STAX

Who they are

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  Danny Tenaglia

  New York City · 24 bookings since Aug 2023

  “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.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  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.
  SoundCloud ↗Discography ↗
  Their RA profile lists Hooj Choons, Global Underground, React Records, Azuli and 3 more.

  Recently at The Chocolate Factory, Sugar Hill Disco, The Brooklyn Monarch · often with Kilopatrah Jones, LEFTI, Hot Since 82, none of them here that night

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  Len Faki

  Berlin, Germany · 3 bookings since Apr 2024

  “keeps him open-minded as both, dj and producer.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  keeps him open-minded as both, dj and producer. His sound is constantly evolving without ever losing its vibrant, unique energy and the passion and heart he puts into his sets. His gigs are an audio-visual adventure where he is not only playing for the crowd but rather performing for and with them. Even before his move to Berlin in 2003, Len Faki had the experience of managing two highly acclaimed techno labels, Monoid and Feis. These early years of fruitful productivity provided the necessary groundwork for the next big steps in his career. Upon his arrival in Berlin, it didn´t take long until he became a resident-DJ in the newly opened Berghain - a match made in techno heaven and a monthly experience he wouldn´t want to miss for anything. The characteristic extra long DJ-sets in his "living room" inspire him to vary in tone and fully roll out his style to explore and further deepen his mastery of turning a DJ-set into a bona fide musical journey. In 2003 he founded his own label Figure as a new platform to play out his eclectic and open-minded vision of techno music. At first an outlet for his own productions, Figure developed into a well recognized, highly acclaimed label, releasing household names like Jeroen Search as well as upcoming producers like Cleric, Roman Poncet and Regal. To support and believe in the success of upcoming artists was and always will be a matter close to Len’s heart and so the label is constantly scouting for fresh talent to develop and produce. Closing in on it's 100th release, Figure is setting a new standard for techno music that is equal parts versatile, exciting and cutting-edge. In 2006 Len founded the new label Podium with the intention to produce a short running series of EPs, featuring exclusive tracks from colleagues and friends alongside his own creations. From its initial release Podium found a sizeable fan base and has since gained cult status within the techno fraternity. One year later, in 2007 he released the double A-side "Rainbow Delta/ Mekong Delta" on Ostgut Ton, which became one of the biggest anthems of the year and an instant techno classic, heavily supported by techno’s top DJs. The success and popularity of Mekong Delta brought a wave of attention to Faki, who answered with numerous, extremely successful follow-up tracks like "My Black Sheep“ or „Odyssee II", which turned into massive club hits in 2007 and 2008, as well as "Death By House" for Sven Väth’s Cocoon label, a track, that ruled that year’s summer festivals and Ibiza's annual debauchery. Thanks to his passionate performances, he got constant, top-notch rankings in a variety of popular music magazines. In Groove magazine's reader poll at the end of 2007 he was voted to the top position in three categories like "Best Track" and "Best Producer" - a tremendous honor and triple status that no one had ever achieved before him. Never one to rest on his laurels, Len´s love for the infinite variety of electronic music resulted in founding figure spc in 2009. An authentic label, releasing techno music in all its facets, open minded and unconditional in its passion. Just like Podium before it, figure spc quickly found a huge fan base, who appreciate the label’s tidbits each time. In spring 2009, another milestone in Len’s career was passed with the release of "Berghain 03" on Ostgut Ton, Len Faki’s first commercial mix-CD. Accompanied by two 12 inches with exclusive tracks from fellow producers like Radio Slave and Len himself, "Berghain 03" further reinforced his status as one of the most innovative and versatile techno DJs in the business who pairs a deep understanding of balancing stripped-down funkiness and modern techno sensibilities. Since then Len has found more and more pleasure in editing tracks for his DJ- sets to create his own musical universe and further develop his unique sound on stage. Len Faki’s bone-dry but communicative execution style sets him apart as a true gentleman behind the turntables, an artist whose sets are based on raw passion and beauty, who uses his fingertips like sensors on a Richter scale, gauging, anticipating as well as triggering eruptions on the dance floor...
  SoundCloud ↗Discography ↗
  Their RA profile lists Cocoon Recordings, Ostgut Ton, Ibadan Records, Drumcode and 6 more.

  Recently at Knockdown Center · often with Hervé, Thabo, nthng, none of them here that night