Shonky, Dyed Soundorom & Dan Ghenacia
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Apollonia left to right: Shonky, Dyed Soundorom & Dan Ghenacia 030 djmag.com djmag.com DJ571.Features-apollonia.indd 30 19/06/2017 16:07 t’s late May 2017 in Ibiza, and the end of a long underground while conquering the island’s most Apollonia are the gods week of opening parties on the island. Shortly cavernous spaces. of groovy, stripped-back after Apollonia close the terrace on the fi rst Forming their three-piece back-to-back-to-back night at Hï — the all-new White Isle superclub DJ outfi t and label in 2012, made up of Shonky, underground house music. opened on the former site of Space — Shonky, Dyed Soundorom and Parisian house stalwart Dan of the French DJ trio, is hosting an after-party Ghenacia — who each had formidable individual The French trio — consisting at his apartment in the hills overlooking careers before forming Apollonia — the trio are of Dan Ghenacia, Shonky Talamanca Bay just outside Ibiza Town. He’s long-serving residents of CircoLoco, a bastion of the beenI spinning for hours with his Apollonia band- underground on the island. But last year saw what and Dyed Soundorom — mate, Dyed Soundorom, on the set-up on his dining once might have seemed unthinkable happen, with table — made up of two Technics 1210s and a DJR their alternative sound of Ibiza taking over the main have been slowly but surely 400 portable rotary mixer from Parisian audio design rooms. Booked by Marco Carola’s Music On to play company E&S. Amnesia’s famous Terrace for six dates throughout bringing the sound of the Work by American artists Jim Dine and Georgia the summer, they also span at ANTS at Ushuaïa Beach after-party to the biggest O’Keeffe adorn the walls, while a small collection of Club. And this year looks set to be even bigger, with close friends sit outside on scatter-cushions soaking an all-night-long gig planned for July at Hï, as well rooms and stages on the up the sun that’s risen high above Dalt Vila in the as more dates booked to play extended sets at Music distance. Vinyl litters the area surrounding Shonky On — alongside, of course, regular bookings as part planet. DJ Mag joins the and Soundorom, and both smile as they dance to of the DC-10 family. the hypnotic ‘Where Do I Go’ from mysterious ‘90s Apollonia brotherhood for an Chicago house producer, Gemini. Watching them Ahead of CircoLoco’s opening party, DJ Mag sat down extended stay in Ibiza to talk spin, it’s clear — even 20 years into their love affair with the trio at the Fish Shack — the back-to-basics with deep and trippy minimalist house music — that restaurant hidden away at the end of Talamanca boats in Paris, the evolution their desire to play hasn’t wavered. Beach that’s a favourite with island regulars. “For “It’s always an important moment for us to be back us, the mission was always to bring the after-hours of the underground, DC-10 on the island,” Soundorom beams as he sits down sound we play to the biggest rooms,” Ghenacia family, the golden age of during a break from the decks. “It’s the time that explains as he sips a glass of wine, looking across the you can fi nally take off your jacket, grab your mojito water. “But without compromising our taste. It was electronic music, long-lasting and enjoy the parties again. The vibe at the opening complicated to export what’s been happening at DC- events is very special, and we’re excited because 10 to different clubs, and it takes time, as what we’re friendship, living for the there are more big gigs coming.” doing is different to playing loops and effects to rock the dancefl oor, so it was a slow evolution.” weekends, and much, much Openings began exactly a week previously for the “We loved to party at places like Amnesia,” Shonky more... Apollonia trio at DC-10’s Monday shindig, CircoLoco, interjects. “But always dreamt about hearing the at the beginning of a summer that follows the year music we love there.” And that’s a dream that’s Words: ROB MCCALLUM Pics: TASYA MENAKER they became kings of the White Isle — loved by the become a full-on reality for the trio. “I could never djmag.com djmag.com 031 DJ571.Features-apollonia.indd 31 19/06/2017 16:07 Pic courtesy of Hï Ibiza APOLLONIA’S LA BATOFAR CLASSICS Kenny Hawkes ‘Play The Game’ see the evolution that’s happened now, though,” and trippy house that selectors like Ghenacia, as well (Music For Freaks) Ghenacia smiles. “That the music would become so as Jef K, Jerome Pacman, D’Julz and DJ Sonic were “At the time, Kenny Hawkes was one of the big.” playing at the same time began to permeate Parisian key players. He gave us the honour of playing dancefloors. at Kwality, which is a very special moment for IBIZA Dyed Soundorom was then running PR for the club us. RIP.” All three members of Apollonia now call Ibiza home Les Bain Douches — where Ghenacia also played — for the summer months, and say the island may be and met Shonky as a club-kid while running the door DJ Garth & ETI ‘Twenty Minutes Of Disco more relevant to electronic music than ever before. there, before taking him to see the Kwality resident Glory (Wicked Crew Remixes)’ (Grayhound “There’s an intensity in the clubs in Ibiza that exists at La Batofar. “I first went as Dan’s biggest fan,” Recordings) in only a few places in the world,” Ghenacia explains Shonky laughs. “We went every fortnight as it was “This is the sound of San Francisco from over dinner. “It’s very influential at the minute, but it special what was happening there, and a different the Grayhound boss. Groovy, hypnotic, also has a strong commercial image, which means it’s way of playing: deep house in the realest sense, but psychedelic and a journey on its own. easy for people to hate if they’ve never been to the because of the system it had an energy I’d never Everything we like!” island. But once you come here, you get it.” heard from it before.” It’s not just Apollonia that have emerged from the Chez Damier & Ralph Lawson ‘A underground in Ibiza this summer. Cocoon welcomes La Batofar paved the way for the continuing trend Dedication To Joss’ (Serious Groove) the likes of Raresh, Rhadoo, Nastia, Sonja Moonear of parties on a boat we’re still seeing in Paris today, “Ralph Lawson had a real impact on us and Zip, while Unusual Suspects has locked Thomas led by the jewel in the crown of the French capital’s through his 20/20 Vision label, with most Melchior, Ion Ludwig, Mandar and DeWalta in a current house and techno scene, Concrete. But the tracks from its early catalogue played at La season bringing many names not closely associated music being played at the Kwality parties also forms Batofar. Moreover, Dan invited him to mix with Ibiza to the island. Underground, the long- the blueprint of the sound Apollonia still play today, the second part of the ‘Kwality Batofar’ standing haven for more minimal house and techno immortalised by the ‘Kwality Batofar’ compilation, compilation. Thanks Ralph!” alongside DC-10, also has arguably its strongest which demonstrates that the music the French DJs season in some time, with residencies from tINI & The were playing at the time had one foot (if not more) Derrick Carter ‘Sitting In The Sun’ Gang, Raresh and Rhadoo, as well as performances rooted firmly in the sound of US house music. (Distance) from Praslea, Mathew Jonson, Molly and more. Being “The proper definition of the groove from the in Ibiza this summer, it’s clear the underground has LA BATOFAR Chicago master. This would perfectly fit the truly taken over. Before starting his Kwality residency in 1998, vibe of the boat, when the party had come Ghenacia had just returned from living in San Diego, to an end and we were all sitting together in Apollonia’s road to becoming mainstays on the island where he moved to learn to speak English. There he the sun enjoying the summer after a great didn’t happen overnight, however. Far from it. With would meet Mark E. Quark, who was working as the moment of clubbing.” the trio having known, partied and played together buyer at a record store in the city. He would serve for almost two decades, one of electronic music’s as Ghenacia’s mentor, introducing him to mixing Foremost Poets ‘Reasons 2 B Dismal’ (Tu most enduring relationships started at a small but the sounds of deep and druggy house music coming Chicks) seminal after-party in Paris — the city they all used from Californian labels like Grayhound Recordings, “A special track. It came out on a bootleg to call home — in the late ‘90s. and soundsystems like the Wicked Crew, with music series called Tu Chicks as a reissue off the epic It was there that Ghenacia played as a resident at from Chicago house imprints like Cajual Records and label Nu Groove. Totally crazy.” the now-famous Kwality after-party on a small red Guidance Recordings. boat permanently docked on the River Seine called “It was funky, freaky and psychedelic,” Ghenacia Jaz ‘Skyler’ (Jump Recordings) La Batofar. It was here that he would spin to a says affectionately of the music.