Tony Rohr - Interface 22 - Mar 2008 - Part 3

Biography of Tony Rohr

Born in the little town of Effingham, IL, Tony Rohr was always fascinated with new sounds and progressive music. However, all he really had access to while growing up was the radio. The local music store's selections were slim at best, and Tony began listening to the Beatles, Electric Light Orchestra, and his Parents disco collection. Then one day in 1982 his cousin played him a new album that would captivate him for years to come, 'The Message' by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. In particular, the song 'Scorpio'... was like something beamed directly from space into his head and would inspire Tony to pursue music more and more throughout his life. Hip hop and then Industrial became Tony's main source of music growing up. He still hadn't quite found what he was looking for, but was getting close.

Later Tony transitioned from being a scratch DJ into buying house and commercial records to DJ parties with. He began Djing at high school parties and then his first club in College, Stu's Surfside. Another turning point came in 1994 when he got his hands on Sven Vath's 'L'Esperanza', the same year he went to his first rave and discovered techno music. DJing parties throughout the Midwest and finished with college, Tony eventually moved east to New York and tried his hand at production.

Setting up shop in the beautiful borough of Brooklyn, Tony Rohr has since had a steady output of atmospheric, yet dance floor friendly releases. His sound often varies from release to release, which makes him very versatile as both a producer and remixer. He's recorded on labels such as Cocoon, Clink, Weave, Hidden Agenda, Tora Tora Tora, Electric Avenue, and Syndikaat. His Eps like 'Yadda Yadda Yadda', 'Was ist Das?' and 'Baile Conmigo' have gone on to become underground anthems. Tony released his first full-length album in the spring of 2006 entitled 'Tony Rohr Loves You All', showcasing all of his various styles within the genre. After being successful as a solo artist, Tony has gone on to collaborate with like-minded music lovers such as Paul Birken (Plurby & Etard), Dietrich Schoenemann (Side Four, TR & DS), Dave Shokh (as Dirka Dirka) and most recently Tim Xavier (Afternoon Coffee Boys).

In addition to a heavy production load, Rohr has performed strictly as a live act since 1997 and keeps up a very busy tour schedule. He's played such legendary events and clubs as I Love Techno, Nature One, Awakenings, Chris Liebing's Spinclub, Kozzmozz, FUSE in Brussels and even the closing of the famous La Real in Spain.

With releases, remixes and gigs a plenty, Tony shows no sign of slowing down. Continuously trying to push the envelope, he continues to strive for the freshest sounds for the dance floor.

http://www.hidden-agenda.com/
http://www.myspace.com/tonyrohr

John Tejada - Interface 22 - Mar 2008 - Part 3

Biography of John Tejada

Normally associated with his peers in Techno from Detroit, Europe and elsewhere in the US and the world, John Tejada has embraced electronic music as a personal frontier, expanding on his formidable resume as a Techno recording artist as producer and remixer, DJ, and label owner. With dozens of singles, remixes, some film and TV work and contributions to sample CDs to his credit, this recent expansion has born a slew of tracks deeply informed by his uncompromised aesthetic honed over years of diligent production which finds its roots in Detroit Techno but references a far broader range of music, both in and outside of electronic music. His musically formative years were steeped in Classical music, growing up in family of performing artists--his mother a soprano singer and his father a conductor which then widened to include hip hop, DJing and finally, electronic music.

Known for crafting a brand of subtle, musical techno, his recorded output ranges across tempo and genre lines, from chilled out affairs with spacious arrangements to pulsating, densely layered, deeply energetic tracks that work magnificently in the hands of DJs as well as on the home stereo. Earlier on, his music found release on labels such as A13, Multiplex and Generation R&S. Following on to those successes, he established his own imprint, Palette, in Los Angeles, in 1996, and has enjoyed seven years of steady growth and recognition. The label has served as an exclusive outlet for his own prodigious output but has recently begun to expand its roster. He has also continued to record for other labels such as Plug Research, Seventh City, Moods and Grooves, deFocus, Sino and others, often in collaboration with 12 year long collaborator Arian Leviste, and alongside these numerous singles, has also produced eight albums; two for A13, Palette and one each for deFocus, Plug Research, Moods and Grooves and Playhouse.

While most of his colleagues work on establishing a signature sound within one specific genre, John Tejada works in all genres simultaneously. Whether house, techno, electronica or drum & bass, every scene gets something from this multitalent, and Tejada manages to move within each field as if it were his own. Recently he surprised everyone by revealing yet another facet to his already impressive ability: he is releasing an album on the Berlin label City Centre Offices with Japanese guitarist Takeshi Nishimoto, under the project name 'I'm Not a Gun'. The album impressively demonstrates that Tejada can make a place for himself in post-rock circles as well, mixing electronic and acoustic sounds in the Tortoise tradition.

Acid Circus - Interface 22 - Mar 2008 - Part 3

Biography of Acid Circus

In an industry where dj's dominate the action with pressed wax, a live P.A can be the ultimate trip in pure crowd reaction and feedback. The ability to drop samples and percussion in and out of a mix piece by piece, experimenting with the sounds in real-time is a tweakers dream.

Back in '99, tired of dealing with weak music at even weaker parties, the members of acid circus started producing their own brand of techno. Always leaning towards a harder, funkier, dirtier sound, they do whatever it takes to keep the floor moving. Their intense live sets have earned them places alongside some of the international talent to grace LA's underground scene in the past 2 years, such as fanon flowers, pacou, angela flame, dj bone, and juan atkins.

Over the years they have also sought out and eventually hooked up with other like-minded individuals within the LA area. This tightly knit network of techno heads have become the inspiration for groups like droidbehavior.

Operating mostly on laptops, acid circus smashes the myth that laptop techno is only for computer geeks who glitch out in front of their monitors. After 3 years of hard gigging they have come up with their first release on Gunjak's (sheep, Tokyo) new label, Deafmosaic. They are constantly working on different projects, but keep an eye out for their second release on up and coming label droid recordings, which promises to slam back after a long awaited return. Acid Circus is v & v vargas.