Love Festival (USA)

Todd Terry (X-Mix Productions/NYC)

A living icon of the house music, Todd Terry defies any pigeonholing - and he does that quite rightfully, for the career history of this super-popular DJ, top producer and remix guru, extremely demanded among the monsters of the world's scene, can hardly be called humdrum.

Todd's Brooklyn childhood was tuned to the beat of hip hop, then followed his affection of the Italian disco, and after that - with the coming of the age of house - arrived his first serious works.

Terry is a pioneer of the mega-successful project Masters At Work. By combining his solo career with producing and remixing, Todd has gained popularity as a godfather of the NYC house music. His solo releases - Todd Terry Project, House of Gypsies, and CLS - have become a classic of the genre.

After his relocation to Great Britain, Terry didn't have to re-gain his star status in the new land: he was referred to as Todd the God by the British critics who were just repeating their American colleagues' words. He became resident of the Ministry Of Sound club, and in 1995, his compilation A Day In The Life, released by the Ministry Of Sound record label, turned into a dance floor riot. The same year saw Todd remix the song Missing for the duo Everything But The Girl, which not only cemented Terry's already steady positions but also skyrocketed the young duo's career selling over three million copies of the release.

Todd Terry has a long list of remixes, and it embraces fans of very different music styles - from guitar rock to, surely, such club stars as David Bowie, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, Bjork, The Rolling Stones, Jamiroquai, George Michael, Kylie Minogue, The Cardigans, Daft Punk, Shakira, ATB, Moloko+ This is but the tip of the iceberg - and it's no wonder, for who can think of not giving his creations to the guru whose terrific performances leave nobody untouched!

Harry Choo Choo Romero (Bambossa/X-Mix Productions/NYC)

"I'm the guy pushing to change the sound from record to record+the struggle for most producers is to not sound the same every time, which is something not everyone can accomplish", explains the diversely talented Harry "Choo Choo" Romero. The DJ and producer remarks, "I am always into combining eclectic flavors and bringing new concepts into the studio."

Sounds refreshing? Well, it's true. In a day when many young producers of dance music have talent and bright ideas, very few also have the forethought and the consistent reputation of Harry Romero. Harry had the privilege of being raised in a musical family   his mother soaked the air with the Latin rhythms of merengue, while his father, a former opera tenor, practiced his scales and listened to Beethoven. As a result, Harry is constantly looking to expand musically, and succeeds in it.

The Run-DMC inspired Choo Choo (the train conductor's cap worn since childhood may have something to do with the nickname) felt the impact of the Latin-freestyle movement in the 1980s, and jump-started his career as a DJ with a high-voltage performance at a New Jersey dance club. From there, he was taken under the wing of Millennium Music, a management company and production team. Harry worked with their label, Gossip Records (distributed by Strictly Rhythm), creating demos and gathering some useful industry-related knowledge.

His first record, Urban Turban, was clearly ahead of its time, weaving Arabic scatting with house grooves. Strictly Rhythm grabbed the record for release in 1995, and asked Harry to release a follow-up record, called Sea Of Passion, which captured more Latin elements. Both records received great recognition, catapulting Harry's name and music out into the world.

A number of releases followed for such labels like Emotive, Sex Mania, Power Music, and Gossip Records. One of Harry's major breaks resulted from Robert Clivilles's interest in one of Harry's creations, Il Futuro, a house track with an Italian vocal from World EP. Robert asked Harry to write, produce, and arrange a song called Saturday Night for his 1996 LP Robi-Rob's Club World. As expected, lots of work followed for Harry. The collaborations with his labelmates and others have been extremely important for Harry in developing his name. Constipated Monkeys (Harry's acclaimed partnership with Jose Nunez) has produced several percussive, funky tracks including Cro-Magnon and Erectus (Subliminal). Another Subliminal outfit, Ministers De La Funk, a trio consisting of Romero, Morillo & Nunez, created one of the label's biggest hits, Believe, with Jocelyn Brown on vocals. Under the guise of The Dronez, the three remixed some of club land's biggest tunes, including Whitney Houston's I'm Your Baby Tonight and Madison Avenue's Don't Call Me Baby.

Equally competent in everything, Harry in his own right enjoyed success with Hazin & Phazin which Defected released in the UK, Just Can't Get Enough featuring Inaya Day on vocals which AMPM snapped up and it consequently entered the Top 40 on the UK national charts, and recently the darker deeper sound of Beats Vol 1 and Beats Vol 2. Perfecto Records snapped up Beats 2 after watching crowd reactions to Paul Oakenfold and Timo Maas dropping the track.

His talents ever expanding, Harry has been sought after for various solo remix projects including Basement Jaxx' Bingo Bango and Modjo's Lady, which brought him the title of an international remixer. Not content with this, Harry has launched his own label, Bambossa, which is being distributed by Subliminal and has gained worldwide support with the release of the debut single, So Lonely, by Harry and Alex, and Romero's solo track, Night At The Black.

Besides all that, currently Romero is working on his solo album to be released this fall. Prepare for the unexpected! He is combining highly eclectic musical flavor with the instinctive precision so many have come to revere.

The event will be supported by Shine! label's residents - DJ Starsky, DJ Mazai, Talano, Rockadello Bellini.