|
Born
and raised in Florida, DJ Icey has been mesmerized by electronic
music ever since hearing the synthesizer breakdown on The
Edgar Winter Group’s "Frankenstein". "My
mom had that album and I would play that middle part over
and over wondering how they made that sound,” Icey
recounts. “I was little and thought it was so cool".
Rising
to worldwide prominence out of the fertile Orlando Florida
electronic music scene which has spawned the likes of AK
1200,Kimball Collins, Jimmy Van M, Chris Fortier, and Baby
Anne, Icey cut his teeth at the legendary EDGE nightclub
in the mid-90s, and even persuaded The Chemical Brothers
to play their first show Stateside there. When The Edge
closed in 1996, DJ Icey hit the road… and has stayed
on it since.
Icey
runs two Indie labels dedicated to the Breaks he loves,
the Main imprint Zone Records released it's first 12 Inch
single in 1994, “Energy Tracks Volume 1” quickly
followed by the hard to find “Encyclopedia Funktanica”
both of these records gained a cult following worldwide
as there was nothing quite like it at the time. Zone Records
continues releasing more than a dozen records a year and
his second label Tree Records follows very closely behind
with slightly more eccentric productions. Discovered for
the punters by BBC Radio 1 DJ and longtime A&R kingpin
Pete Tong, Icey became the first American producer to sign
to his U.S. ffrr label in 1997 as an artist thanks to Pete
and U.S. Honcho Neil Harris, He was the first American DJ
to be selected to record a prestigious "Essential Mix"
for U.S. Release. With over 200 12” singles under
his production belt and 5 cd releases, Icey has SoundScanned
over 300,000 CD units in North America alone.
Playing
100+ gigs per year, Icey is a touring maniac. But that doesn’t
keep him out of the studio during the week working on new
tracks for his Indie Labels Zone and Tree records, constantly
trying to push the envelope to make his fans sweat on the
dancefloor. The new material is then cut on dub plates and
tested out on weekend gigs: “There is nothing better
than finishing a tune and seeing the reaction from a crowded
dancefloor right after finishing it," he beams. 2003
saw DJ Icey release "Different Day", a new album
of all original material. Different Day, Icey’s second
full-length artist album to date, embraces futuristic breakbeat
interwoven with house sensibilities, while keeping the energy
level peaking throughout. 2004 saw the release of his new
Mix CD ‘For the Love of the Beat’, Icey creates
a seamless hour plus long mix encompassing the many faces
of the Worldwide Breakbeat scene. New CD Projects are on
the Horizon for late 2005 and 12" Vinyl Singles on
the Tree and Zone Records Imprints will be released monthly. |