International music sensation Rony Seikaly has made a meteoric rise through the DJ ranks over the past few years, regularly performing at some of the world€™s biggest clubs, including LAVO in NYC, LIV in Miami and Wet Republic in Las Vegas. This summer, Seikaly will begin residencies at LIO in Ibiza and REVEL in Atlantic City, all while celebrating the release of his first compilation on Nervous Records, €œNervous Nitelife Presents Rony Seikaly€ which came out on June 5th.
The album opens with the outstanding €œMood That I Love€ and builds from there, combining inspired original tracks with songs from buzz worthy producers such as Catz & Dogs, Julien Sandre, Walker & Royce and Whelan and Discelo. The fourteen track compilation serves as the culmination of years of hard work that have moved Seikaly from a DJ pursuing his passion project to one of the hottest name Seikaly s in the industry.
The former NBA superstar, who earned the increasingly appropriate nickname €œThe Spin Doctor€ on the court, is not new to music or DJing. Since the age of 14, Seikaly has had a music room in any home he has lived in. Here, Seikaly plays music for friends, parties, gatherings, birthdays. Any type of event, and Seikaly is the one behind the decks. The more friends and friends of friends were exposed to Seikaly's talents, the more he was encouraged to share his DJing skills and selection with the public. Four years ago, Seikaly was convinced to play out for fun, and the DJ rollercoaster ride has not stopped. "Sports will always be my love. But music will always be my passion," Seikaly--now an in-demand DJ and producer--states.
Seikaly's music background is diverse. This is apparent n his DJing style. Growing up on everything from the Police to Genesis to KISS, Seikaly's family regularly exposed him to classical music. Seikaly has moved with the times embracing disco at its peak during his teenage years, moving to R&B and early hip hop from LL Cool J to Kurtis Blow in the '80s and early '90s, and developing a kinship for electronic music through all its developing stages. Speaking knowledgeably about various musical eras, Seikaly has an inherent understanding for the music that has inspired him and influenced his unique style. Dubbed "Rony Style" by such electronic music heavyweights as Erick Morillo, Seikaly himself loosely defines it as "happy underground."
"It's underground in the sense that it's not music you are going to hear on the radio," Seikaly explains. "But it is also not music that is going to scare you away. It is happy, sexy club music."
Driving, high energy, and most of all uplifting, Seikaly's passion for the music is threaded through his seamless mixes. Drawing from all the genres he is intimately acquainted with and the DJs whose methods he admires, Seikaly brings in the best of the best. Touches of trance-inflected melody lines, dynamic tribal rhythms, subtle yet memorable vocals, a soulful vibe, and an ever present body-shaking beat all figure into Seikaly's sets. In the course of an evening, one can experience a little bit of Morillo, Danny Tenaglia, Pete Tong, Sven Vath, Behrouz, Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, and Digweed in a Seikaly helmed nightclub.
"Each of those DJs has a distinct style," Seikaly says of the abovementioned influences. "You could walk into a place with your eyes closed and know who is playing. My style is a fusion of all those things."
Pete Tong named Seikaly as one of the most underrated DJs of the year in DJ Times Magazine's 2009 Top 100 DJs, stating that Seikaly was "on fire." Seikaly himself is possibly the one having the most fun in any nightclub. His enjoyment in playing music and seeing the crowd's reaction is a huge part of the experience. Although Seikaly has been a longtime partner in numerous bars, lounges, and clubs around the Miami area (Bar None, Mynt, Mokai, Club Wall at the W Hotel), his talents go far beyond that locality. LIV and Space (Miami), Lavo (New York), Tao and Marquee (Las Vegas) Spybar (Chicago), Vessel (San Francisco), Pacha (NYC, Marrakech), Playhouse (LA), Queen (Paris), and Amnesia (Ibiza) are a few spots that have experienced Seikaly's sought-after inimitable style.
"When he DJs at LIV, [Seikaly] always brings out the A-list crowd--both socially and musically," states David Grutman, owner and operator of the lavish, high-tech LIV nightclub at the luxurious Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.
"It's a showcase," concurs Frederic Henri of Paris' infamous hotspot, Queen. "[Seikaly's] talent has made him Queen's 2010 revelation. His following is getting bigger and bigger with each visit. The French are discovering his sound."
Grooving in the booth has extended Seikaly's musical involvement to original productions. Ready with a string of completed, floor-friendly tunes, the first of these, "Come With Me", "Let you go" and "the world is beautiful"--with lyrics by Seikaly--were the first 3 released during a previous engagement with Subliminal Records. The new project on Nervous Records presents a growth in Seikaly€™s sound that has allowed him to reach newer and larger audiences over the past year.
"I don't want to earn this because of the past,€ said Rony Seikaly. €œI would like to be expressive, but under the radar, making waves, but not stepping on anybody's toes. I want to earn this because of my music."
