This was an article in CLICK MAGAZINE
Dance
Music / ElectronicaFusing Afro, Latin and house beats, Nuyorican T-Pro and Mexi-Rican DJ Angel C serve up pumping tribal at their packed DJ gigs at the hottest New York parties. These tribal masters have teamed up for Tribal Pleasures, a pumping CD full of the hottest tribal tracks from Mike Macaluso, Kiwi Dreams vs. Hard Attack, The Scumfrog, India, Johnny Vicious and many others.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: How did you start the NYC tribalism scene? What were the musical influences?
T-Pro: I arrived In NY in 87, during the commercialization of Chicago's House and NY's Freestyle, everything was merging together... except in the Extreme Case of Acid house... very simple melodies often around a basic Tribal beat. I sought long and hard at the beginning for those beats and would start the intros over and over till the crowd could take no more... eventually, I got tired of working so hard and made my own tracks.
RS: Did the scene start at clubs or at private parties that you played?
T-Pro: Private parties, but I did get a huge break at the now infamous Tunnel NY, circa 88...
RS: How did you get started as a DJ?
Angel Cantu: I first remember my Junior High School dances in the cafeteria, but to be honest I didn't really pay attention to the guy on stage. I do remember a small curiosity in what he was doing, but as I began high school it became a different story. I used to walk around the surrounding neighborhoods at night, to go to my friends house or whatever, and I used to pass by a house that would have a lot of people in the front and backyard. I would see flashing lights and hear pumping music. I was young then and didn't have any older friends to get me into these parties until one day my friends sister had a party and I got to go. I was amazed by everything but moreso by the guy who was in charge of the music. I didn't know that music could be mixed together like that. So I quickly started playing with my vinyl collection that I already had. I started back around 1986 using my parents home stereo system that had a belt driving turntable along with one I purchased at a thrift store alongside a $100 dollar mixer I saved up for and bought at Radio Shack, which was really a basic microphone mixer. My friends knew I was fooling around with DJing so they asked me to DJ a birthday party for them and that's when I the really caught the DJ bug!
RS: What about your musicality do you think made you successful in the very fickle Los Angeles clubs?
Angel: Yes, I had to be versatile playing different types of music in order to be able to get hired by different clubs and companies.
RS: Moving from Los Angeles to New York, did you change your style to play to the crowds?
Angel: Yes, there is a big difference in scene and culture here in NY. The music taste amongst the people is different. I think New York is a little ahead of LA, as far as music and fashion. I think that they can accept something new a little more easily than LA; I said a little, not a lot. Because they also are falling into that typical clubgoer who say: "We hear it on the radio or in our houses 20 thousand times so we have to hear it in the club too," just like the people in LA.
RS: How did the two of you meet up?
T-Pro: Well I was traveling back from England on the Concord's last trip, and he overheard me on my cell phone laughing about the millions of dollars I just made off of a big record deal, and struck up a conversation. No, seriously, Millions in Dance Music? Not unless you get in a car commercial. We met through a mutual friend just shortly after Angel arrived from LA.
Angel: I met T-Pro when I came to New York, I believe the second time back around 1995-96. He was spinning at a club called Milk. He says he doesn't remember me then, but as a DJ I completely understand why he says that. The second time was back in 2002 when I was shopping myself around to the different clubs. We became good friends ever since.
RS: How did you get the title "Tribal Master"?
T-Pro: Several magazines were giving me praise about having unique sounds on the dance floor, they said I was a Tribal Master because most 'tribal' DJs out there are really playing TRANCE and that repetitive, somewhat rather boring drum loop style of trance is not what I do. When I play the Drums, you feel the Drums...
RS: How did you guys choose the songs for the CD?
T-Pro: Like most mixed CDs it is an exhaustive process because your desire for tracks is usually severely restrained because of licensing issues.
Angel: We had to choose from a wide array of titles on our existing catalog, along with some unreleased material we never did put out.
RS: Why do an unmixed CD in addition to the mixed CD?
Angel: To target the DJ market, and to release the tracks that never had been released.
T-Pro: And DJs are our friends...
RS: What is T-Angle?
T-Pro: T from T-Pro (everyone calls me T) and ANG from Angel C... We got together on some reconstructed songs and needed a moniker.
RS: How did you make the move from DJing into production?
T-Pro: I actually started as a recording engineer and producer.
RS: How do you approach a tribal house remix as opposed to a hip-hop remix?
T-Pro: With Tribal in mind. Hmmmm, I want to say more, but I talk too much and I like my studio secrets in the studio.
RS: How exactly do you define tribal music?
T-Pro: On paper, labels suck, let's just say it is not Trance or Techno or Disco, or Hi-NRG, but it is based around percussive elements from native cultures and tribes. See, I told you that labels suck..
Angel: Drums, percussion, congas, timbales, whistles, sirens, vocal chants, and beats beats beats. What more can you ask for!
RS: As the grandpapis of tribal house, how do you react to other DJs coming in and playing the same sound?
T-Pro: Where are they? I would love to go out and hear some good music for a change....
Angel: I wouldn't consider myself the grandpapi of tribal house, when there are legendary DJs like Junior Vasquez, David Morales, Tony Humphries to name a few who have played some form of tribal house back in the day.
RS: Does it encourage you or annoy you to see the mainstream dance/circuit sound growing to encompass tribal and Latin sounds?
Angel: Not at all, it makes it easier when you have to play for those types of crowds.
T-Pro: It encourages me when it is done right, but I really cannot stand that Jaws bassline (just think of the movie Jaws and its theme.) Circuit sounds are good and many records are incredible, but I like to do aerobics at the gym, so if you're pushing 140bpm, drink some tea and relax a little...
RS: Do you spin together at gigs?
T-Pro: When they can afford us both..
Angel: We occasionally have played together.
RS: How does your DJing affect your work at Jellybean?
Angel: I don't think that DJing effects my work at Jellybean Recordings, except that I am very tired the next when I have to show up for work Although I feel that have much more of an understanding of my job considering I am part of the whole community that we base or music on.
RS: Where do you see the tribal scene in New York going?
T-Pro: I'm glad I am here, or it wouldn't be going, we need some courageous DJ's to stand up and play what they like. Thank God for Frankie Knuckles coming back to New York or the scene would be really boring. There seems to be no variety unless you are in Brooklyn or a little bar in the East Village.
RS: There is often a strict segregation between hip-hop and house. How do you combine the two together over the course of a night?
Angel: It depends on where you play, but nowadays most all of the younger generation want to hear Hip-Hop. House has started to become so foreign to them that they won't dance to it anymore. I can put on a dance remix of Beyonce, J-Lo, Etc... and they will literally walk off the floor but if you put on the original hip-hop version, forget it- the floor is packed. I think this all has to do with no radio play of dance music along with no popular artists strictly doing dance tracks on their albums, or award shows not recognizing dance artists. What a shame.
RS: Are T-Party events exclusively blatino?
T-Pro: We are not exclusive, but I will say that the crowd that enjoys the music also enjoys the venues I give them to listen to the music in. If you are Black or Latin In NY (and gay), and want to be around people like yourself, there are only a hand full of clubs to go to, and most hold no more than 200 people. At Cuchifrito, we found the best big space in the city, with two floors even, and pumped some proper flava on the dance floor.
RS: Your website is insane - how do you choose the pictures that you put up?
T-Pro: It is not just me, I have support staff that gives input. But I know what the crowd likes and we promote to such a specific niche in NY that it is rather easy.
RS: How did you get hooked up with Junior Vasquez?
Angel: I've known Junior since about 1994, we met a party for a friend of ours in Los Angeles. We've been friends ever since. I told him I was coming out for gay pride in 2002 and asked if I could play at his club. Well to my surprise, he said yes. After that day, unexpectedly I decided to move to New York and I went on to open for him for every major party of 2002 for him.
RS: How has spinning with Junior affected you as a DJ?
Angel: I think anyone would agree that opening for someone you have idolized for many years is one of the greatest honors anyone could have, and to be asked back several times makes you feel that you have really proven yourself and your talents. I am forever grateful to him for believing in me and giving me that once in a lifetime opportunity.
RS: Spinning for the South Park guys must have been a trip; any interesting stories from that night?
Angel: Yes! When I found out that the boys were downstairs at a club I used to do on Saturday nights called RAGE in West Hollywood, I quickly ran downstairs and brought a white label remix of Mr. Hankey to have them sign it. I left it with them and ran back upstairs to change the song. Well when I came back, one of the guys just signed his name but the other actually drew 2 of the characters and wrote some captions. I was so happy and I still have it till this day.
RS: What was it like when Britney performed at your event?
T-Pro: Britney at Splash Bar (SBNY) was a joy, it was insane. A lot of the camera footage used was from Splash's ceiling cam, because all of MTV's camera's kept getting fogged up. She was great, so sweet. We also had Janet just a month prior. She had requested a Drag Show and within 2 hours she was at the club and we had one together. That is one of the great things about Splash- it has been the center of the Gay Dance Scene for over 10 years, and continues to offer an amazing roster of talent on every night.
By DJ Ron Slomowicz, About.com
Tribal Pleasures
Mixed by T-Pro & Angel C
About.com Rating
By Ramon Johnson, About.com Jellybean Recordings/Sony Discs
There is nothing I dislike more than a bad DJ (well, with the exception of homophobes, racists, and boys who wear polo shirts with the collars up.) The way tracks are mixed can make or break a party, and many times I've made a fool out of myself screaming in disappointment for my money back. These recent bad experiences made me very skeptical of any DJ or team. This was not the case when I previewed latin duo T-Pro & Angel C's new compilation. I was more than pleasantly surprised!
The Music
I set out on the streets of New York with T-Pro & Angel C's new CD Tribal Pleasures burned into my mp3 player. I was cold and irritable and very prepared to fast forward just in case it didn't get my blood pumping. Tribal Pleasures immediately opened my eyes with it's lead track "Tribal Journey" by Marco Polo Cerere, giving me a little Afro-Latin feel that got my hips moving. My intentions to skim through this mix were squashed after mere seconds!
What really impressed me about T-Pro & Angel C was the connection you can feel they make with their audience; music lovers like myself who push the ON button for one purpose and one purpose only- to party! The tracks seamlessly warmed at a pace slow but exciting enough to draw you in and make the outside world disappear. The groove continued to build to the point where I had to sit down to avoid dancing my butt off on the busy subway platform. This Latin duo knows how to start a party and build excitement to the point of musical ecstasy (and not the drug silly boys!) Each vocal groove is an exciting prelude to the next. The beats are deep and hot enough to make you wonder where this DJ duo have been all your life.
The DJ's: T-Pro and Angel
The heart of hot Latin parties Milk and Cuchifrito in New York City and L.A.'s Circus and Arena, T-Pro and Angel attract a universal crowd with new tracks, classic motifs, and throw-down beats into one high energy set. The last time I heard raw talent like this was Alyson Calagna in demo stage. These boys are bound to spread like a California wildfire throughout the underground party scene. Keep an eye out for this dynamic duo coming to a party near you!
