Xanthe Fuller @ Dance Music 101

Xanthe Fuller is with Mixcloud as Head of Community

Life: when was the moment you figured out that Dance Music was meant to you?
The moment I figured out I could pull the best dance moves to it. I love throwing my hands in the air to a big chorus.

Laugh: when was the last time you had real fun?
Always. I’m very lucky like that. But ADE was my last period of extended fun. We danced to Black Coffee in a room with 10 people in it and really let loose. That was great.

Love: name the one thing you love more than anything – and why is that?
Dancing. And receiving massages. Those are two of the only things I love that aren’t bad for me.

Past: name a significant moment in your career in Dance Music – and why is that?
I produced Pete Tong’s show on BBC Radio 1. It was great getting to know the breadth of his taste in music off air, and seeing how incredibly passionate he still is about dance music despite having worked in it for years.

Present: what do you think that is trending today in music, clubs and festivals?
There seems to be a rise in African-influenced house music which I think is a great thing. The African sounds and rhythms are adding a new bit of interest and originality to the good old 4/4 beat.

Future: where is industry heading in the years to come?
With mix hosting sites like Mixcloud allowing bedroom DJs from around the world a more global reach, hopefully this introduction of fresh influences and cultures will produce some exciting new sounds, collaborations and movements. As the net is cast wider and more people are given access to the industry I’m pretty positive about where it is heading creatively.

Shailendra Singh @ Dance Music 101

Shailendra Singh, founder and CEO from Percept and founder of Sunburn Festival

Life: when was the moment you figured out that Dance Music was meant to you?

Going in to the millennium, it was reported that India had 600 million under the age of 25. And, at the time, the only choices of entertainment for that massive population of youth was Bollywood, Cricket and shopping. In 2007, I started two music festivals – Sunburn for dance music and Metalfest for metal and rock music. Metalfest actually outperformed, due to the long history of the genre in India, but. . . when I stood in the middle of the crowd and listened to dance music, I realized the power of it. India is made up of 29 states, hundreds of languages, religions, castes and creeds. . . I knew that dance music - basically lyricless, a music of pure energy – could unite India, and the world. I poured all my efforts into Sunburn.

Laugh: when was the last time you had real fun?

Directing my first feature film, shooting on location in Kashmir, in the snow, surrounded by the Himalayan mountains. I’ve produced 72 feature films, but now I have full control of the creative process. Movies are a huge passion of mine.

Love: name the one thing you love more than anything – and why is that?

Life. The biggest we are given.

Past: name a significant moment in your career in Dance Music – and why is that?

The World’s Biggest Guestlist with Hardwell, Dec 13, 2015, Mumbai. Close to 100,000 fans in the stadium, for free; Hardwell performing for free; 10 million people tuning in online; entertaining the whole world, but doing it for a cause. That one night, we educated 18,200 children on a 10 year education program. After 10 years of feeling like a dance music whore – buying talent, negotiating with bookers, appeasing managers – we were uniting the world for a cause. That felt good.

Present: what do you think that is trending today in music, clubs and festivals?

The present trend is populous, and is headed towards even more commercialization. Less of music, and more growth of lifestyle of music.

Future: where is industry heading in the years to come?

With more and more commercialization, I think the industry will try and grab more and more of their piece of the pie. But I think that those that stand out, and will thrive, are those that will find a balance of economics and emotions. We can’t take our eyes of the people who make us what we are – the fans. They want to be entertained, but they also want to be a part of making a better world. The real superstars will be those who can use the music to unite the fans, and the industry, and make a social difference.

Bill Kelly @ Dance Music 101

Bill Kelly, co-founder of the Winter Music Conference.

- Life: when was the moment you figured out that Dance Music was meant for you?
The minute rain drops kept falling on my head… and I started dancing instead!

- Laugh: when was the last time you had real fun?
Well, let’s see… I slept for the Last five hours and then before that….#$%^&*()_!!!!!!!

- Love: name the one thing you love more than anything – and why is that?
I love more than anything; LOVE itself…because when you have love you have everything!!

- Past: name a significant moment in your career in Dance Music – and why is that?
1985 when I decided to start Winter Music Conference!!! Because it became a Dance Music Revolution!

- Present: what do you think that is trending today in music, clubs and festivals?
The number of LIKES…. Going VIRAL….The number of FANS you have…. How shocking you can be!!!

- Future: where is industry heading in the years to come?
Artists will once again start to make money from their music use… streaming, downloading and listening will again generate revenue for musicians. DJ’s/Artists/Musicians/Producers

Gary Smith @ Dance Music 101

Gary Smith, day-time programme co-curator from the ADE / Amsterdam Dance Event.

- Life: when was the moment you figured out that Dance Music was meant for you?

When I first heard Chic in a club in Sheffield as a teenager. The sound was so full and funky, and the bass was so sexy I just had to get on the dance floor and shake my booty, and I've been doing it ever since.

- Laugh: when was the last time you had real fun?

At Club 00 in Rio. I love the place for its atmosphere and crowd. It also tends to host some great DJs as well so for me it's the perfect combination. Roland Leesker of Get Physical played an absolutely brilliant set the other week, and Thomas Schumacher had the unenviable task of following him, but he also turned in a cracking mix.

- Love: name the one thing you love more than anything – and why is that?

In terms of records it has to be Hamilton Bohannon's “Let's Start The Dance”, because it has the best bass line in the whole history of dance music and vocally it's witty, playful, soulful and fun.

- Past: name a significant moment in your career in Dance Music – and why is that?

Starting to work for the Amsterdam Dance Event back in 1996 marked the beginning of my career as it is today, and also led to other amazing jobs such as working with the RMC crew. I had no idea that I'd end up curating these wonderful events and working for ADE and RMC are simply the best jobs I've ever had.

- Present: what do you think is trending today in music, clubs and festivals?

There's a counter reaction to EDM which is growing in pace and leading kids who were happy with the commercial end of electronic music into the more underground sounds. On top of that we are seeing the European and US events markets becoming increasingly saturated, so I expect there will be some market forces at play over the coming summer and possibly a few promoters deciding to put their time and money elsewhere. Running contrary to that, I see the South American events market growing and maturing and likely to explode this year.

- Future: where is the industry heading in the years to come?

Dance music has become part of the mainstream in a much bigger way than it did in the last 'dance boom' between 1996-2002, so I don't expect to see it disappear, in much the same way that rock or blues will never go away. But there is a re-ordering going on right now, and the bottom line is that music is simply not as important to kids today compared with my generation because it has to compete with video games, the internet, the best period in TV history ever and all the other myriad distractions of the modern world. I believe that over the next 2-3 years we will see the end of music sales as streaming becomes the norm, and hopefully we'll see the end of the era of manufactured pop music, replaced by something with more humanity and fewer vocoders.

Jon Berry @ Dance Music 101

Jon Berry, career manager from Kompakt Records.

- Life: when was the moment you figured out that Dance Music was meant to you?

I was lost in a Brooklyn warehouse party called Storm Rave. Felt amazing to be caught in an inexplicable power and groove that I barely understood at that time. Left me hungry to understand it more.

- Laugh: when was the last time you had real fun?

Ah - well last weekend was pretty fun…2 of our acts Patrice Bäumel and Kölsch were spinning at Watergate then I went over to see The Mole at Chalet here in in Berlin. Took an old friend from New York and slaved to the rhythm. We laughed a lot.

- Love: name the one thing you love more than anything – and why is that?

I love my dog Maisy aka Miss Marple. She’s an endearing creature that sticks beside me through the thick and thin. Probably because I feed here more than anything.

- Past: name a significant moment in your career in Dance Music – and why is that?

I think when I was working for Force Inc. and neighbours with Akufen in Montreal. He came upstairs with a version of his classic album “My Way” and played it to me for the first time. It was such a magical moment in music at that time - we actually shared tears of happiness as it was obviously going to be such a major accomplishment for him.

- Present: what do you think that is trending today in music, clubs and festivals?

From my perspective (the world of dance music that I / Kompakt inhabit), many of the festivals seem to be caught in a safety loop of booking the same artists over and over again. If you see the line ups for this summer most of the festivals all read quite similarly….I cant see this working for the long term but its been going on for years…I wish more risks were being taken as music couldn’t be in a better place - there is so much going on and there’s so much of everything for everyone. Its a great era right now and no shortage of amazing artists creating.

- Future: where is industry heading in the years to come?

Survival of the fittest! Its a challenging time in the business but Kompakt always manages to squeeze by. Good music prevails I suppose.