Alex Jukes @ Dance Music 101

Alex Jukes is the founder and CEO of Jukebox PR, a London based PR company that works with a carefully chosen selection of underground house and techno DJs, producers and labels to help launch, develop or grow them across European print and press, on and offline media. Jukebox also works with some of the most prestigious festivals, venues and conferences in the world.

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

I was still at University in Coventry and a couple of my friends took me to a club called Carey’s. This was the 1st time I heard dance music properly and loved it. The next week I got a job working for the club on the promotions team and have never looked back since.

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

This job is all about having fun and meeting new people. The last time I properly let my hair down was at the Rio Carnival this year. I was with a wicked group of mates and could switch off from work and just enjoy where I was and what was going on.

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

I love Tottenham Hotspurs football team more than anything… They are the best team on the planet. Hahaha!!!

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

I think that was when I first lived in Ibiza for the season back in 2009. It opened up my mind to different types of electronic music and was where I got to network and meet so many people in the industry who I still work with today.

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

I work with over 30 different festivals around the world and I love the fact that each of them try to have their own personality whether it be the line-up, the production, the vibe or the location… Festival are now taking places in some amazing locations around the world.

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

I think it will continue to grow and grow. The last few years have been a great time for Electronic music and more and more people are getting in to it which can only be a positive thing.

Alessio Fabrizi @ Dance Music 101

Alessio Fabrizi is a partner to Room 26, in Rome, one of the best clubs of all Italy and the co-founder of IPM, the International Promoters Meeting, that took place for some years in Rome and which objective was to bring together all kind of promoters to discuss the Dance Music industry from their perspective.


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

Since when I was a child I always tried to be involved in the Club and Dance Music Industry.

Unfortunately at the age of 16 years old I still look like a 12 years old guy. Every time I wanted to go to dance I used to get dressed with the help of my best friend's sister Deborah trying to look like a fashionable guy but regularly at the door they never did let me get in!!!! Never!!! For this reason I promised to myself... “I will have my own club!!!!”

Me and my best friend Luis Radio started to play music in the cellar of his house where we created our little world going more and more deeply in the real “House music World”!!! All our friends started to come there to dance and to spend time together. We also gave a name to his cellar and it became our little paradise where we were free to express ourselves.

From that moment Luis Radio became both the DJ and producer that he is now and also my main partner in all the events I organized and the clubs I owned.

Moreover, the cellar where we started to play became the recording studios of his label and his Sister Deborah De Angelis became one of the most important lawyer of the music rights in Italy and she founded ADj and married Maurizio Clemente, a real pioneer of the Italian house music scene.

So, it is really funny, but I believe that “door selectors” that didn't let me get in have worked with me in the last twenty years.


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

At the moment I live in Berlin where there are so amazing clubs and festivals, but if we are talking about the real fun for me, after 22 years of works in entertainment industry, it is something more "structured”.

My best merit and my worse flaw is that I am able to design and realize only the things I like.

It does not mean that I do not have fun when I join someone else’s event or festival it is just a matter of the sensations I feel when the production is made from me and my team.

I think the DJs, for example, can understand this mind.

I mean, if they want to listen one track in a particular moment they just play it and the sensation that they feels when the crowd enjoy it is something more than just listen it.

For this reason the last time I had real fun it was during one of my productions. In particular the second edition of IPM (International Promoters meeting) during a format we called "Rome Pool Party". With my partners we made this event every July since 2005 but this edition was great because was the closing party of IPM 2012. There were a lot of friends from all over the world and real good vibes and a strong energy.  Every time I remind it I have a melting pot of sensations.


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

OMG this is too Big for me!!

Life because is Beautiful.

It's really impossible for me to have one person or one thing to love more than everyone and everything.

Once my sister Violante Sanfelice, rest in peace, told me..."love is not a hard disk, we can keep loving all from our present and future without remove nothing to our past.”

Me and Violante designed IPM – the International Promoters Meeting, in Rome.


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

There are different moments in my professional past that I remember as very important for the person who I'm now.

Most of all the first event I organized, the opening party of my ex club, the Room26, and the first edition of IPM.

To be honest, these are very important moments but the most significant is when we decided to freeze IPM.

This is the point when my career had an important break and I had the opportunity to start to watch all my professional life from a step outside.

This decision was very hard for me, for Andrea Masci and for all the staff, but at the same time it was a wise and conscious choice and a trauma. Probably I will remember this crossroads of my life as a moment in which I had the opportunity to grow up again and faster. I am sure about that and I am deeply convinced that everything comes to you for a reason and everything will come back to you in the way you deserve.

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

In my opinion there is a different trend in every different country. For example in Italy the picture you can made to the entertainment industry is, of course, influenced by the crisis that the country is crossing.

In other words the music and the offer, in terms of clubs and festival, is restricted and more commercial because of the general economy.

In this case the first initiatives to cut out are the experimental and the pioneering ones. To survive the companies must be focused just on the products in terms of sells abandoning the idea to influence the market with their thinking and passion. The competition became a race of political connections and dirty capitals.

Regarding the other realities I know, like Berlin, I saw that the best policy is always linked to the identity and to the capacity to keep this identity on the market. Best example are Berghain/Panorama Bar or DC10 in Ibiza that in the years never changed their style.

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

Tomorrow is always the best day for me!

I'm sure that the new generations will be able to reinvent the music and the dance club culture. Again and again! I really can't say exactly what will happen because fortunately it will depend on the creativity of someone else who will rework his past experiences and will influence the market. 

Mariana Sanchotene @ Dance Music 101

Mariana Sanchotene joined ID&T for a business development role in 2008 and was pivot to the international expansion of its events since then. Once ID&T was sold to SFX, Mariana took part in the M&A team and supported the international tours of other SFX events as Unite, Awakenings and Life in Color.

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

Moving from Brazil to Amsterdam was possibly what brought Dance Music to my life. But I did enter the industry from backstage. I was already working on business development for Stage Entertainment, when I’ve noticed that Id&t was also taking Sensation internationally, and I thought: hey, that is a nice company to work for. It was a matter of being at the right place at the right time.

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

During last year’s Mysteryland, once I was off duty, friends were there, we had a great time.

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

Family comes above all, but when you work in this industry, work comes second on a very tight race.

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

The turning point for me was the first Skol Sensation in Brazil in 2009. I had joined Id&t in July 2008, by October I had moved to São Paulo with the mission of closing a naming-rights partnership deal with AB Inbev, and selling out a 40,000 people event having 4 months to prepare and a venue that was far from suitable for the event. Worked with the amazing team of Playcorp, who was our partner on the event and had the most intense months of my life. AB Inbev team then (Sérgio Eleutério and Bianca Shen) was also incredible, they worked as if it was their own event, and to a certain extent it was. When doors opened and the show started, I had goosebumps. I think we did a little (Dance Music) history in Brazil that night.

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

Trending is that clubs are in financial trouble since artists fees went sky-rocket and Tinder became popular. The ones that might survive will need to do that out of creating experience based events, rather than booking DJ Mag Top 100 names. I think Elrow is a good example of this.

Music, I don’t know if we can call this a trend, but some names will join the celebrity rock/pop gang, be on

Billboard top 100, score millions of followers. There will be more diversity, the careers might be shorter, the names that are hot one summer, might be gone on the next and we will never hear from them again.

If you take the Netherlands or UK, as trend-setters, there will be key festivals over 40,000 people still holding on, but a lot of smaller, diverse, niche festivals will start to pop-up. Cheaper tickets, less famous/commercial line-up, less impressive production, just a more credible crowd that have already developed a taste in electronic music. This diversity is key to the industry and I can see it is already happening in other countries too, such as France and Germany.

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

The industry will have to adapt to the increasing artists fees, just as Rock and Pop festivals had to. But there will be more talent to choose from. There will be more security issues unfortunately. It will hopefully become more professional and the number of casualties shall decrease. There wil be more technology available for crowd control, better suppliers overall. Governments will play a role as well, either embracing the movement, or playing against it, and hard. Brands will want to be more and more involved with the events, but on a more sophisticated way. There will hopefully be more concern about the sustainability issues of producing events. There shall be more care on the services towards the crowd, better toilets, cleaner tables, healthier / better food. More creativity on stages, decor, acts, activities. The competition will be stronger and not all events will remain, who knows how to adapt and see the upcoming trends, these will win.

Craig Pettigrew @ Dance Music 101

Craig Pettigrew is one of the co-founders of BPM Festival in Mexico, one of the world’s premier festivals in Dance Music.

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

I was in high school and we used to listen to the collage radio station every Friday night where we would get to hear the latest music that was coming out and i totally feel in love with house music. I would tape the show every week so i had the newest songs that were released that week.

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

Last Friday (AUG 5) in Sardinia for Guy Gerber’s birthday things started to get really weird and funny at the after party.

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

My wife because she’s the best and i couldn’t live without her.

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

The first time I ever decided to take a chance and though my own event in the little town where i grew up i was still in high school and i put every penny i had into the show, turned out to be a smash hit and that was the start of my promotion career.

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

I am seeing a lot of more spiritual themed festivals now that are really getting popular especially where I live in California.

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

That is the million-dollar question isn’t it? I’d expect things to work better with technology some sort of fusion between live concerts and streaming using VR or augmented reality.

Edo van Duyn @ Dance Music 101

Edo van Duyn is a co-founder in the Brazilian talent agency Plus Talent and also Director of Tours & Events with SFX South America.


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

I fell into club life and dance music almost by accident. I was living in London in the 90s, and was a Journlist for TimeOut magazine. One weekend David Swindells (who was the editor for the Club section reviews) asked me to go and review some clubs... So I spent the whole weekend checking out clubs… I was hooked. From there i got to know every club, every doorman, every DJ in London… I’d go to Velvet Rooms on a Wednesday to see Carl Cox play for 500 people and stand next to the bar with Paul Oakenfold, Pete Tong hanging out amongst the crowd... relaxed… that was just normal London... an amazing time. Just music. No Co2 or Green rooms… just great house, techno. Garage and jungle music everywhere. I then started doing parties in London and well… Somehow I ended up in Brasil ;)


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

Actually couple of weeks in London. I met with some of my oldest friends from when I was growing up in the UK. Nothing beats childhood friendships…


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

My family. I would do anything for them. I have a small group of friends that i also consider family. I’m very loyal. Like a pitbull ;) Family is everything.


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

When we broke Dj Marky and Patife onto the world stage and Marky broke into the UK pop charts with ‘LK” in 2002. Then people took notice and realized we weren’t just a bunch of crazy kids from East London and Penha LOL


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

The ‘Day-Time” experience is what is really dominating… I also prefer this. Music wise there’s a lot of change. A lot of mid-range artists will disappear. The underground scene is stronger than ever from Techno to Drum n Bass - you just need to know where to look. And the big, established, legacy acts are also doing better than ever... Names like Armin, Steve Angello, Guetta etc… because they have legitimacy, they have relevance (still produce consistent good music) and quite frankly, they’re on another level…. It’s no surprise some of the established names still strong have a strong “base” of actually having been and still are great Djs. They have Dj skills…. That’s actually unusual in the business. Brazil is a whole other story... Here - as usual - things are just polarized between the so-called ‘underground” and the “commercial” side of things…. I love Brazil but I have to spend time abroad to keep my faith in the diversity of dance music. And it’s stronger then ever I am happy to report ;)

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

More diversity. More independent Artists and smaller boutique and locally-created Festivals. And Dance Music will start to have a stronger voice. The only thing we need to do more is get more ‘political’. Dance music doesn’t stand up enough to the BS we see out there… IS, racism, the divisive politics of Trump etc... Dance music is all about Unity and Diversity and would love to figure out a way to mobilize the millions of dance music fans out there…. That said, I do see a positive generation out there. The world is not as fucked as the media makes it out to be.