Category: Interviews

INTERVIEW: Markus Schulz – Scream Tour (2013)

‘Think differently’ was the slogan for Apple back in the late ’90s, and it seem like Markus Schulz has embraced it as his personal mantra.? When we last spoke to the German DJ/Producer, he had just released the incredible ‘Scream’ album.? To support the album, he loaded up a bus with Khomha and the M-Machine and toured the US. At his stop in Nashville, I caught up with him and asked him about his new project with Ferry Corsten (New World Punx), the idea behind the Schulz Music Group, and more.

DJ Ron Slomowicz: I eMailed my readers for questions to ask you; and the question which kept coming back was what city in Germany were you born in?
Markus Schulz: I was born in Eschwege, which is a little village by Kassel in between Frankfurt and Gottingen.

RS: The big news since the album release is the New World Punx, why are you and Ferry Corsten joining up like this?
Markus: Well it all started one day at a barbeque in Ibiza, we were just hanging out chatting and vibing and we both thought ?god, why haven?t we ever worked together in the studio.? We got in the studio just to have fun and work together and we ended up have such great chemistry, we were dancing around, high-fiving, and it just evolved from there. We started doing back-to-back sets and had such good chemistry that the promoters wanted to book us back-to-back. We decided to come up with a brand name for it so that people understood that New World Punx was different than just Ferry and Markus. Ferry and I are both at a stage in our careers that we just want to have fun right now, we have both done so much and sometimes the politics of the scene can get to you and we just want to have some fun with the project.

Continue reading INTERVIEW: Markus Schulz – Scream Tour (2013)

INTERVIEW: MIKA NEWTON (2013)

Ukranian pop star – that’s not something you hear every day.? Mika Newton is an accomplished star on the Ukraine pop scene with several big soundtrack hits, and after major success at Eurovision 2011 (she came in fourth) ?she moved to Los Angeles and signed with the Randy Jackson music group.? Her debut single “Don’t Dumb Me Down” received support from MTV, and remixes by Steve Cova and Ray Roc garnered club play.? For “Come Out and Play,”? she worked with the legendary Paul Oakenfold to resing the lyrics for the remix.? Along with Kerli and Hannah, Mika is one of the Eastern European pop stars are taking over the world!

Ron Slomowicz: I first heard of you a couple years ago when you were on Eurovision and you had the sand girl with you, how did it feel to be chosen to represent the Ukraine?
Mika Newton: It was an honor and very hard to get there, there was a lot of competition. I had a crazy, busy life for about six months and when I got to D?sseldorf it was really nice. I realized that I had to be myself and do my best for three minutes during the song.

Continue reading INTERVIEW: MIKA NEWTON (2013)

INTERVIEW: Cosmic Gate (2013)

It’s hard to believe that a chance meeting in a studio led to one of the most successful and enduring dance artists of all time.? Meeting by chance in a studio more than 15 years ago, Claus Terhoeven (aka Nic Chagall) and Stefan Bossems (aka Bossi) jammed together and created a track that they pretty much forgot about.? A few months later, they sent the track out to labels and everyone wanted it.? They’ve consistently released top-notch trance tracks (“Exploration Of Space,” “Firewire,” “Be Your Sound”) and albums over the years and continue to stay true to their roots.?? 2013 sees them continuing to tour but planning to take a break to work on some new production.? We caught up with them at the Winter Music Conference for a chat.

DJ Ron Slomowicz: How was the Yacht Party?
Bossi: It was amazing. This was our 4th time doing it and it was sold out again. Fortunately, just like every other year the vibe was insane. There are usually about 400 fans there that really enjoy that type of music and are there especially to hear it. It has become the highlight of our year, of course playing at State of Trance and Ultra is great, too, but the vibe at the Yacht Party is unbeatable. It is like a big family coming together each year and we have an amazing time.

RS: How did the Juicy Party go?
Bossi: We have been coming to Miami for about 12 years and we usually go to the Juicy Party just to hang out. To be one of the headliners this year has been amazing, our music is a little bit different to most of the house and electro DJs but the reaction was fantastic.
Nic: It went surprisingly well and we didn?t even have to change our sound.
Bossi: We played a nice progressive Cosmic Gate set, it was great.

Continue reading INTERVIEW: Cosmic Gate (2013)