Gatecrasher Pres Paul Oakenfold - Saturday 1st December

[crasher]

On Saturday 1st December, Gatecrasher welcomes back the original Trance legend Paul Oakenfold for part of his Four Seansons Tour.

Having being one of the original pioneerrs who brought Dance music to the masses after 'that' famous holiday in Ibiza, Paul Oakenfold has gone on to conquer the world from his productions in Trance through to his successful career in recording remixes for artists such as The Rolling Stones, working with Madonna and having scores of high profile music titles in the world of film and TV.

His relationship with Gatecrasher spans over 15 years including headlining at Summer Sound System, NEC events and many special club nights and we can’t wait to have him back after his storming set last July 2011.

The second headliner is also no stranger to success. Having remixed such huge hits as Tiesto's 'Lethal Industry' and 'Flight 643', Gatecrasher is proud to announce Richard Durand!

Richard's close relationship with Tiesto has seen the baton passed and Durand has successfully taken over the coverted 'In Search Of Sunrise' series which has seen 3 compilations in as many years.

Joining the line up is one of the most respected artists on the International Trance circuit. The one and only John Askew! Having had success at the helm of Discover records, Askew is now heading up the A & R at Perfecto alongside Paul Oakenfold. Askew also has a back catalouge of productions that features in all of the record boxes of every high profile Trance act across the globe. Tracks such as 'Chime', 'Fade To Black' and 'Vandalism' with more recent tracks such as 'The Witch' and the brilliant remix of John O'Callaghan's 'Stress Test', the eagerly anticipated GB debut of John Askew cannot come soon enough!

Having played the Red & Black party in October, Signum is back to show Gatecrasher Birmingham why he is still at the top of his game in the Trance scene. Having a string of classics under his production belt such as 'What Ya Got 4 Me' and 'Comin' On Strong', with the more recent

Completing the line up is the legendary Gatecrasher resident, the one and only Scott Bond! Having held one of the most prestigious residencys in Dance music history, Scott Bond was one of the driving forces behind the Gatecrasher brand. Having mixed countless Gatecrasher compilations and having had success with such classics as 'I'm Not Going Home' and '3rd Earth', the Crasher kids favourite joins this massive line up!

Last but not least, we once again welcome back our Global Gatecrasher resident JFK. With a career spanning 2 decades, JFK is one of the most successful promoter / DJ's in the business. Having built up a long standing relationship with the Gatecrasher faithful, the legendary JFK is the perfect choice to complete this huge line up!

Paul Oakenfold
Richard Durand
John Askew
Scott Bond
Signum
JFK

Tickets:
£12 Standard
£25 VIP

Log on:
www.gatecrasher.com/tickets
www.twitter.com/gatecrasherGB
www.pauloakenfold.com
www.djjohnaskew.com

[crasher]

JFK interview

First and foremost we are very excited to having you back behind the Gatecrasher decks on Saturday 1st December! For those that aren’t familiar with JFK can you explain what the crowd can expect to hear from you on the night?
JFK: Wow what a question to start! Well firstly with over 20 years professional experience behind me its pretty certain that i will know how to rock the crowd no matter what time i will be playing! Always a crowd pleaser i play for the crowd... always, they pay my wages!
As a DJ / producer / promoter you have been heavily involved since the early days of the UK Trance scene. In your opinion, how has the scene changed since when you first started. Has it changed for the better or the worse?
JFK: Well it wasn’t a scene when I started it was a small uprising of people back lashing against the oppressive late 80’s early 90’s shit Ritzy discos. We went underground and I found my favourite ever club –my mecca- called Venus in Nottingham. I was a weekly regular and in this 500 capacity club witnessed everyone important: Jeremy Healy, Pete Tong, Sasha, Boy George and many more, I even saw Jam & Spoon play ‘Stella’ live in their first ever uk appearance, you could reach out and touch them... it quickly turned into a worldwide phenomenon with superclubs springing up in everytown... and then the downturn... it faded away like a bad comedown but... slowly things have started to improve again, the people putting on bad gigs have disappeard and the solid promoters remain.. the party might not happen every week now but the parties are bigger and better!
How did you get into Trance music and what have been the highlights of your career?
JFK: Well before Trance music (that’s rights kids there was once life without Trance-try and imagine it!) it was just called house.. and that’s what we played, in 1987 it was just music that made me you jack, in the early 90’s it was Acid, in the mid 90’s it was garage, in the late 90’s it became Trance, just a natural progression of blended music that made people dance and i wanted to play anything that made clubbers dance. I suppose the very first official Trance record that broke massively was ‘System F’ Out Of The Blue. Mixmag used to run an article called ‘The Judge and the jury’ hosted each month by Judge Jules who was the world’s biggest Dj at that time, he invited myself and Scott Bond to bring one record to be reviewed... i took ‘Out of the blue’ and after the 5 star reviews by everyone booked Ferry Corsten to play his UK debut on the back of it. The Trance scene was born.
Do you still love your Trance music as much as you did when you first got into it and have your music tastes changed much since?
JFK: Trance will always be a massive part of my life.. even if most of my dance scene life was pre Trance, but i now love even more parts of Trances fragmented offshoots too. The new progressive scene is massive and now slower beats have given Trance new cooler edge which has enabled it to re-invent itself once again. My taste will always stay the same. If it makes people dance its good.
If you could your ideal line up, who would be on it and where would you hold the event?
JFK: Ideal line up-PFFFFFF- Ive already had it, Myself, Armin Van Buuren and Ferry Corsten back to back.
The best night we all ever had!

Who are your favourite DJ’s / producers in the scene right now?
JFK: Today is influenced by new sounds and ways of making the groove happen- John Dahlback and Joris Voorn and my new hero Umek.
Over the last few years there appears to have been a split in the trance scene. Those that lean to the more commercial, house sound and those that go for the real underground Trance sound. Which side are you on, and can you see your style changing in the years to come?
JFK: Well its difficult to pin point commercialism! If you are talking about making music that the masses liked then the Superclubs of the 90s were the commercial clubs, commercial means making money and thats what they did, if you mean underground liked by a few cooler clubbers then there will always be fractions of that too. Ive always played to the mass audience for maximum impact... if you are asking me if i am going to play the latest new craze that only a few people will nod their head too in appreciation then you are asking the wrong DJ.
Finally, after many years experience in the scene, where can you see Trance heading and what do you think the future holds?
JFK: Trance is just another form of dance music which has had incredible resolve and evolution over many years.. it will evolve in a new way it will take us all on a wonderful journey but at the core is one thing we all connect with... it makes us emotional and it makes it unstoppable to dance too. Quality last forever.