Merlin Bobb, New York native and celebrated DJ, producer, and music executive is widely recognized as a pioneer of house music. His groundbreaking contributions continue to earn acclaim, including his highly anticipated Boiler Room debut DJ set in 2023.

Merlin’s career began on the airwaves with his first mix show on WBLS, where he quickly became a favorite among dance music fans. His show became a landmark for introducing early Chicago, New York, and New Jersey house music to a wider audience. Constantly pushing boundaries with new sounds and techniques, Merlin helped redefine the art of DJing and laid the foundation for a remarkable career in music.

Beyond the decks, Merlin shaped the direction of house and dance music as an executive at Atlantic and Elektra Records. He was instrumental in bringing house into the mainstream while collaborating with and championing legends like Frankie Knuckles, Timmy Regisford, Roger Sanchez, Kerri Chandler, David Morales, Louie Vega, Tony Humphries, and DJ Spinna. At the same time, he worked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B—Missy Elliott, Brandy, Busta Rhymes, Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, Outkast, Dr. Dre, and more during his tenure as Senior Vice President of A&R.

Merlin also helped shape New York nightlife as co-founder of Club Shelter in 1991, a cultural institution whose influence continues to resonate across global club culture today.

Now, after years behind the scenes, Merlin has returned to DJing and producing, reigniting his connection with longtime fans and reaffirming his role as a vital force in the house music movement.

Follow him: @merlinbobb4

The tale of Danny Tenaglia's love affair with music, and the world's subsequent romance with him, is one of the critical veins in the body of dance music. He is every dancer's secret discovery; a random purchase at the record store, a reluctant night out that unexpectedly turned magic. Explosive success came not behind a major label release, or a world tour, or a radio hit remix: It happened when enough people had the private Tenaglia experience for themselves.

The momentum started building in early '70s New York, when a barely 10-year-old Danny first got the feel of vinyl in his hands. Enthralled by the music of artists like Philly Soul's The Trammps, Motown's Marvin Gaye, African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, and disco producer Giorgio Moroder, he started to collect records, plumbing the depths of each one, and frequently finding that he preferred the B-side to the A. It was 1979 when he discovered legendary nightclub Paradise Garage, where DJ Larry Levan's rich, genre-less blend of music seemed to mirror his own "no boundaries" policy. It was here where Danny found the club model he would one day emulate: Levan's bold style, the venue's plain décor, and the party's warmth and inclusiveness.

Danny left New York in 1985 and launched a successful DJ-ing career in Miami as a resident at Cheers nightclub. There he schooled the locals in classic New York and Chicago house, but five years later he returned home, tired of only playing other people's music. He started to assemble an impressive roster of remixes, including Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" (1991), Jamiroquai's "Emergency on Planet Earth" (1993), and Madonna's "Human Nature" (1994). But his first epic was The Daou's "Surrender Yourself" (1993): With the kick in the bass and the underlying rhythm as the foundation, Tenaglia blanketed Vanessa Daou's wispy vocal with grand, thick chords, a combination of classic groove and modern club-ready depth that was, at the time, entirely new. The title of his 1995 debut artist album on New York's Tribal Records described it perfectly: Hard & Soul. But even if the cocktail was his own, Tenaglia never hesitated to declare how heavily his influences weighed in his productions - everyone from Patti LaBelle to Kraftwerk, with countless lesser-known Soul, R&B, Latin, Samba, and Disco artists in between.

In 1996, after a brief stint at New York superclub Roxy, Danny landed a Saturday night residency at white-hot Twilo, a position that upped his profile but didn't satisfy his expanding artistry as a DJ and producer. While New York swooned for big-room diva anthems, Danny was turning his ear toward the more minimal, tech-y grooves originating in European production studios. This period produced solid remixes like Grace's "Not Over Yet" (1996) and Janet Jackson's "The Pleasure Principle" (1996), but by the time he moved to Tunnel in 1998, Danny had already created "Elements," an instant classic that caused the dance scene's collective jaw to drop. With his own warped voice providing the narration, "Elements" (one track off full-length Tourism) walked the listener through the different components of a dance track in real time, going from kick to drum loop to snare hit, letting each layer over the other until the track exploded with dark, drum-heavy energy. Next to ostentatious radio anthems, its simplicity was a revelation. 

It was around this time that the murmurs started to get louder: Who is this Danny Tenaglia, and just what does he do to people? Clubbers reported seemingly inhuman mixing capabilities, booth-to-floor telepathy, and the grittiest "modern yet classic" grooves they had ever heard come out of a speaker. A trio of label compilations - Mix This Pussy (1994) and Can Your Pussy Do The Dog? (1995) for Tribal, and Gag Me With A Tune (1996) for Maxi - were the first Tenaglia sets clued-in clubbers could take home to dissect, but the release of his first installment in the UK-based Global Underground series of DJ mixes, titled Athens (2000), lit the international fire. Athens (meant to reflect the set he played at the Greek capital's club King Size) remains one of the darkest, strangest, sexiest sets ever released, and its tame cover photo of a gentle-looking man in a Yankee cap just didn't seem to fit. DJ dates across Europe dispelled the mystery and started the spread of the infectious Tenaglia fever.

Back in New York, Tenaglia was tiring of the cavernous gloom of Tunnel and longed for a weekly home that better resembled where the DJ bug first bit him - the Paradise Garage. He landed at Vinyl, a black-walled, single-environment, no-liquor club about one-quarter the size of Tunnel. He named the night "Be Yourself," after the self-affirming, heavy-bottomed vocal track he had recently recorded with Chicago's Celeda. And he took the name to heart: Without the pressure of bar minimums or an expectant crowd, Tenaglia spread his DJ wings. Next to new tracks by young producers like Rui Da Silva, Peace Division, and Saeed & Palash, he played the artists of his youth, with nary a beat dropped. If he wanted to launch into a two-hour set of straight-up techno, he did. If he wanted to play old Michael Jackson records, he did. If he wanted to get on the mic and tell the crowd the name of the sound he was about to play, or who next week's guest opening DJ would be, or just give everyone a "verbal handshake" to welcome them to the club, he did. And a city tired of drama embraced the barebones, music-centered night. 

The world caught up to Tenaglia in 2000. His annual party during Miami's Winter Music Conference outgrew its home at the cramped Groovejet and moved to just-opened superclub Space. DJ giants like Carl Cox danced on top of the speakers with the Deep Dish boys, Fatboy Slim mingled on the patio, and for a day the ego inherent to DJ culture evaporated: Tenaglia was hailed as the undisputed king, the "DJ's DJ." His roof-raising revamp of Green Velvet's "Flash" won "Best Remix" at the UK's Muzik Awards, where he was also awarded the "Best International DJ" prize. 

In the two years that followed, Tenaglia released another Global Underground installment (London); toured the world, took the party island of Ibiza by storm, remixed Billy Nichols' "Give Your Body Up To The Music" (a Garage anthem); got nominated for a Grammy (for his remix of Depeche Mode's "I Feel Loved," also nominated for Best Dance Song); returned to Twilo for two special gigs - a President's Day marathon with Carl Cox that shattered all its attendance records, and the club's sixth anniversary party with John Digweed, which turned out to be even more meaningful than it seemed at the time (Twilo was shut down permanently a week later); graced the cover of every major dance music magazine; and won a Dancestar Lifetime Achievement award... all while keeping Be Yourself buzzing every Friday. 

In 2003, Danny came full circle with the release of Choice: A Collection Of Classics, a two-CD mixed compilation that let him pay direct tribute to many of the artists who had influenced his sound and style. It featured everyone from Blaze to Adeva to Imagination, as well as hefty liner notes explaining the significance of each track, penned by the man himself. He also remixed another Garage classic (Yoko Ono's "Walking On Thin Ice," which became her first Billboard number one ever), opened another Space during Winter Music Conference (the new location down the block), and took another Dancestar award, this time "Best Party" for Be Yourself. 

Be Yourself took the same honor again in 2004, but this time the win was bittersweet. At the time of the ceremony, Vinyl, now called Arc, had already been sold to developers. Danny closed the classic club on Sunday, April 25, 2004, with an emotional set that lasted well into Monday afternoon, and culminated with his mix of Kings Of Tomorrow's paean to unending love, "Finally."

And as in every year since his DJ odyssey began, all across the globe, from Acapulco to Tokyo, more people experienced their first night with Danny Tenaglia, that clubber rite-of-passage that forever changes how you listen to music, go out to nightclubs, and think about DJs. 


Electronic music has always been filled with innovative individuals, but even among such company, Dean Zepherin is a producer who has managed to find his lane and appeal.  Born and raised in London, a suitably eclectic city for a man of his musical persuasion he is renowned for his consistently genre-pushing productions, having also spent time in Berlin, it became another city that’s left its mark on his always-captivating sound.
To fully appreciate and understand Zepherin’s approach, it’s necessary to go back to his roots in Harrow, London as it was here where he first encountered soul, funk and jazz fusion records. From an early age he was obsessed with these out-there sounds, as well as their ability to metaphorically transport him to a world far away from the confines of his hometown.
Adopting a more electronic-based sound later on, he soon became a natural at conjuring up “house” tunes with more than a hint of soul, the likes of which spoke to his own Caribbean roots. In the process, Zepherin describes his own raison d’etre with concise charm as ‘championing the emergence of indigenous influence in electronic music’, something now so endemic to much of the most in-vogue house productions, displaying a worldview that values above all the organic and the human in this machine. 
While he’s undoubtedly best known for his work over the past nine years, establishing Tribe as one of the world’s leading labels pushing the afro and soulful envelope, his own legacy goes way back to 1988 when he released ‘Give me back your Love’ under the pseudonym Boyz in Shock, credited as the UK’s first soulful house record.
His label Tribe remains a vehicle for his many solo productions and collaborations and has hosted works and remixes from a diverse range of artists and legends across the electronic music board, as well as hosting his esteemed works with labels Defected, Suol, No Fuss, Soul 2 Soul, Vega records and Jack Trax. 
Zepherin’s productions deliver impeccable slices of soulful and afro sounds fused in a futuristic musicality in which he emphasises the tension that soul music can have, rather than the release. His tracks and particularly his dubs under his moniker Zepherin Saint, are often full of suspense and atmosphere – check his ‘Take You There’ on Suol, or his ‘Skyy and Butterflies Dubs’ released on his own imprint.
Equally respected as a DJ as he is a producer, Zepherin gained his schooling playing the London sound system circuit in the 80’s and managing the legendary Black Market record store in the 90’s.  His unique talents of playing dance music with no boundaries have been sought after in the likes of Japan, Africa, North America, Indonesia, Canada, Europe Australia and the Middle East, while on a club level he’s left his mark at world renowned clubs like Contact, Tresor, Watergate, Cielo, Stereo, Djoon, Ministry of Sound and Pacha. 
A man of many considerable sounds and styles, it’s hardly surprising that Dean Zepherin’s colourful and diverse approach continues to enthral clubbers and electronic music connoisseurs across the world.

PR: Stephen@eureka-artists.com 
Booking: info@triberecordsuk.com

Kyboo was born out of a profound passion for 70s and 80s disco and funk: from digging and collecting rare grooves and special versions to creatively reworking them as remixes and re-edits.
His work is based on the use of carefully chosen samples taken from original vinyl and re-contextualized with a modern touch.

The result is a groove-oriented sound, built on funky basslines, warm percussions and vintage loops, with a retro vibe reminiscent of the golden era of disco and French touch.

His productions and re-edits are available on Bandcamp (“Kybooedit”), a space dedicated to his most personal and curated projects.

Raheem Muhammad B.T.R. (Blazin&#x27; The Rhythm) is following

Raheem Muhammad B.T.R. (Blazin' The Rhythm) is following