc record unfolds on the dance floor. In the near future Andri will sprinkle some
more musical pearls with releases on "Cityfox" and "Highgrade".
His sets are distinct arrangements and they are constantly pointed with freaky samples and varying
rhythm. Deep but always funky bass lines cause constant thrust and driving beats are accompanied
by. Andri uses continuously vocals and hall-effects. He varies them sometimes short to long and
flavours it with dirty and sometimes clean beats. The gross contrasts make up the unique soaring
tension of his productions and live sets.
"Groove is the lubricating oil between my musical imaginations and the musical reality on the dance
floor. This energy exchange is the fuel cell, which the story about my music can be told again and
again with."
Those who book Andri get not only rocking live sets from a convinced party freak but a compact
dance floor story with sexy deepness factor.
http://www.myspace.com/andriknallkid

JACQUI (MINISHAKE) / CH
Funky disco in my suitcase and love in my head, I took off from Zambia in the 80’s and landed slap
bang in the middle of “farmer” Switzerland. However ready I was for the challenges all young
mothers and eager homemakers face, I was totally unprepared for the chilly “polite” Swiss attitude
towards foreigners. The sheer force of the ensuing culture shock knocked me to my knees where I
stayed for almost 10 years.
Single again, my African soul was still craving human warmth and friendship, and then I went to my
first Acid Techno Party, and in somewhat wander, stumbled into Electronic Music.
Hungry for this exciting new sound the techno world had so generously revealed to me, I soon found
myself in a continuous search for parties, scouring flyers, in the quest of the acceptance of complete
strangers united in one common symbiosis of emotion released by a perfectly placed beat (you ALL
know exactly what I’m talking about), friendly, wonderful people.
I went to every rave or party I could find then fate made sure I did the Electronic Music booking for
the VeauDoux Club in Monthey, Switzerland for 5 years. Slowly but surely, in a rather haphazardly
fashion, I got to know more and more people involved in the making of these dreams (also a hell of a
lot of very weird people but we won't go into that now ;) and the trap deliciously closed in on me
when I bought my first pair of Technics.
One day in the late 90’s, a friend rang up and asked for advice regarding the sale of a track that he’d
never gotten paid for, and that was when I realised that people were always asking me that sort of
professional advice. Unfortunately was a case of the blind leading the blind - my total ignorance was
scary and it dawned on me that all those complex questions could be answered if all those directly
involved could come together in the same room, meet each other and let natural communication
do the rest. So, the idea of EMCS was born (Electronic Music Convention of Switzerland) uniting Swiss
collectives and professionals of the industry by involving them all in a common, knowledge-sharing
project. Due to a million reasons I can identify now in retrospect, the event proceeded to become probably one of the greatest financial catastrophes in Swiss event history.
Broken and beaten, I was about to sell my turntables and my soul to a “real” job when I was invited
to be resident Dj in the tiny cellar of an old jazz club and La CauseTek was born. To my amazement I
discovered that I could in turn make people happy, all those Hiiihaas! and smiling faces got me
hooked. Now I play wherever someone will listen. I am still not able to earn enough to only Dj but I
hope that I will be able to soon. I am not a spring chick and so in a few years I will have to stop (or
maybe I’ll make parties in old age homes) but for now music keeps me on a ball and chain. I have
started producing and hope to contaminate you with a beat virus soon!
My Mom was simply mad about music and we would sing our hearts out while she played away on
the piano in bars and clubs in Africa (Zambia) as children. Our repertoire included anything with a
groove from The Eagles, Dusty Springfield, Dina Ross and the Supremes and Barry White. My first
electronic experiences were wide and varied (tried out everything from House to Jungle and Drum
and Bass) before falling in love with plain old Techno. Claude Young, Rush, Adam Beyer and Marco
Carola, Ben Long, Surgeon & Jack de Marseille were my first really "lights in the dark". Then I got
tired and swerved to Dark Electro (Neil Landstraum & Co) before being swept off my feet by the love
of my life - MINIMAL (House, Electro or Techno). Akufen was a revelation with his exciting clicks'n
cuts. Mathew Herbert with his mesmerising vocals intertwined with tight groove and direct sampling.
Now, when I am asked to decribe the sort of music I play, I answer "Anything that you can do the
minishake to, with a glass (NOT a plastic cup ;) of wine in my hand. The double bounce is where I
come from. Today Markus Fix, Lemos & Kreon, Marco Carola, Pan Pot, Pheek, Magda, Villaobos,
Digitaline, & Audio Werner are only a tiny sample of what gets me all hot and flustered! :)
http://www.myspace.com/jacquilalablablatek

JICHAEL MACKSON (MUSIQUE RISQUEE,ILIAN TAPE) / DE –live-
With a name as audacious and satirical as Jichael Mackson, it's a safe assumption that Boris Steffen is
a man with a sense of humour. His tracks are a different matter, however, opting for a funkier,
sunnier approach to slicing, dicing, and looping micro-samples into first-rate house music.
Since 2003, he's released a dozen singles on such boutique micro-house labels as Pastamusik, Phictiv,
Liebe*Detail and Musique Risquée. More early singles appeared under the aliases Monaco Jam and
Sista Bob. Munich's best kept Secret!
http://www.myspace.com/jchaelmacksonmusic

ROSE & ULYSSE (EDIT SELECT)/ FR
http://www.myspace.com/roseandulysse

DJ DUB (LITTLEHOUSE,OVERGROUND FESTIVAL)
Dj since more than a decade, dj dub is also Overground festival’s programmator since 4 years now.
http://www.myspace.com/ilovedjdub

DJ KOZE (KOMPAKT) / DE
So let’s go back to where it all began. It's the mid 1990’s and DJ Koze was slowly working his way up
through the German Hip-Hop scene. Together with his band Fischmob and their breakthrough
German chart hit full-length “Power”, the act found their way into the German pop charts and a
ravenous, leftfield minded fan-base. But though DJ Koze had a taste of pop success with Fischmob,
he was keeping a keen ear towards experimenting with other forms of electronic music, whether it
be ambient and break beats to wild sound collages from a myriad of musical genres.
Time goes by and DJ Koze found himself as the turntable wizard for the legendary Hamburg trio,
International Pony. Their memorable debut album 'We Love Music' (Sony) was received to much
critical acclaim and eventually signed by Norman Cook´s Label Skint for Great Britain. International
Pony remain one of the most entertaining live acts on the planet given their love for great music
equaled with an equal dose of intelligent humor.
And of course we can’t go without mentioning his alter-ego Adolf Noise here…an abstract alter-ego,
his 2005 full length “Adolf Noise, Wunden’s Beine Offen” brought together a myriad of samples and
grooves into a highly enjoyable listen – demonstrating once again Koze’s love for the fringes of
musical expression.
So that brings us to present….riding solo, DJ Koze remains as one of the most integral musicians in
dance music. Never taking the easy road, he brings an eccentric tone to a rotting formula while
ingeniously keeping the soul and feeling of what proper techno/house music is meant to evoke. This is perfectly demonstrated on his Kompakt full length “Kosi Comes Around”. We’ll leave it to leading
online tastemakers Boomkat to speak up on this topic, having declared the album ‘by far and away
the best album Kompakt have released…a tracklisting that’s perfectly tweaked for the warehouse
abuse alongside music that’s hand carved into the most delicate homespun niche you could possibly
imagine.” Well put we say.
His DJ sets are spoken of as fables…each experience seems to be unique to it’s own and it’s safe to
say are truly, utterly mind-melting. DJ Koze’s turntablism skills from years of DJing hip-hop come out
to play in his sets as shreds the techno/house DJ formula into bits, provoking a convoluted blend of
ecstatic breaks and beats that borderline the psychedelic.
Remaining hype to convince the non-believers – the press and public love him and he’s a regular face
to the year end charts and votes. Germany’s trend-setting SPEX magazine have voted DJ Koze the DJ
Of The Years for 1999 - 2006 – yes that’’s 8 years back-to-back. Other German favs De:Bug and Intro
share the same opinion, having voting him as DJ OF THE YEAR several times!! He plays around – a
lot. Everywhere – just look at his booking calender.
What the future holds for Koze is a mystery to all but himself, all we can hope for is that he never
gives up on the paramont standards he sets for himself - an obvious reaction to the quality of output
we are treated to through his music and his DJ sets.
http://www.myspace.com/djkozeakaadolfnoise

ARK (PERLON) / FR –live-
Seen as the pioneer of the new experimental/minimal house style in France over ten years ago with
releases on Brif, ARK has gone on to collaborate with and inspire a multitude of today’s established
and rising stars across Europe... and the world ! From his origins as guitarist in a number of 80's funk
bands, most notably Trankilou, where he hooked up with the legend that is Pepe Bradock and onto
the great Matthew Herbert & LoSoul with their first collaboration, 'Belle Lurette' in '99. The
'Alleluyark' EP series from 2003 reaffirmed as his status as chief protagonist of experimental, groove
led house and techno. His 2005 long player on Perlon, 'Caliente' won him critical acclaim, which is
furthered by his more recent works together with Cabanne (as Copacabannark), David Taieb (as
Shalark), Mikael Weill (as Les Cerveaux Lents), and Dolibox. His cannon of remixes is as long as the
channel tunnel, reworking the likes of Stephen Beaupre, Mr. Oizo, Mossa, Salif Keita, Slabb, Krikor,
Fym, Cabanne, Robag Whrume... Perlon releases his new album "Arkpocalypse Now" on April 2010
http://www.myspace.com/fantompatron

Kevin McHugh (aka AMBIVALENT) is a native of Washington, DC and resident of New York City. His
musical development began in DC where he was influenced by the broad nature of that city’s music
scene. Early exposure to acid-house and industrial side-by-side with DC’s homegrown go-go and
hardcore punk scenes deeply influenced his music.
After a brief period in London, Kevin moved to New York in 1996. He began producing a music series
inside the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage for Creative Time. Over the next 5 years he produced events
with artists such as Thomas Brinkmann, Dimbiman, Carl Craig, Ryoji Ikeda, Pole, and many more. It
was during this time that he began making a connection with M-nus. He went on to produce events
in New York featuring friends such as Magda, Troy Pierce and his roommate Jesse (Heartthrob) as
well as Matthew Dear, Akufen and Sammy Dee.
He moved to Berlin in 2004 to help Richie Hawtin produce the Plastikman live concert. He later
returned to New York and re-dedicated himself to producing music inspired by his friends. He
answered an ad for an apartment, and moved in with a DJ named Camea. She later created Clink
Recordings. He DJs regularly in New York, and on his internet radio show, The Nerd Tank, with
Camea. He has releases and remixes (past and forthcoming) on Minus, Clink, Klickhaus, Esperanza,
and Leftroom.
http://www.myspace.com/iamambivalent