Sound instruction

Despite the common misconception that we are all about the decadent party lifestyle, our primary goal as advocates of dance is actually the introduction of electronic dance music and its consequent spread as a legitimate musical genre here in the Philippines. So whether it’s trance, house, electro, ambient, techno, funky house, tech house, vocal house, vocal trance, or whatever new mash-up dance music’s creative forces can spit out, as long as it falls under the large umbrella of electronic music, we’re all for it. In fact, I just heard of new genres popping up recently, among them something called “chunky house” or “mashed house,” both of which inadvertently conjure up images of standing in line for your beef cut in some supermarket. But if it’s got a good beat and people can move to it, does it really matter what it’s called?  Yeah, it sure does, unless you’re one of those who attend dance events just for picture taking with your barkada. Or if you’ve been asked, ”What is your favorite house — that’s H-O-U-S-E — artist?” And you go, “Sure, it’s Tiesto,” then I won’t mind who you’re going to dance to that night.

Among the larger subgenres of dance music that we love is trance (which in itself can be subdivided into a dozen other subgenres, but let’s reserve that for another edition). Trance refers to dance music that relies heavily on melody, mood and atmospherics and has climactic changes within the track that can move you either to dance… or to cry. Seriously.

One of the biggest international proponents, not just of trance but of dance music as a whole, is massive club brand Ministry of Sound. MOS has been shaking things up for the Manila club scene every June for the past several years, consistently bringing in awesome DJs who fearlessly spin the crowd into a frenzy until dawn breaks. Just last year, DJ/producer Dennis Christopher waved the MOS banner at the Independence Day party held at the World Trade Center. I’m pretty sure the national holiday took on an entirely new significance for everyone in attendance then.

Another one of the renowned proponents of trance is superstar DJ Paul van Dyk (PvD to dance aficionados). He’s the guy responsible for timeless club anthems like For an Angel, Another Way, We Are Alive, and Nothing But You. In 1999, the spinning maestro put up independent dance label Vandit Records. Over the years, Vandit was able to amass tracks by an impressive and ever-growing lineup of dance greats, among them The Thrillseekers, Austin Leeds, Nick Terranova, Chris Liebing, Aural Float, John Askew, Adam Sheridan and John O’Callaghan.

Joining this exciting lineup is new Vandit on the block Jon O’Bir, a young trance sensation who has impressed even the likes of trance demigod Paul van Dyk and DJ Magazine’s No. 1 DJ for 2008 Armin van Buuren. If these guys say he’s good, then who are we to object?

Jon’s inevitable rise to trance stardom began at the age of 18, when he joined a DJ competition held by Passion and M8 magazine. He beat 300 other hopeful neophytes, and since then, his DJ aspirations went from being a dream to a full-blown reality.

Massive club label Godskitchen immediately snatched up the fledgling star, offering him a residency and consequently securing his future as a worldwide trance sensation. Other dance outfits caught a whiff of this rising star’s talent and signed him up to appear in shows in the UK and abroad, among them Ministry of Sound in Singapore, Slinky in Bournemouth, Radio 1 Big Weekend and Ibiza, Homeland in the UK, Vandit and Vonyc Sessions, The Gallery in London, Tomorrowlands in Belgium, Ikon in New York, and Spundae in Los Angeles.

Even the guys over at BBC Radio 1, UK’s premiere radio station, were not blind to Jon’s spinning skills. In 2005, he appeared on Radio 1’s “Essential Mix” compilation. In 2006, he got to present his own show alongside peers Eddie Halliwell, Nic Fanciulli, Kutski, Crissy Criss, and Trophy Twins on the station’s dance program “The Residency.”

Jon also hosts his own monthly radio program called “Ways & Means,” which is widely broadcast on many UK stations. You can check it out on http://www.jonobir.com/radio.html and it will be featured soon on Bigfish radio.

In addition to phenomenal live sets and impressive radio work, Jon O’Bir is also a certified genius in the recording studio. As a newly minted Godskitchen DJ, he compiled the “Godskitchen Worldwide” compilation in 2003. As a remixer, he has spun his own style into Jose Amnesia’s Louder, a track released under Armin van Buuren’s label Armada. He is also a producer working under the alias Aira Force.

And Jon doesn’t stop there. The young star also manages Conspiracy Recordings, a label he established in 2005 with pal Rob Stevenson, who is better known as fellow trance producer Activa.

Your Vandit future starts tomorrow

Just this year, Jon joined Paul van Dyk and his accomplished posse of DJs and producers at Vandit Records. Aside from mixing “Vandit: The Digital Sessions Miami 2008,” he recently released his debut solo album “From Within” under the label.

The debut album’s carrier cut Ways and Means shot to No. 1 on Beatport Digital Download Network’s Genre Charts right after its release in May. Apparently everyone wants a piece of this soaring single; Ways and Means has been remixed by Neal Scraborough, Tyler Michaud, and no less than acclaimed trance master PvD himself.

Jon O’ Bir has been hailed by Paul van Dyk as “a major up-and-coming talent who has developed within the shortest time through his highly acclaimed, cutting-edge productions and sets into a leader of next generation’s DJs and producers.” PvD describes Jon’s music as “on-the-spot with warm, beautiful and captivating melodies, reflecting his passion and enthusiasm for electronic dance music.” Even fellow trance icon Armin van Buuren has only praise for Jon: “The man is clearly on a mission to push his own unique trance sound. He’s still young and has already established his name with the trance elite. He can only get bigger. Don’t say I haven’t told you so.”

If you want to know just what they’re talking about, you better be at A-Venue in Makati Avenue tomorrow, June 28, 2008 for the Manila leg of Jon O’Bir’s world tour to promote the release of “From Within.” The tour will see the DJ traversing far-flung places such as Kowloon, Bali, Glasgow, Berlin, Mexico, Wales, Ibiza and Zurich, but the Manila stopover is extra special because it will be a trance journey that has Ministry of Sound, Vandit Records, and Bigfish all working hand in hand to deliver the goods. Together with our very own club music connoisseurs Johnboy Lee and Manolet Dario, Jon will be spinning an aural head trip that is bound to touch everyone “from within,” the way only trance can.

Tickets go for only P600 at all Folded & Hung, Music One, Odyssey, Storm Watches, and No Curfew outlets. If you buy your tickets at the venue, they cost P800 which includes a free drink. VIP tables cost P15,000 and P12,000, both of which seat 10 people and are inclusive of free booze. For inquiries and VIP table reservations, call 632-7762 / 634-8238 / (0922)843-2838  / (0921)838-0133.

Students on a budget get a special P200 discount as long as they can present a valid school ID. And the first 100 Nokia phone users at the venue get to enjoy the party free of charge! Now there’s a reason to be fashionably early.

Get to know Jon O’Bir and his music better by checking out  www.jonobir.com or  www.myspace.com/obir. To find out more about the Bigfish-Ministry of Sound-Vandit Records triple threat tomorrow, go to our home on the web, www.bigfishmanila.com.

For comments and suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at bigfish@bigfishmanila.com.