Exclusive interview with New York don Frankie Feliciano and the duo behind this legendary night
A monufuckingmental Saturday night awaits London town this weekend with one of our most loved nights chalking up their 5th Anniversary…
The Deep Into Soul 5 Best Ever Moments…
1. The very first party took place at 3rdSpace in Stockwell in March 2011 although it was billed as Clapham on the flyer as I thought saying Stockwell might scare people off – lol. I’d always had a love for the music but was relying on a friend’s advice on how to run the party. Boy was I in for a shock! I thought this promoting game would be a breeze but on the first night I learned the hard way. I hadn’t sourced a monitor speaker for the DJs as I had no idea they even needed one (!), half the people who said they would turn up didn’t and my headliner (later to become my partner in DIS) turned up absolutely slaughtered. I was thrown in at the deep end, but all in all we scraped through that night and I had my first taste of the promoting game.
2. After moving to The Music Bar on Brixton Hill I finally felt I had turned a corner as the parties started to pick up in numbers, although I was still barely breaking even and occasionally still losing money. But one party with Phil Asher from Restless Soul tested me and my small but loyal following to the max. On this particular night the heavens decided to open up and we had the worst torrential rain I have ever seen. Unbeknownst to me the club’s roof was damaged and water started to flood in, down the walls onto the dance floor and completely flooding the toilets. I thought I was doomed, and everyone would leave, but in true DIS style everyone just carried on dancing and enjoying themselves without a care in the world. It was at this point I realised I was on to something!
3. In 2013 Scott Searle and longtime friend Neil Pierce decided to become partners in Deep Into Soul and see if their joint efforts would take them to another level. We were offered Daytime parties on Sundays at The POW in Brixton, and our first party with DJ Spen saw things really take off. We couldn’t announce Spen in the run up to the party as he was playing elsewhere the night before and it would have caused a whole load of drama, so we decided to drop little clues in our promotions. We were at best hoping to get around 200 people through the door seeing as it was a Sunday and no one really knew who the guest was, but by 7pm we were at full capacity with over 700 people inside. Neil and I couldn’t believe our eyes and what night it was.
4. In August 2014 DiS were asked to host the Official Southport Weekender/Suncebeat Reunion party in a joint venture with Alex Lowes. We were highly honoured at the prospect but in real DIS tradition not everything went according to plan!! There was a huge bike ride taking place in London which we hadn’t accounted for so the party was a slow-builder. Our headliner Rich Medina was stuck in traffic for over 3 hours so we had to change the DJ timetable completely. Eventually when Rich turned up he played an eclectic set on 7’ singles dropping tracks like Nina Simone’s “My Baby Don’t Care“ and to top it off, Grand Master Flash came along after performing at his show in London. To date this is my favourite party and the way Rich played just blew everyone away.
5. Our 2015 Summer Closing party at The POW really cemented how far we had come since the start of DiS. We had three headliners including UK disco legend Joey Negro, Terry Hunter from Chicago and DJ Spinna from New York. A long list of dance music industry people attended including crews from the Found Festival, Groove Odyssey, Hard Times and Groove Fest and we were packed to the rafters and for once everything went to plan! At 5am when the party finished no one wanted to leave and Terry Hunter got to play 2 encores! For us – it was the stuff dreams are made of.
Frankie Feliciano
New Yorican Frankie Feliciano flies in to headline the Deep Into Soul 5th Anniversary on Saturday March 12th. Originally inspired by his latin musical family roots and the early hip hop and block party scene in NYC, Frankie went on to work at Strictly Rhythm before going on to produce dancefloors gems such as “Don’t Ever Give Up”, “Hindsight”, “Invitation”, as well as achingly beautiful remixes of anthems such as Monique Bingham’s “Flight” Masters At Work & India’s “To Be In Love” and Kenny Bobien’s “Father”. A DJ & Producer hugely respected in helping shape the NYC scene of the 90s. Frankie has featured on a ‘House Legends’ retrospective on King Street Sounds as well as kicking off the ‘Real Series Vol 1’ on BBE/Ricanstruction…
Frankie What can party people expect from your set at the Deep Into Soul 5th Anniversary party ?
My previous experience was so incredible as the people who come to DiS are from all walks of life and really know their music and their appreciation of the music makes it one of my favourite parties.
Can you tell us what’s new for the new year in terms of productions…
I’m working on Remixes for Kenny Bobien, Sara Devine and Raheem Devaughn which are all due for release in the next two months.
How does playing in London, especially @ The Prince Of Wales compare to other cities or countries?
My first ever International gig was at Ministry Of Sound back in 1992 and I’ve had a love affair with the city and its soulful audience ever since. I wish you knew how much inspiration I’ve drawn over the years from my many trips to London, and I can’t wait for the Deep Into Soul 5th Anniversary.
How does it feel to have been working in House music for the last 25 years,what are you proudest moments/memories ?
I’ve been in this industry since 1989, I’ve experienced so many amazing moments in club music history and made even more amazing friends along the way. Looking back on things, I honestly believe that I was in the right place at the right time. There will never be a time like the early developing stages of underground club music, the evolution and branching out. When I was a kid I dreamt about making music, so having any production of mine released commercially would definitely count as one of my proudest moments.
How do you manage to keep it fresh, new and vital?
I’ve never felt that kind of pressure. I stay in touch with many of my peers, young and old, and we share ideas. I still like to “browse” through the record bins, albeit virtual, and listen to different things. That’s probably the easiest way for me to keep an ear to the streets.
What was your first break in the industry?
I think my biggest break would be the one moment that introduced me to this business…and that came from meeting Benji Candelario. I was a 16 year old kid and he was an insider that welcomed me into a scene filled with budding superstars. Without him I would never have met Strictly Rhythm’s legendary A&R female head Gladys Pizzarro who eventually down the road signed my first release to Nervous Records in 1991 when she switched over to A&R there for a while. I would never have met Todd Terry, Masters At Wprk, Tony Humphries, Roger S, The Def Mix team, Ricky Morrison, CJ Mackintosh and everyone else from that golden era, who all helped inspire me and grow as a producer and DJ.
You grew up in Brooklyn, how much of an influence did the neighbourhoods around you have on your path towards music?
Born and raised in Brooklyn and still here! I saw hip hop in its infancy with the early DJs playing at the first ever block parties, which had a huge impact on me as a 9 year old in 1979. Those guys were local legends and seeing the crowd control they had was something that I immediately knew I wanted to learn. I’m still a music fan first and foremost, so the list of influential names could go on and on.
So what does the future hold for you?
Electric cars and hopefully a time machine.
And before you leave us, can you tell us something you think we should all be listening to before we head out the door to the Deep Into Soul 5th Anniversary party…
Yes, listen to a mix by any of the incredibly talented DJs on the lineup for the party. I’m sure it’ll put the boogie in your body and make you wanna come down and party…
https://www.facebook.com/frankie.feliciano.50
Frankie Feliciano flies in for an Exclusive set at the Deep Into Soul 5th Anniversary party alongside Joey Negro, Rhemi Music’s Neil Pierce & Ziggy Funk, Rap Saunders and Hanlei Live on Saturday March 12th at the Prince Of Wales, Brixton.
More info : www.facebook.com/DeepIntoSoul or twitter@deepintosoul
Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLOeMzT5AOE
Mix : Rhemi Music Live at Deep Into Soul: https://soundcloud.com/deepintosoullondon/exclusive-rhemi-live-at-deep-into-soul-140215
