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4/21 JUNKIE XL *Live @ BLEU (Detroit)
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| marcus_beier |
friday, april 21st, 2006
is proud to present
'special guest dj'
junkie xl
RoadRunner Recordings, RadioJXL, Holland
opening sets provided by:
marcus beier
forward, friskyradio, bleu, detroit
and
dabura
danceclubcam, detroit
doors @10pm
18+ welcome with proper i.d.
$3 well drinks & domestics from 10-11pm
presales available @ www.groovetickets.com
for advanced vip/table reservations email: [email protected]
bleu room experience
1540 woodward avenue
downtown detroit
313.222.1900
www.bleudetroit.com
who is junkie xl?
Take one part classical musician, one part producer, add one part programmer and throw in one part performer. Mix it all together, remix it again and you have Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL.
Born in The Netherlands, Tom discovered music by learning and playing most instruments, including guitar, bass, piano and drums. Although he was classically trained by his mother (herself an accredited violin teacher), it wasn’t long until he discovered synths and joined the Dutch New Wave group Weekend at Waikiki as a multi-instrumentalist and producer. He then expanded his horizon further to form the industrial rock band Nerve with vocalist Phil Mills, and released 2 full-length albums in 1994 and 1995.
During this period, Tom built his music repertoire by freelance producing and quickly landed projects for bands such as Sepultra, Fear Factory and Dog Eat Dog, as well as for video games, movies and TV spots.
But Tom’s nature as a musician was calling, and in 1997 he released his first album as Junkie XL, entitled Saturday Teenage Kick. A fusion of breakbeat and rock, Junkie XL joined The Prodigy on tour and with hits such as "Billy Club" featuring Rude Boy, he quickly began building an underground following and loyal fanbase in the US and Europe.
Tom then followed up with his second Junkie XL album. Big Sounds of the Drags added a new electronic and psychedelic bent to his music, with his huge club track "Future in Computer Hell (part 2)" leading the way for the new genre of progressive dance music.
This direction added throbbing baselines and pulsing beats to an already unique sound, and further confirmed his underground status with industry peers like British DJ/artist Sasha. More fans followed from the nightclubs, elevating Junkie XL to the status of superstar DJ/producer, thrilling everyone with his live sets.
But it was Tom’s next production that brought Junkie XL onto mainstream radio and televisions around the world.
Tom was asked to remix Elvis’ "A Little Less Conversation," the first time anyone had been granted permission to remix any Elvis song. Originally introduced as the music for a Nike World Cup ad, the remix was so powerful and popular that it was released as a standalone single – Elvis vs. JXL.
The track hit number one in 24 countries, and Tom had officially crossed over, seeping into the general public’s consciousness. |
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| DJ RJT |
JXL @ Bleu last year was one of the best shows I've ever seen in my life... Cracked and broken from two days of no sleep and partying hard and I was still rockin' out for the Junkie!
Don't miss it... especially if Junkie is on the floor again... Nothing better than seeing a DJ on the floor at Bleu! |
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| Bleu |
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Thursday, April 20, 2006
By Christina Fuoco
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
QUICK TAKE
Preview
Junkie XL, with Marcus Beier
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: Bleu Room Experience, 1540 Woodward Ave., Detroit
Tickets: $12, at www.groovetickets.com
Details: (313) 222-1900, www.bleudetroit.com
Los Angeles-based DJ Junkie XL stresses his career is all about creativity, not money.
So after his successful remix of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation," he turned down similar projects for other Presley songs as well as those by the Beatles.
"The thing is, I am a musician who needs to be triggered by creativity, not necessarily money. If money comes hand in hand with creativity, it's great. But not the other way around," said Tom Holkenborg, otherwise known as Junkie XL.
The song, he said, was originally remixed for a Nike World Cup advertisement directed by Terry Gilliam ("The Fisher King," "12 Monkeys").
"When I saw the commercial, it was an amazing commercial. Really dark. I thought, 'Yeah. I want to make music for this.' When it became a hit, I had to deal with a big record company (saying), 'Tom, we'll offer you so and so and so much money if you remix a whole album of Elvis hits.' That was pure money. It had nothing to do with creativity," said Holkenborg, 38, a Netherlands native.
"It was just purely based on the fact that a remix that I did became a huge hit in a lot of different countries. They just wanted to have album sales or something. For me, that's kind of like a turn-off. It's not really creative. It's really hard to see your career in any direction. Then you become 'the guy who remixed a whole album of Elvis.' Now at least I'm the guy who resurrected Elvis from the dead and after that turned the album down. It's still a cool combination if you know what I mean."
He also rejected the idea of remixing the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields" for the same reason.
"You have to understand, in the time period," Holkenborg said lighting a cigarette, "Elvis and the Beatles both had 17 No. 1 hits in England. So they were equal. Because of that remix, I tilted it over to Elvis. Straight up with that hit, the record company of the Beatles approached me to do a remix to make it even.
"I said, 'Come on, guys. I'm not about that. I want to do a cool remix. But not purely for the fact to have a No. 1 hit for the Beatles.' But 'Strawberry Fields' is one of my favorite tracks anyway of the Beatles. Maybe in another 10 years and everything just mellows down and everybody's forgot about it. But not in that specific year," he added.
Now Holkenborg, who moved to Los Angeles for business, is touring weekends in support of his latest album, "Today," which he calls more personal than his previous efforts. He comes to Bleu in Detroit on Friday.
"The previous albums were always big conceptual albums with big collaborations with other artists, whether it was Dave Gahan (of Depeche Mode), Robert Smith (of the Cure) or Gary Numan, like big stars from the '80s," Holkenborg said.
"I moved to L.A. three years ago. This album is about change, changing a different environment. Going to a different scenario. Different work situation. Different personal situation. That's what this album is all about. ... I really wanted to go back to basics."
He said he is inspired by 1980s music because that is the time period in which he began playing in bands.
"I started playing in bands in 1979. I grew up musically in that time period. There's something that happens when you're playing in bands when you're anywhere in between 11, 12 years old and 20 years old. That time period just really sticks to you. It's the roots of everything you tap from when you're looking for inspiration. I was playing guitar at the time 1979, 1980 when all those other bands started around me," he said.
Holkenborg is only touring weekends because he is working on a couple ad campaigns, remixes, a video game and scoring the forthcoming film "Dead or Alive."
Even though he was slightly uncomfortable with the success of "A Little Less Conversation," he admits he enjoyed part of it.
"It was fun to be a part of it, just for a little while. I got to play 'Top of the Pops' in England. That's a dream for any European guy. 'Top of the Pops ' would be comparable to the fact that 'Soul Train' would still be around. The program started in '62 and featured all of the big stars whether it's Beatles, Stones, Pink Floyd, the Who, the program is still around," he said.
"It was fun to perform there, to be No. 1 in England. It's definitely like a compliment. It's fun to be there for a couple weeks. Then it's back to the drawing board. And what is the drawing board? Go into my studio and just work on cool music." |
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