Yalta Club's new initiative, The Masters of Sound, will gather some of the most renowned spinners of the world house scene in a single month. In April, the stage of the veritable Sofia clubbing institution will host Antoine Clamaran, official resident DJ of the world's leading fashion channel, FTV,(April 4); the godfather of New York house music, Danny Tenaglia (April 9); Dimitri From Paris, resident of Playboy Mansion and the most respected French DJ of all times (April 12); Bulgarian clubbers' favourite, Hernan Cattaneo (April 18); and the British DJ legend Pete Tong (April 26).
Antoine Clamaran is one of the founders of French house and an indisputable tribal house pioneer. He began working as a DJ in 1983, and by the early 90s he'd gained so much momentum that the trendiest radio at the time – Maximum FM – hired him on the spot. The Parisian club Palace – a French equivalent of Studio 54 – chose him as resident over another French DJ icon, Laurent Garnier. His first pass at producing landed him a hit; I've Got Music in Me sold 100 000 copies. His collaboration with Blue James, the singer of Basement Jaxx, resulted in We Come to Party, which in turn earned Clamaran great name recognition in the club universe. He's currently resident of the two hottest clubs in Paris, Les Bains Douches and Le Qeen, and compiles music for FTV and Eurosport.
Danny Tenaglia, arguably the world's top DJ, will visit Bulgaria for the first time. He's rarely in the region, so his set is a must-hear live. He's just as famous as the author of house classics Music Is The Answer and Elements as he's known for his remixes and for producing more than 200 artists, including Madonna, Blondie, Pet Shop Boy and Depeche Mode. His epic sets can last longer than 20 hours. He started spinning in his native New York in the 70's, when he was only 10. He then moved on to Miami, and returned to New York a star. He's been resident in Twilo, Roxy and Tunnel, before founding his legendary night Be Yourself in Vynil.
Dimitri From Paris is returning to his Bulgarian fans, who greeted him heatedly last year. He'll present his brand-new compilation, Dimitri From Paris Returns To The Playboy Mansion, which will hit the market on April 7. Recently he became the first DJ to be knighted. Despite his name, he's actually born in Istanbul, and emigrated to France with his family. His first house party in France was in 1986, and connoisseurs quickly recognised his talent for sexy sets. He soon became in charge of the soundtracks to Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hermes and Yves Saint-Laurent fashion shows. His worldwide success was in 1996 when he releases his debut album, Sacrebleu, dubbed “album of the year” by MixMag.
A somewhat Yalta regular, Hernan Cattaneo ranks 13th in The DJ Lists' dance industry rankings, and his last year's mix Sequential Volume 2 for Renaissance secured his DJ star status. Proud of his Latin-American heritage, Cattaneo managed to turn the Buenos Aires house scene into the birthplace of the latest house trends. This will be Cattaneo's only visit to Bulgaria this year, because he's fully booked.
Pete Tong started his DJ career in the 70s, when house music wasn't yet around, and he's one of the reasons for club life the way we know it today. Thanks to his BBC Radio shows, such as Essential Mix and Essential Selection, his own label, FFRR Records, which launched the career of many a famous DJs, and his sets, Pete Tong is just as much an institution today as he was a couple of decades ago. Hey, there's even the expression “it's all gone a bit Pete Tong,” used as the title of a movie, in which Tong starred as himself.
Yalta Club's management hopes that this stellar line-up is not a one-off event, but will grow into an annual tradition. Tickets are already on sale at Yalta.
