Pulsating tunes, heart-pumping beats, hands in the air dancing the night away: this and much more is what you should expect from Grammy-nominated artist Markus Schulz.
His rise to success among top DJs started with a dedication born out of an obsession for music. For Markus Schulz, his story was no exception. While Germany is his homeland, Markus moved to the US at the age of 13 and quickly became engrossed in the break-dancing scene of the time. Although a talented mover on the floor, a chance to dominate the decks at a breaks party he helped organize became the pivotal moment when Markus decided upon the path of his life’s work.
That dedication and passion has since seen him storm up the charts to take his current place at number 8 in the prestigious DJ Mag Top 100 DJ poll 2008 — a position surely set to rise in 2009. That’s if you were able to vote for your favorite DJ/Artist this year; if you haven’t yet, oh well, the train passed already, so we’ll just have to sit and wait for the results.
With a burning desire to meet the world, Markus has continued to tour globally over the past few years, bringing his unique brand of progressive and melodic trance to thousands of clubbers from as far apart as Australia and Russia, or China and Trinidad, plus criss-crossing his own country to do shows in America. Dominating the airwaves with his weekly radio show, Global DJ Broadcast, he can be heard in over 30 stations worldwide, including Bigfish radio on Magic89.9 FM and Killerbee nationwide.
“Ibiza Summer Sessions,” his very own special album, debuted in 2006 to rave reviews. Wanting to give listeners the feeling of being part of the Ibiza summer, Markus planned each week with the hottest music and best DJs from the Balearic Islands. The mission was to bring Ibiza to those who couldn’t be there and to add to the experience of those who were. And it worked, with new stations around the world scrambling to add the show for their listening audiences. Through his radio slot, Markus was able to reach out through the airwaves and meet even more people, thus touching their lives with his music. This is the best way for any artist to reach more crowds and to increase his popularity around the world. This path been followed by many artists especially after our own DJ Armin Van Buuren started it 10 years ago which led to his becoming the top DJ in the world. (All this has made me think about launching my own radio show which I could broadcast on all AM frequencies, maybe titled Isumbong Mo Kay Ricky...)
A stellar reputation as one of the global leaders in production as well as a world-renowned DJ, Markus’s own label, Coldharbour Recordings, has delivered over 60 A-list releases within three years. An honest commitment to his own work and to his own passion has resulted in numerous solo, collaborative and remix projects that have enabled him to boast an unrivaled discography. With his heart at the soul of every project, consistently delivering hit after hit, most notably with Without You Near, Daydream, Perfect, and his latest chart stormer The New World — the booming trance track and theme song to the infamous Transmission Party — Schulz has clearly set the tempo for 2009 on fire.
The phenomenal success of Miami ’05, Ibiza ’06 led Markus to continue his city-inspired series to deliver the hugely successful Amsterdam ‘08, which has been nominated for Best Full Length DJ Mix at this year’s IDMA taking place at the annual Winter Music Conference. The nominations don’t stop there — he’s also up for Best American DJ for the second year running. Could this be his year? Well, I think he definitely has what it takes to be one of the best, on top of the rest.
Markus continues his musical tour of the world with this year’s Canadian inspired “Toronto 09,” a mind-blowing belter that celebrates the community spirit within the clubbing scene of the city. The year 2008 saw Markus release “Progression Progressed,” a rare reworking of his album “Progression 2007” that brought together a collection of interpretations by the most talented producers including Mat Zo, Nic Chagall, Mark Otten and Monogato, as well as an inspired collection of remixes and new tracks from Markus himself. “Toronto ‘09” gives Markus the opportunity to bring his experiences from his tours and inspiration from his audiences to all fans worldwide, including the Philippines.
Markus’s steadily growing collection of awards is testament to his influence on the dance music community and ever-increasing popularity. His relentless determination to bring new sounds and new experiences to his audiences and fans worldwide demonstrates a passionate enthusiasm that knows no bounds and firmly sets Markus up as one of the forces to be reckoned with in dance.
This is what Germany has produced along with major dance floor rocker DJ Paul Van Dyk who is set to blow you away on Oct. 13, 2009 at the A Venue, Makati. We at Bigfish always put our foot forward by bringing the best acts from the dance music industry, but we will never forget who we are or where our roots belong. Therefore we are dedicating 20 percent of all ticket and drink sales to the victims of Ondoy, so join fellow Filipinos in overcoming this disaster by purchasing. This is the real time for you to party for a real cause.
For advanced tickets and VIP tables call the office at 632-7762/634-8238 or log on to www.bigfishmanila.com. Work hard, support harder.
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For comments and suggestions feel free to e-mail me at rickydaker@gmail.com.
“Beat Generation” is the only column that features the Electronica scene, DJ interviews, CD reviews, parties and events around the world, exclusively in Philippine STAR’s YS section every Friday.