During the past weeks and days you might have come up with a new club concept, which is launching in Helsinki in early July. The event series has a big name, Love, but the name also tells it all: it’s been made with love to music, to club culture and to people who share the same vibes. It brings us all together.
If you thought Love is korny, it’s a stupid cliché or that people don’t speak about love anymore, check the Love website which presents Love from Twitter is real time. Love is all around us.
I’m very happy that Misc possé (Oded, Asaf and me) are again working with DJ Orkidea and the whole Unity crew. It’s been more than a year after we got together to think through to the concept even close to this size and after the experiences on Metaverse tour, I just can’t wait Love to happen.
On the opening night 5.7.2009, held at the biggest and finest new venue in Helsinki, The Circus, Pete Tong makes his debut gig in Finland. It’s been estimated that over 30 million people hear Pete’s each BBC Radio 1 show which is just h.u.g.e crowd. In comparison, the last episode of Conan O’Brien’s talk show was seen by 3,5 million people. He is one of the most influencial trendsetters of electronic music and the second oldest radio voice on BBC Radio 1.
Culturally speaking, club culturally to be frank, I think Pete Tong is easily among the most important DJ visitors Finland has seen in years.
(And if you thought Pete Tong is a big name, just wait for the upcoming nights… :)
Below is a Love story of Pete Tong. To get more information about the night, why not visit Love Facebook event
Love Story 2: The Artist
There are many reasons why Pete Tong has been called ‘The most powerful person in dance music’ by Muzik Magazine. Or even ‘The god of dance music’ by The Independent. It might be the fact that on a weekly basis, there are more than 30 million live listeners to his BBC1 radio shows ‘Essential Selection’ and ‘Essential Mix’. It might also be the fact that Daft Punk, Underworld, Tiësto, Basement Jaxx, Justice, Eric Prydz and pretty much everybody in dance music hope to get him to be the first to introduce their music to the world. Maybe it’s the fact that since releasing the first ever house music compilation in the UK — ‘The House Sound of Chicago Vol 1’ in 1986 — he has sold millions of compilations for brands such as Pacha, Ministry of Sound, Cream, Mixmag and his very own FFRR label where he’s signed such artists as Orbital and Goldie.
As the icon that he is, Tong was the inspiration behind the film “It’s All Gone Pete Tong”. As a producer he has assembled the music for movie soundtracks such as The Beach, Human Traffic and 24 Hour Party People, and has produced his own material under various guises. He’s one of the biggest crowd pullers in clubland, including his legendery residencies at Pacha Ibiza and Ministry of Sound in London, and headlining slots all over the globe. It seems as if everything Pete touches turns into a long-lasting memory. Which explains why he’s one of the most sought after figures in a scene that’s built around music that turns into an experience.
The dance scene has changed a lot since Pete started, but one thing remains the same: “People love music, make no mistake about that, whether and how they buy it right now is one thing, but people still want to party… it’s our job to come up with new parties, new nights, new venues, new themes to keep the scene fresh and exciting.” Pete still sees his vocation as he did when he started out, playing other people’s records to get an audience dancing. “We need to constantly remember why people want to come to clubs – which is simply to have a great time and feel the music.” And here we are, ready to do just that.
LOVE is delighted to have Mr. Tong play his debut gig in Finland on a night that will be remembered for a long time.
http://www.myspace.com/petetong – http://www.petetong.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/InventaProductions
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/petetong
P.S. The poster is full of awesome details. Check the full-res version here.