The USA's #1 Dance Club as voted by the public at the 2005 International Dance Music Awards brings you Air Spundae on Frisky Radio this and every third Thursday of the month at 1:00pm PST (21:00 GMT).

Air Spundae's featured guests for January 2006 are Rank 1 and Perry O'Neil. You might recognize Rank 1 from the lineup for the massive weekend Spundae will be having between parties being held in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Parties that will also feature Armin van Buuren, Remy, and Interstate LIVE (LA only).

Click here for more information on Spundae events being held in Los Angeles.
Click here for more information on Spundae events being held in San Francisco.

For those of you around the world who listen to other popular Thursday radio shows such as the Global DJ Broadcast and A State of Trance, note that this show starts right after A State of Trance ends, so be sure to tune into Frisky Radio!

Click here more information on Air Spundae.

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RANK 1

The story started around 1997 when Piet Bervoets and Benno de Goeij met each other at a party. Piet already was into music and DJ'ing and had his own studio at the time. This sounded very interesting to Benno, who had no experience at all in producing. Benno already had a perfect ear for good melodies, due to his classical musical background by playing the piano and the keyboard. They decided to cooperate and the first releases as Pedro & Benno soon followed. After many successes under different artist name.s, the name Rank 1 was born in 1998, as a joke. They thought it would be nice to see this name at a number 1 position! But the joke became reality when 'Airwave' hit numerous charts at that position.

After this they had many successes like their remix of Cygnus X's 'Superstring' , the Sensation theme of 2000. Their next single 'Such Is Life' became next years Sensation anthem, was released in July 2001 and climbed the charts with the speed of light. The album Symsonic, on which Piet and Benno demonstrated their variety, is not just an album for the dancefloor but one to listen to at home as well. Also a DVD with their live performance at Trance Energy 2002 is included along with their video.s. Soon after this release their single .Awakening. hit the European charts.

The year 2003 was a busy year for them. Breathing was re-released, it was an updated version of Airwave, with a breakbeat remix. Afterwards they spent 6 months building their new studio.s which can be viewed on the webcam! They also started a side-project for a friend: .MAC J. Nowadays the guys are working on a their second album. Rank 1 has a very tight schedule. In the weekends Piet is travelling around the world for the Rank 1 DJ-sets. Meanwhile Benno is creating new sounds. So when they meet up during the week they have lots inspiration for new records to come! When it comes to interviews, Rank 1 is mostly reluctant to get into details. They rather let their music speak for itself, since they consider themselves as ordinary guys. With a lot of musical talent that is.

Production wise for 2005 the guys had another hit with the trance energy theme of 2005 [email protected]. Nowadays the guys are working on a their second album. Rank 1 has a very tight schedule. In the weekends Piet is travelling around the world for the Rank 1 DJ-sets.


PERRY O'NEIL

How do you know if someone is really talented when there are so many ways to define it? When it comes to making music and playing DJ-sets judging 'talent' is personal, like everything that has something to do with creativity. If you are an agent or an A&R manager, it takes a good sense of what may be successful to put faith in a talented person. Armada has found its new star. Meet Dutch DJ/producer Perry O' Neil.

Perry O' Neil is a 26 years old Dutch guy. Spontaneous, cheerful and somewhat curious like many people of his age. He is the rising star at Armada, the record company that aims high with Perry. Armada heard O' Neil's first productions in the beginning of 2003 and signed the first tunes a couple of months later to the record division. David Lewis, partner in Armada, got caught by the unique sound in both Perry's productions and DJ sets so he wanted to work with him as a DJ as well. Although Perry has not released a lot so far, several of his tracks already have been played by DJ's like Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk, Markus Schulz, Matt Hardwick and Ben Lost.

Perry O' Neil is one of those guys who has been spinning for years and years, always dreaming of the day on which he would stand in front of thousands of people that came to see him in particular. There were times that he hesitated about the sense of continuing to pursuit a dream that seemed to hard to realize, but then he was always reminded by himself of his undying love for dancemusic. Then came the interest of Armada in his productions. The style of Perry O' Neil differed from the most other demo's they receive daily and under guidance of Armada Perry succeeded in delivering improved tracks. No wonder his first release on St. John vs Locust (A State of Trance) was a success.

But what is that unique sound Perry O'Neil masters? Perry himself describes it as progressive melodic house. Perry: "It is not really trance the way Tiësto and Armin van Buuren play it. My sound is a mixture of different elements of different styles. I like melodic repeating lines, and you can easily hear the tribal influences in my tracks. I always try to put a certain energy in the track, like a kicking bassline or a break that is full of tension which builds up to a climax. During the break I like to see the audience with its eyes closed, lifting off from the dancefloor, only to return when the climax is there. In general you could say I am fond of progressive melodic house."

Perry, modest as he is, knows that there is a long way to go but there is a lot of confidence in himself as well. Perry: "If you really want to achieve something, you have to give everything you have to chase that dream. Now that I have that opportunity to build on my career in music, I will capture it with both hands." A career both in producing and DJ-ing that is, for Perry likes the both of them equally. "In both I can put al my creativity and to judge on the reactions of the crowd and the people on internet I am getting better in what I do each day. However, I will always keep both feet firmly on the ground."

Being down-to-earth is a quality of character Maykel Piron of Armada appreciates in Perry. No wonder he likes to work with him. Maykel: "Perry has a good ear for music and he is straight forward. Therefore we have asked him to do A&R work for our Electronic Elements label. Whether a demo is sent by a famous producer or a talent, Perry gives his honest opinion. We are glad to have him with us." For Perry himself the most important thing in life is to live it in the most joyful way possible. Perry: "That positive approach of life is something you must have if you want to be a good DJ. No one likes a DJ who has obviously no fun in what he is doing."

And Perry certainly shows he is having fun when he is behind the decks. An attitude that, combined with his undeniable talent, may very well make him the next Dutch star.

___________________
Dave Toole - [email protected]
Spundae Productions (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, Las Vegas)

Last edited by DaveT on Jan-21-2006 at 07:50