Stonebridge & Crystal Waters Take on ICON

Stoney, Nick, Atilla and I

It was 100% pure love under last night's supermoon at Nick Lion's club, Icon, in Astoria. Some of international clubland's most talented and charming personalities were in the house.

Starting at 8 pm, Icon was open for a press conference with dance-music producer Sten Hallstrom (known professionally as StoneBridge) and dance diva deluxe, Ms Crystal Waters.

I first met StoneBridge and his protege, Dj Atilla, outside the club before doors opened. They are simply the nicest, funniest two gentlemen you'd ever hope to encounter. We were then joined by promoter Barbara Sobel, who stepped from her cab fashionably chic with a lovely new 'do and glam black blouse/skirt ensemble.

I introduced myself to the divine Ms Waters shortly after she entered the club. We'd already done an interview regarding her new song, "Be Kind," that she did with Stoney and is destined for the top of the charts at clubs and on dance radio. Crystal is an absolute doll and it was a pleasure and a privilege to meet her in person.http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-crystal-waters-interview-exclusive.html

Once the press conference officially began, I asked Sten why he took on the name StoneBridge. Well, wouldn't you just know that Sten means "Stone" in Swedish. Holy Smiles of a Summer Night! And Bridge is an audio mixing term. Get it?

I learned from Sten and Crystal that, although they'd known about each other for ages, they met for the fist time at a club in Amsterdam in 2010. They have now recorded 14 tracks together. If "Be Kind" is any clue as to their collaborations, these songs must all be brilliant. Sten informed me that Crystal has an upcoming album, working with various producers, and some of his tracks will be on it. Already, I want to hear the outtakes!

I told Crystal I'm now a Brooklynite and asked if she ever performed there. She happily replied that she has performed at Brooklyn Pride. She also performed at the old Spectrum club in Brooklyn with its iconic dancefloor (filmed in Saturday Night Fever). I told her that, in the '90s, I used to come into Bay Ridge from Manhattan, with friends, to dance there.

As we were side by side at the buffet supplied by Icon for its VIP guests, ready to chow down, I asked Crystal about her being the youngest recipient (at a mere 14) of the American Poetry Society. "My mother found my poems and submitted them," she informed me as she put a turkey/chesse-on-crusty-Italian on her plate. Was she eying the potato salad or getting inspired to pen a new song? Or both?!

Roped into the VIP area, it was a delight to schmooze with Nick Lion and guests like Get Out Awards 2013 Award Winner, Eric Alan, the club's Marilyn Monroe, Barbara Sobel and others.

Resident dj Ian Ford started the night and ushered in the excitement after doors officially opened. Then Dj Atilla brought everybody's booties to the floor and finished his dynamic dj'ing once the very physically kinetic StoneBridge took over with rock keyboardist moves behind the booth.

StoneBridge opened his set with "Be Kind," which brought the booties to the dancefloor en masse. There is no way this can't be a huge, global hit! Crystal's best song ever! And THAT is saying something!

Party pictures:

Go Go God

Young Icon clubgoers

Me & Crystal Waters

Ian Ford

Eric Alan & I

Exclusive Q&A with Producer/Remixer/Dj StoneBridge!

Sten Hallstrom, known professionally as StoneBridge, is an amazing producer/remixer whose work has been influential to international dancefloors since the 1990s. A big thanks once again to Barbara Sobel for arranging this interview with this absolutely essential and iconic figure of the modern dance music scene.

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: Hello, Sten. It's such a privilege and pleasure to have this opportunity to conduct this interview since I've been a fan of your remix and production work since the '90s. Let me start off by asking how you find the dance music industry has changed or evolved since you first became involved in it? 
Sten Hallstrom: Thank you, love doing interviews so I can tell things people didn’t expect or knew. It’s very easy to just say it’s totally different and nothing like it used to be, but that would be too easy. It has of course changed dramatically in many areas, but the main difference is that there is no patience and no one wants to wait for anything. When I started, I had friends in London taping late night radio shows and sent over via regular mail so you you got the thing a week or two after broadcast, then listened to the shows, made notes and maybe - with a lot of luck - you got a record 2-3 months after. In some cases a year later. I remember Stockholm DJs having lists in their pockets in case they came to a second-hand store with a couple of crates of vinyl. Now you can find a mix online the same night it’s done. It leaks out of studios, friends, cracked drop boxes, you name it. And with the no wait and anticipation, the technology being available to a lot of people, we have a lot of music coming through and it’s hard to keep track of it. I do see many labels going back to proper A&R again, working the songs longer and I think this is a good development. 

You currently reside in Stockholm, Sweden, where you were also born and raised. What kind of popular music influenced you growing up? And was there an "ah-ha!" moment when you heard something that made you want to become a songwriter, a musician, a music producer? 
We do have a healthy music scene fueled by our free musical education; you basically sign up for piano or guitar and it’s done, but when I grew up it was pretty grim with rock n roll or super tacky pop blasting on radio. Then disco came and it was huge even though I was an up and coming guitar player at the time. When disco developed into new romantic and more synth, I started buying a lot of singles and, by the time my sister’s graduation party was happening, our dad felt he could save a buck and basically told me: Stone, you got records, you’re the DJ. I took it super seriously and bought a whole rig and, before I knew it, I was playing all the graduation parties that spring. As summer came, I started a club as I loved playing and that’s pretty much how I got into it. A few years later, me and five other Stockholm DJs set up a mix service called SweMix and we did re-edits of the hottest tracks and put on vinyl. Of course we got busted and had to get permission but magically survived and started signing artists. One of them, a dentist called Dr Alban got a huge hit with a song called "Hello Africa" and money started to flow in, but half of the crew wanted to remain underground so we split up and I started my current company, StoneBridge Productions. 

As a dj, you perform at major venues all round the world. Where can fans catch you in the near future? 
I will do a March tour of the US and so far I got New York, Miami, West Palm Beach and Cleveland locked in with more to come. I did an Australia/Asia tour around New Year and Chicago, Detroit, New York in December so spending a lot of time in the US right now. 

Great! New York looksforward to having you! Can you tell us something about your new venture, Dirty Harry Records? 
I felt I needed an outlet for filthy disco that is not chart driven - not that I would mind a hit there - but the main objective is fun tracks that brings back a funky element in a sterile environment. I started it with three mash ups using known EDM vocals in the breakdowns of funky tracks and the reactions were so great when I dropped them live that I decided to set up the label and sign original tracks. The first two, Alex van Allf - Gadgets and Atilla Cetin - Just Want Your Love have done very well, way over expectations and I got a bunch of really cool tracks coming this spring. 

You really had your first major international success with your remix, in 1993, of Robin S's massive hit, "Show Me Love." What was it like to explode onto the scene in such a major way? And what was your career like before this breakthrough? 
My first club hit was a rare groove track called Jazzy John’s Freestyle Dub that broke on the London scene 1990 and I licensed it to a tiny record shop called Zoom in Cammden. Then I got a call from Champion Records, who wanted to license tracks so I gave them Ann Consuelo's See The Day, another big club hit. A few months later, I called them and asked if they had any old shit in the basement that I could remix. They said, yeah, we got this Robin Stone, Show Me Love. Production is bad, but vocal quite good and I thought it was funny that we had the same name so I asked them to send it over. The rest is, as they say, history. The thing is I had no idea it was a hit as they were scared my remix fee was going to go over the roof so I was very surprised to see it on Top Of The Pops about nine months later. 

You've produced and written for some major divas on the dance music scene. What was it like working with Ultra Nate ("Freak On") and Therese ("Take Me Away" and "Put 'em High”)? 
I have, especially in the 90’s. Ultra is super cool and pro to work with and so is Crystal Waters that I still work with regularly. Therese used to be a pop singer so when I met her, she used a cover name so I wouldn’t say no, true story. She is a very good hook writer so it was the music that spoke. 

Cher, Britney Spears, Debbie Harry, Jennifer Hudson! Quite an impressive divas list. What was the experience of remixing for these iconic women like? And who would you love to remix but haven't as of yet? 
It used to be very important to have a bucket list like that. People followed their favorite artists and there was always a lot of speculation who would remix the next single. It still is to a certain degree, but now it’s more about having the right name attached to a song to get the right exposure. I love remixing a good song like Sia's "The Girl You Lost." It was a pleasure from the start to end and not the easiest mix to do, but we both loved the result. Another unexpected hit was Texas' "Inner Smile" remix. 

Your remix work for Ne-Yo's "Closer" got you a GRAMMY nomination and, in 2012, you received a BMI Songwriter of the year award. What feelings did these awards or acknowledgements conjure up for you? 
I was really surprised with the Ne-Yo nomination actually. I think it’s a Swede thing as we are taught to not stand out in a crowd or think we’re special. It didn’t fully sink in until I was sitting there in LA next to Morgan Page and Moto Blanco, who were nominated in the same category. The BMI award for Jason Derulo was a huge victory as people have ripped off my bass line from "Show Me Love" for 20 years and this was the first one I got writer's credit for. It felt really good I must admit. 

Did you watch this year's GRAMMY Awards and, if so, can you share some of your opinions about that event? 
I did see parts of it and thought the Daft Punk show was interesting. Not that it was Stevie’s best performance, but the joy and general vibe was awesome. Of course the nominations are always a bit random, but I have been told it’s generally when they oversee something big years earlier and sort of pay back with more nomination later. 

Before there was Daft Punk, there was a distinct funk-soul-disco element to much of StoneBridge's sound. Could you tell us a little about the aesthetic or style you attempt to bring to your productions and remixes? 
I just do them with my flavor. It’s hard to say where it comes from, but Chic and Nile Rogers are definitely [people] I have been inspired by my entire career as is Jam & Lewis. Being an analytical Swede, I have of course reverse-engineered Show Me Love many times to figure out the magic and at one point it dawned on me that it’s really all about a combination of three notes. Still, I never calculate like that, I just play with the vocal and see what fits, then I make an executive decision if it’s going to be a groovy or more clubby mix. 

You attended university at Frans Schartau in Stockholm where you were a Marketing major. Have you been able to apply that background to what you do in the world of music; kind of marrying art and industry in a sense? 
This was before I was a DJ or producer. It was sort of seen with a sneer to only do two years in high school, so I signed up for that to get a better degree. It was actually really good for two things: I learned business English and got an insight in marketing and accounting. 

In recent news, you're going to be working with Sobel Promotions. Any specific projects planned at this point? 
I was introduced by a common friend, but haven’t been presented the whole picture yet, so we will start working the Dirty Harry label as it’s brand new and a clean slate. 

Can you tell us about your radio show on Sirius/XM and how has internet radio changed the music business and what do you think is the future of terrestrial radio? 
It’s satellite radio and they were smart going to Detroit getting the receivers into most new US cars so it’s a driving thing. I get so many messages from people driving for hours loving the show as it’s three hours with a replay for West Coast. I do put it on Soundcloud the day after broadcast so it’s both radio and online. I think terrestrial radio along with regular TV is doomed in the long run. With streaming services, who want someone to dictate when to listen or watch? I see Spotify and the likes cleaning up inside 5 years so it’s good to be on top of it now. 

What do you think the role and importance of major record labels is in today's musical climate and how do you feel about the fact that many artists choose to be indie? 
It’s the same thing now as it was 30 years ago. To get wide mainstream distribution, you need majors. They are so big that they can dictate terms and get the media on things. We choose to be indie as we have principles or a specific taste that maybe seem less commercial or mainstream. The ideal world is to be an indie with a hook up to a major on certain projects. I license tracks to majors sometimes if I see the track has wings, but I’m just too small to take it all the way. 

Is there anything we haven't covered, Sten, that you'd like to shout out to our readers around the globe before we conclude our interview? 
Oh, I have a tendency to ramble on so I think you got most of it covered and yes, definitely: Hi everybody! Stick to your guns, if you love it, you know there will be someone else loving it too! 

Good to hear! Thank so so very much for talking with me and to Our City Radio. We look forward to your work in 2014 and beyond, and to moving on the dancefloors to your music. 
Thank you - my pleasure!!!! 

Exclusive Q&A with Dance-Music Producer Mike Jolly for Queens Our City Radio

Mike Jolly has been very influential on the international dance music scene, as producer and remixer, through his work with Stonebridge and Fierce Angel. He now also joins Sobel Records/Sobel Promotions to continue drawing us to the dancefloors in 2014. He has already presented to Sobel Promotions a fantastic updated mix of the classic Heaven 17 song, "Let Me Go!" It was indeed a joy as well as a privilege, then, to interview this gracious and talented artist for Queens Our City Radio.


DJ Buddy Beaverhausen: Hi, Mike, and thanks for doing this Q&A for us. It looks like you've been very busy lately as remixer/producer. Please fill us in on your latest projects. 

Mike Jolly: Hi Charles! Hey, it's a pleasure, nice to be here! Yes, 2013 was quite a year; it all kicked off of course with the release of my track "In Between" on Firece Angel last March and the momentum just kept building from there. At the moment, I am mainly concentrating on the (re)launch of my label 9th Floor Recording and the first three releases that will be going out starting in March, so that's keeping me pretty busy right now. There are also a couple of very special projects that I am working on including a charity record for Sobel Nation's Rohan Tarry, who is a super talented writer/ producer in the UK who sadly is suffering from MS. http://blabittobeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/12/talk-to-rohan-exclusive-q-with-producer.html

DBB: I interviewed Rohan Tarry just this past December. It was a pleasure. Mike, can you tell us about the current state of your relationships with Fierce Angel, Sobel Nation and, of course, with Stonebridge? 

MJ: It's all good thanks. I think the way that the business is now it's all about collaboration and co-operation so I think the more fronts you can open up the better. I am lucky in that there seems to have been a natural progression in what I have done in that one thing has led to another. For example, my work with Fierce Angel is what introduced me to Stonebridge. I have been lucky enough to have some great one to one time recently with both Stonebridge in Jakarta in December and Mark (Doyle) in Bangkok over new year.I am just waiting for the chance to come to New York now to catch up with Barbara (Sobel)! As a result, I think it's fair to say that plans are afoot for some exciting things on all three fronts this year! 

DBB: What music did you listen to growing up and what music influenced you? 

MJ: I grew up listening to the likes of Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, Human League, OMD, Heaven 17, Tears for Fears and all those other great synth-pop bands of the '80s. Ultimately, it was Gary Numan that first inspired me to buy my first synthesiser and start writing music. I first got into house music when I heard MARRS' "Pump up the Volume" in 1987. I got a bank loan and bought my first sampler shortly after hearing that record and the rest, as they say, is history....

DBB: How did you get your start in the industry? And what was your first production and/or remix? 

MJ: I started making music when I was 15 - that's a long time ago now (laughs) and it's difficult for me now to pin an actual start date on it all! I guess it started getting serious, though, in early 1996 when me and my production partner at the time stumbled into a meeting with Paul Dakeyne (aka Tinman) at Manifesto and were introduced to Judge Jules, as Paul was really digging our demo tape and particularly a mad Acid house/techno track we had done called "Hong Kong Elvis." So started a 6-month roller coaster ride with the record through the clubs and the A&R'ing process at both Manifesto and Positiva who picked up on the track after Jules played it on his KissFM radio show. Although the track was subsequently never released, the whole experience brought a lot of attention and led ultimately to our first release on MCA/Soundproof Recordings, "Grief," which came the following year. Our first official remix also came in 1997 from V2 Recordings when we remixed Moony's first release entitled "All I Want" (although she went under the name Angel Moon back then). 

DBB: Could you expand on discussing your musical background before you ever had a professional career? 

MJ: As I mentioned before, I was really inspired to start making music by the advent of the synthesiser in the early '80s. I had never learned to play a musical instrument properly when I was at school. And when I saw Tubeway Army perform "Are Friends Electric" on Top of The Pops for the first time, I thought "I could do that"! From that point on, I started buying equipment and writing songs, and for the next ten years learned the trade playing in various different bands in pubs and clubs around my home town in the UK and London. 

DBB: What do you think about the state of club music right now? 

MJ: There's been so much said about the great "EDM" debate already I'm not going to add fuel to the fire here! I am a firm believer that the cream always floats to the top - eventually!! 

DBB: What, might we ask, are your personal pet peeves? Musical and otherwise. 

MJ: People who have no consideration for others. Living in Asia, I see that a lot and it bugs me to hell - I don't like selfish people - people that are only looking after number 1. You see that a lot in this business but in every walk of life. You have to give before you can get, but sadly not many people understand that. 

DBB: We understand you are currently based in Singapore. Where were you born and raised, and what led you there?  

MJ: Yes that's right. I was born in a town in South East England called Southend - famous for having the longest pleasure Pier in the World and the greatest football team on the planet (the latter sadly only in my dreams)! I lived there until the company I was working for at the time sent me out to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in 2003. That job finished in 2008 and a year later I moved down to Singapore.

DBB: If you had to describe your musical aesthetic in 5 words or less, how would you put it?  

MJ: Badly I would guess! Sadly I am not a great lyricist which is probably one reason I have ended up as a Producer; I have always found it easier to write the music and let someone far more skilled than me come up with the words. Having said that words fascinate me, particularly in the framework of a song, and I admire greatly those who are gifted in the art of songwriting. If you are gonna push me on the question though, I'll just have to say "Make music that sparkles". 

DBB: We all know from starving artists. We've all been there. Have you ever had to work "day jobs" to support your passion? What were they? 

MJ: Yes, of course. I have done it throughout my career, and am still doing it now! I worked in the City of London as an Insurance broker for 17 years prior to moving to Malaysia in 2001 and I am still involved in that business in Singapore today. People that meet me for the first time are always surprised to find out that I can be involved in two things that, on the face of it, seem poles apart but I tell them that is precisely why it works! 

DBB: I can totally relate to that! Of the work you've done with Stonebridge, do you have any personal favorites? 

MJ: I think the best is yet to come, and knowing how Stoney likes to keep a tight lid on things before they drop, I am going to retain the right to remain silent for now! 

DBB: What can we expect from Mike Jolly in 2014? 

MJ: Lots of good things, I hope. A lot of focus this year will go into getting the label off the ground and that is taking up virtually all my time at the moment. I have signed some really great artists and some great records, so it is hugely exciting for me as much as it is for the artists; it's important for me to help others as much as I can to realise their dreams in music so i have got high hopes for this year. Of course there will be a couple of Mike Jolly tracks and remixes appearing on the label also!! Apart from that, I am sure that my work with Sobel Nation, Fierce Angel and Stonebridge is going to keep me busy so I look forward to coming back this time next year and reporting on another great year! 

DBB: Mike, thank you so much! We adore your work. Is there anything you'd like to shout out to our readers and your fans at this point? 

MJ: Why, thank you so much Charles! It's an absolute pleasure and thanks for some really tough questions! I would just like to say a huge thank you to all your readers and all the listeners of OCR and everybody at the Station for their support and for getting 2014 off to such a great start for me. A special shout out to Barbara Sobel for her tireless work and support and to Chris Colby also. I would like to wish everybody a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year! New York Rocks! Cheers!