contrast music ... 617.480.0061 ... www.contrastmusic.com Apologies for the crosspost!
This email is going out to inform our promoter friends of the Contrast Music Winter 2000 tour with Nigel Hayes (UK) and DJ Courtney (NYC/Boston). The first release on Contrast Music's new record label is coming soon to a record store near you- November 1st, to be exact. Contrast 001 is by the UK's Nigel Hayes, also known as Chaser (Soma, Glasgow), Charly Brown (Guidance, Chicago), The Prophet (Black Jesus, UK), and Mutant Jazz and Charly's Vault on his own label, Twilight Recordings (not to mention Mixmag's October 2000 compilation and Craig Richards & Lee Burridge's "Tyrant" compilation, which both featured Mutant Jazz tracks). Reviews of Contrast 001 - "Que Pasa" and "Fonkymuzak" are already slated to appear in XLR8R (where the label launch and tour will be mentioned in the "Label Lore" column), Dance Music Authority (see below for a preview), Feedback (Texas), Lotus (Los Angeles), BPM Culture (San Diego), Matter, and tentatively slated in several other publications in the states and abroad. Nigel is looking forward to a very busy end-of-2000 with several releases forthcoming besides this one: a new release on Twilight in October, a full length album on Sunshine entitled "But Is It Art..?", and a new Chaser album... During late November and early December, Nigel will be on tour with Contrast Music's founder, DJ Courtney, in celebration and promotion of these releases and the launch of Contrast's new label. Several dates are tentatively booked for this tour, and we're working on the rest, so if it's something you'd be interested in hosting at your own club or seeing somewhere in your city, please get in touch soon! East Coast, Midwest, and Southern dates are being booked for November 16-30, with West Coast dates falling in the first week of December. Here is some brief background info about the DJs of the Contrast Music Winter 2k tour, along with links to web pages with more thorough information ::: Nigel Hayes: Spending endless hours in the studio hasn't ever stopped Nigel Hayes from DJing constantly all over Europe and the rest of the world -- Canada, U.S.A., Germany, Austria, France, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia have all been graced by his sets. A DJ since his teens, he currently plays regular guest spots in Vienna, Barcelona and London, and in the past has maintained residencies in some of the top clubs in Italy (Blue Note, Cellophane, Rimini Afterhours), NYC (where he also managed the legendary Dance Trax), and Glasgow (Rain, The Arches, The Tunnel, Sub Club, Liberty City). Nigel has garnered international respect as a producer for his work on some of the top house labels in the world, including Soma, Guidance, Black Jesus, Sunshine, Playhouse, Twilight and others. He currently resides in London. Nigel's full bio is available at: http://www.contrastmusic.com/recording s/artists/nigel . DJ Courtney: Courtney has been spinning for six years and has played in most major U.S. cities, right alongside DJs like Jeno, Garth, Halo, Terry Mullan, Robbie Hardkiss, Jamie Thinnes, and countless others. She has held residencies in NYC (Izzy Bar), Boston (Sonic @ Karma, Sedated @ Phoenix Landing, 2001 Lounge Series @ Cosmopolitan), and Seattle (Superhighway). Her international DJing career recently began in Peru, where she earned herself a bi-monthly residency after her first appearance and will soon return for dates with Keoki and Dmitry. She has toured with Ani DiFranco and Maceo Parker, and will be touring in October with the DJs from Icelandic group Gus Gus. She is the founder and a&r woman of Contrast Music, which over the next few months will feature the work of artists from the UK, Japan, Iceland, and the states. Courtney's full bio, in addition to press clippings, real audio, and gig information, is available at: http://www.contrastmusic.com/djcourtney To request more information about this tour or inquire about available dates, please contact us at [EMAIL PROTECTED], call 617.480.0061, or fax a proposal to 617.522.2182. We shall leave you with a quote from the forthcoming issue of Dance Music Authority, courtesy of Sam LaBelle's "Sounds Of the Underground" column: "NIGEL HAYES is one of those recording artists who must not want a life outside music. When he's not running his own successful labels, Twilight and Black Jesus Records, he's doing new tracks for other labels. He is better known as one half of the Soma label's CHASER, The Prophet of Black Jesus, Mutant Jazz, or Charley Brown on Guidance Records. "I'm the Instrument" b/w "Shriek (...but is it art?)" is his first appearance under his own name on Sunshine out of Vienna. "I'm the Instrument" is a full-bodied jazzy, Afro-Latin house excursion that is nicely punched up with ample doses of funky guitar licks. This one is as driving as it is beautiful. "Shriek" shows us more of the electronic noodling side of Hayes and is suited for the moody side of midnight. It was most fortuitous that DJ COURTNEY sent me a copy when she did of the first release on her new label, Contrast Music ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). Nigel Hayes is set to inaugurate this new label out of Boston with "Fonkymuzak" b/w "Que Pasa." "Fonkymuzak" works an undeniable "fonky" bass line but this up-tempo jam's power lies with its tech-y overtones. This one would not be out of place around 4:00 am in one of Danny Teneglia's sexy late-nighters. "Que Pasa" kicks off with a cosmic sax solo that slowly builds with snares and strings. The breaky house rhythm kicks in about the same time as the fuzzy, squelchy, filtered bass. The feel is one of a luscious urban soundtrack with an infectious beat. DJ Courtney's Contrast Music is set to release tracks from a list of international artists. Courtney is in the studio now and is set to release a house EP on her new imprint. Watch for her American tour with the DJs from Icelandic group Gus Gus. This is definitely one to watch." Best wishes to all of our friends! ..from contrast music. www.contrastmusic.com . [EMAIL PROTECTED] . ph. 617.480.0061 f. 617-522-2182
