It’s tough to say more about DJ Dan than what is most likely known by just about any dance music fan that has ever taken interest in the genre. Just take a look at what some other legends have said:

“Dan is a pivotal ingredient to live DJing and production, a real teacher to all."-DJ Sneak

"The thing I love about Dan is that he's always had a funky spirit and he always pushes the elements of music."-Carl Cox

To those who still may not know all that much on Dan, we’ll help you out from under that rock. As you can tell from just a bit of the praise from musical icons DJ Dan has received, our West Coast bred friend has been around the block a few times (and turning heads all the while). Music has been forever entrenched in Dan’s life, having garnered a superior record collection at the age of 8 that would give Amoeba Records a run for its money. Starting his professional musical career with some smaller clubs in Seattle and then Los Angeles, DJ Dan had a rise to recognition in the dance music community that could be considered meteoric. Forming the Funky Techno Tribe in 1993, DJ Dan fused together breakbeat, house, dub, and techno to create a sound that later was fittingly crowned, “West Coast House”. And with renowned tracks like “Needle Damage”, and remixes for everyone from Depeche Mode to Duck Sauce, Dan’s production prowess is undeniable. The journey that Dan’s talents have taken him on could go on for pages and pages. He has played alongside the likes of fellow legends from Carl Cox to John Digweed with a mission of making club goers unable to fight the urge to dance the night away.

And it’s not just party goers and fellow DJ’s who bow down to Dan, the press have drooled over his music. DJ Mag named DJ Dan the #1 House DJ in 2006 while Urb Magazine named him “America’s Favorite DJ” and “America’s Hardest Working DJ” while he was also DJ Time’s ‘America’s Best DJ’ 2014 Top Ten Finalist. The media has never been more accurate. But one of the proudest moments could be said when THUMP warned partygoers to ‘never fuck with DJ Dan’ much like one unfateful attdendant did this year in Baltimore to which Dan had the most powerful of responses.

Dan’s widely renowned Los Angeles based label Instereo Recordings,has further etched his name into dance music’s core. With TJR, Phunk Investigation, Wolfgang Gartner, DJ PP, DJ Sneak, Hatiras, and DJ Dan being amongst the many artists featured on the Instereo Recordings, the label is hard to ignore in the industry. Dan also has releases on Toolroom, Pacha Recordings, Ultra, Guesthouse, Work, XL Recordings, Magnetic, Rising, and many others. 

In 2014 Dan shows no signs of slowing down. His EDC set was rated as one of the best sets of the weekend by DJOYBEAT.com as well as Magnetic Mag. Similar buzz had Insomniac President/ CEO Pasquale Rotella chiming in:

"We go back since the early 90′s and he DJ’d some of my first warehouse parties. He’s an LA underground staple and music legend.”

And if that wasn’t enough, in the recent major dance music poll ‘America’s Best DJ’, DJ Dan clocked in at #9 in a extremely competitive field; beating out some of the largest names in electronic music.

As this dance music world continues to evolve, it is safe to say that DJ Dan will continue to be one of its strongest voices and most powerful influencers.

Long Island New York House Music Innovators Razor and Guido have been an unstoppable remix and production force since their first remix for Robert Miles "Fable" in 1996. Since then the two single handedly changed the face of american dance music with original productions like "Do it again", "Don't Look Behind You", The Build Up and "Miss The way" feat Reina. As well as solidifying their relentless energy progressive house style with remixes like Notorious B.I.G "Mo Money Mo Problems”, Kim English's "Unspeakable Joy", Monica "The First Night" and most recently Selena Gomez "Slow Down" and Havana Brown's “Flashing Lights” singles, all of which show that Razor N Guido are not only billboard #1 dance artist but true multi platinum Remixer / Producers.

First and foremost Razor and Guido are DJ's having traveled around the world supporting their productions and remixes and sharing their unique brand of NY hard house progressive music. "We are all about the energy, if it doesn't make you want to get up and dance then it's not us" says Razor. Not ones to stand still the two continuously strive to evolve and change their sound always adapting and morphing styles in unique combinations to create their signature sound. This approach has gained them the recognition from world Dj's such as Junior Vasquez, Johnny Vicious, Eric Morillo, Danny Tenaglia, Jonathan Peters, Sasha to name a few. In 2011 they were honored to be inducted in the Just Circuit Hall of Fame for their production and remix efforts through out their 15 year career as well as writing and producing music for award winning cable Show "Queer as Folk'" along with numerous other TV and Film contributions. This year they plan on concentrating heavily on their own productions starting with the rework of their classic single "Do It Again" with the help of fellow remixers Richard Grey & Lisa Kensington Trent Cantrell, J Quintel & Manufactured Superstars along with a host of others. Razor and Guido will not be satisfied until they explore all parts of the music industry or at least until there is no more music for them to be inspired from, which by all accounts Guido Says “is never gonna happen”. For more info and details please check out razorandguido.com

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. 


STARTED AS A DJ, RECORD PRODUCER AND REMIXER IN MY HOMETOWN, BREDA. ULTIMATELY VOTED THE WORLD'S NUMBER ONE DJ ON DJ MAG IN 2013 AND AGAIN IN 2014. NOW A MUSICAL CREATIVE FOLLOWING MY OWN PATH, BACK FOR MORE.

#REBELSNEVERDIE

www.djhardwell.com

High-Tech Minimal
be serious!

In 2024, the single "Gravity" went gold in Mexico.

DJ Lisa Lashes
For nearly three decades, Lisa Lashes has been at the forefront of the harder sounds of dance music, captivating crowds in over 50 countries with her electrifying sets. From underground raves to the world’s biggest festivals, she’s become a global icon in hard house, hard techno, and beyond. Known for her relentless energy, razor-sharp mixing, and unforgettable connection with the dancefloor, Lisa’s SoundCloud is a home for high-octane mixes and productions that keep the harder generation moving.

Send demos/music to: 
demo@smashthehouse.com

More Dimitri Vegas &amp; Like Mike on:
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