Dj Ruslan
Coming to America from the Ukraine, Dj Ruslan makes his home in Boston, connecting his love for music with his passion for DJing.
His unique mark has been left upon dozens of venues including Matrix, Tilt, The Alley, Caprice, Level, Felt, Venu, Rumor, Underbar, Umbria, Lounge 360, Mantra and the IL Panino, and many others.
Ruslan has shared stages with DJ Manolo, DJ Louie Corrales, Matt E Love, and Tony Hydro, and warmed up the crowd for Jan Johnson, the voice of Paul Oakenfold and BT. He has also displayed his skills during a regular time slot on WDJM 93.1 FM.
Currently, Ruslan is working the studio, crafting original tracks for his own Monophonic Records imprint, the embodiment of filtered, disco, and tech house sounds.
A constant student of DJing, Ruslan’s love for music motivates him, and it shows in the smile on his face as he keeps the dancefloor rockin.
Dj Manolo
Manolo has dedicated more than a decade to mastering his spell over the dance floor, building a vast and intensely loyal hometown audience in the process. His residencies at Boston’s two megaclubs, Avalon and the Roxy, are much more than just credits on his DJ resume – his hard work helped to earn worldwide recognition for both venues. Breaking new ground for Boston clubbers over the course of his unprecedented 8-year residency at Avalon, Manolo played alongside many of the world’s top DJs, including Oakenfold, Sasha, John Digweed, Tall Paul, Nick Warren, Dave Seaman, Danny Tenaglia, Judge Jules, and Junior Vasquez.
“I really think the music is inside me,” confides Manolo, earnestly leaning forward. Listening to a sneak preview of his latest production and remix work, it takes only a moment to realize just how sincerely – and modestly - he means it. Manolo is not creating some meaningless, atmospheric soundscape or crafting a heady, artistic journey; his music springs entirely from real emotion and real feeling. These are songs intended for big dancefloors, and there is nothing subtle about their impact. It’s really no wonder, then, that it comes from a man who has spent most of his career working in the DJ booths of Boston’s biggest clubs. Survey a club where he spins, and everywhere you look, you’ll find hands raised in the air and a look of rapture on the upturned faces of the crowd. Nowadays, Manolo spends more time locked away in his state of the art recording and production studio with partner Gene Therapy than behind turntables – but he unquestionably brings the same overwhelming sense of joy to his recording work that he brings to his energetic DJ sets.
Manolo makes powerful, driving music, with big feelings and big sounds. Take a spin through his recent re-working of Sasha’s ‘Wavy Gravy’: the kick drum pounds out an insistent rhythm that doesn’t waste time getting anywhere - from the first beat, you’re already there. An earth-shaking bassline provides enough low end to rattle the chest cage of any dancer and enough deep-down funk to get even the most reserved clubgoer into moving. It is Manolo’s melodic touch, however, that stands out above everything else in his recordings. Darkness has long been an integral part of dance music, and Manolo has always sought to find the beauty within it. He combines everything from dark and deadly serious rhythms to lush and uplifting vocals, creating a singular sound of his own. It’s a sound that has caught a great deal of attention, including that of world-renown vocalist Jan Johnston. She enlisted Manolo’s help to write and record a new batch of original songs.
“I don't play my own music,” says Manolo, “because it’s very personal. I make it for myself; it’s therapy. If other people like it and play it, then that’s great! I have fun making it, and that's really my payback. I believe in the music we’re producing, but as far as other people liking it, well, I guess that is always going to be a matter of personal taste.” If the personal tastes of Jan Johnston, Paul Oakenfold, and Paul Van Dyk are a dependable barometer for success, then the dance music world will be hearing a lot more of Manolo’s music very soon. When they first started working together, Jan Johnston heard ‘Lament’, a track that Manolo and Gene Therapy had done together purely for fun. She urged them to send the song to Paul Oakenfold immediately. Oakenfold loved it, and ‘Lament’ quickly went into heavy rotation his playlist. At the 2002 Winter Music Conference in Miami, Paul invited Manolo to a private poolside party at the Surf Club hotel with Madonna. “I was standing at the bar with my wife, Jan, and another friend,” Manolo explains, “and I heard Paul mixing in ‘Lament’ during his live set. I'll never forget that moment. To top it all off, he ended his set with ‘Delirium,’ the first single that we co-wrote with Jan in our studio. Paul also invited us to his Perfecto party at Club Spin, and he spun both of the tracks again!”
Clearly, there are few roles that Manolo has yet to fill in the world of dance music – as a successful DJ, producer, remix artist, in addition to owning and running a local record shop, Manolo has done it all with humility and integrity. He is a gentle, honest, and caring artist with a tremendous passion for music. “Who knows what the future holds,” he concludes on a hopeful note, “but there is one thing that I am sure of: the music has always been and will always be my mistress.”
Anthony Webster
Anthony Webster's music career started before the turn of the century. The love of dance music must have been inside of him his whole life though. At a young age during every trip to the record store he would add a few more albums to his collection, and among all of the top 40 that was brain washed into his head like most people, there was a force that compelled him to pick up at least one dance mix compilation. At this point he didn't really think anything of it, but he would soon realize what a big part of his life it would become.
At the age of 16 he started going out to the local venues when they had their under 21 nights, and he finally felt the power of dance music combined with the atmosphere. He gradually built up his collection of electronic music and wondered how it was created. Inspired by the idea of producing his own dance music and all of the flashy equipment used, he quickly started putting together his own studio. He loved the idea of producing his own music and also turning popular songs into dance remixes. He knew he had to take himself to another level though.
When Anthony turned 18 he started working for a local DJ company, which led to his first residency at the Palladium nightclub in Massachusetts. Playing for a few thousand people at once would quickly be etched into his brain and at this point he knew what he wanted to do. Since then he has played at some of the hottest locations including NYC and has remixed some of the industries biggest artists such as Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani. There's no question that the future looks very promising for this DJ/Producer.
Joey Bumps
Beginning his Dj career in the late 90’s Joey bumps is a resident of NY who’s music style can be summed up into two words “Hard & heavy”.
Bursting on to the scene in 2000, Joey Bumps quickly became a regular in some of NYC’s super clubs . Holding residencies at club Exit & Area 51 as well as being a regular at Sound Factory, Limelight, Tunnel, Float , Sachi, and Centro Fly.
Having shared the stage with such names as Jonathan Peters, Serge Devant, Christopher Lawrence, and Boris. Joey bumps is no stranger to the biggest clubs in the USA as well as overseas. His ability to read a crowd and bring energy into a room are unmatched , and his hard hitting bass lines and mixture of dirty nyc house and tribal make him a crowd favorite wherever he goes.
These days , Joey bumps can be heard at his weekly residencies NYC , and his once a month residencies in Miami , Las Vegas, and Canada.
Jim Shu
Raised in the suburbs of Boston, Jim Schunemann (a.k.a. Jim Shu) developed a passion for music at an early age, digging through the wall of his father’s records for something to catch his ear. He began making mix tapes of all kinds with his first dual deck doombox at age nine, thus beginning a life-long musical love affair.
A natural drummer and vocalist, Jim’s rhythmic and musical instincts translate to high energy sets and thick, atmospheric and thematic mixes, stunning listeners with creamy smooth transitions, climactic buildups and massive, dancefloor smashing drops.
This drum and bass fanatic also flexes his mixing skills with grimey hip hop, shifty two step, glitchy tech house, and dirty breaks, often all in the same set. Whether you’re bumpin in the headphones or bangin on the dancefloor, Jim Shu has the skills and the style to make your groove everlasting.