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| Dustin Nantais |
Hailing from Toronto, Canada, and armed with an incredibly productive writing process and an impressive technical fluency, Dustin has prove both in the studio and in live performances he’s capable of big things.
Having began playing guitar and piano at the age of 10, by 16 he was producing music and performing in bands, everything from punk rock to electronica. At age 22 he was travelling throughout Ontario, Canada and the north eastern United States with a pop-punk indie outfit. By 2004
It wasn't long before Dustin was performing as a DJ in some of Toronto's hottest clubs. His mixes have been featured on internet radio stations and podcasts globally and in 2012 Dustin went international, having played his first overseas gig in the UK.
Where Dustin is truly finding his calling is in his production. With nearly 50 releases in the last 3 years, Dustin is compiling an impressive catalogue of house and techno spanning all flavours of the genre, from deep emotional house to energized big-room progressive. In 2014 Dustin was approached by Manual Music label-boss Paul Hazendonk. It was a match from the start, and with numerous collaborations and solo releases in 2014 on Manual and others, there is no end in sight to what these two can do.
In 2014 Dustin took the plunge on performing live. Leveraging his productive writing process, the bi-product is plenty of material to mix and match in a live setting.
You’ll be hard pressed to find someone as passionate and enthusiastic as Dustin. His positivity is infectious and he’s thankfully transmitting it to the world through his music.
Born in the suburbs of Rotterdam in the early eighties, Paul Hazendonk already developed an excessive interest for music at a young age. After seeing a documentary about one of the early editions of the Mystery Land festival he found his passion and bought his first DJ equipment at age twelve.
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| Paul Hazendonk |
In 2000 he started working at the legendary record store Basic Beat which was located in the heart of Rotterdam. This was also the place where he released his first mix compilation CD's, started doing A&R for various labels and, eventually, where he started his Manual Music label in 2005. Paul left the Basic Beat company in 2009 and adapted the Manual brand name for his own company, simply calling it Manual Music.
Having always been a DJ first and a producer second, it wasn't until a couple of years into his career that Paul released his first records. By now he has released music on respectable labels such as Hope Recordings, Diynamic, Sudbeat, Proton Music, Sleaze Records, Einmusika and naturally his own Manual Music amongst many others.
In 2014 he released his long awaited debut album 'Adapt' which again showed his versatility as a producer, working together with vocalists such as Sian Evans (Kosheen), Alice Rose, Patchy and spoken word wizard The Lazarusman next to collaborations with Noraj Cue and Olaf Stuut.
Although people like to genre-tag artists nowadays, it's not easy to do the same with Paul Hazendonk. Throughout the years of his career he has crafted his own distinctive sound, blending elements of house- and techno music, often filled with warm bass lines and melodies, but without losing sight on the dance floor.
Dimitri Kechagias review:
[review top="1"]
[item value="10"]Beat and Rhythm[/item]
[item value="10"]Basslines and Groove[/item]
[item value="10"] Melody [/item]
[item value="10"] Synths [/item]
[item value="10"]Breakdown[/item]
[item value="10"]Climax / Drop / Crescendo / Pay off moment[/item]
[item value="10"]Intensity, Drive and Energy[/item]
[item value="10"]Sound-design and Arrangement[/item]
[item value="10"]Overall Atmosphere[/item]
[item value="10"]Goosebumps / Shivers moments[/item]
[item value="10"]Emotional affinity and heartfelt moments[/item]
[item value="10"]Originality and Inventiveness[/item]
[item value="10"]Dancefloor Efficiency / Festival Arenas Effectiveness[/item]
[item value="10"]You can’t get this memorable track out of your head[/item]
[item value="10"]It has potential to become an anthem or a classic[/item]
[item value="10"]Labrum Lafway EP[/item]
[content title="Summary" label="Overall Score"]BluFin records continues to bring to the clubs amazing must check out and fall in love with releases. The brand new record comes from the hands of Nantais & Hazendonk and is called Labrum Lafway. The original mix is an intelligent piece of dark moody melancholic melodic progressive tech house brilliance. Great danceable rhythm and hypnotic groove while the synthy lines and warm strings add that special magic to the final result. The always beloved Ramon Tapia is back with an excellent remix that is deeper melodic progressive techno with trancy edge that has even a rougher aggressive moment with weird bassline that rocks. Truly well crafted that will bring in your mind the Superstition records classics. BluFin slowly and gradually becomes one of the most innovative voices in electronic music coming out from Cologne. #PureGold Love it[/content]
[/review]
Additional info:
www.facebook.com/dustinnantaismusic
www.facebook.com/paulhazendonkofficial
https://www.facebook.com/BluFin
https://twitter.com/ablufin
https://soundcloud.com/blufin