New York City—It’s late January and the East Coast is suffering from one of its most treacherous winters in history. The New York streets are lined with mountains of snow and the sidewalks are sparse. But inside the walls of Pacha, Manhattan’s premier super-club, the crowd is thick with excitement and the vibe is white hot.
Those who braved the elements have entered a world of dizzying lights, relentless beats, and general mayhem. The main room finds loads of amped-up clubgoers, mostly ranging from ages 19 to 24, waving their hands in the air, gyrating to the aggressive electro beats pumping from the massive Dynacord Alpha Concept system. Despite the ill weather, the night’s success should come as no surprise. They’re here to dive into a beatfest delivered by Wolfgang Gartner, one of America’s hottest DJ/producers. Snowstorm be damned.
That’s the kind of roll Gartner’s been on since his 2008 breakout, when he began topping the Beatport charts with club bombs like “Front to Back.” And now the Austin, Texas-based talent—real name, Joey Youngman—comes fresh off a Grammy nomination (for his remix of Andy Caldwell’s “Funk Nasty”) and four International Dance Music Award nominations. Plus, he’s had his Essential Mix voted one of the top 10 mixes in 2010.
Want more? He has traveled across the globe, playing world-renowned venues such as Coachella, Electric Daisy, and Ultra Music Festival. He has established his own successful record label, Kindergarten. He’s collaborated with big-name club artists like Deadmau5 (“Animal Rights”) and Mark Knight (“Conscindo”) and remixed pop hitmakers like Britney Spears (“3”) and Timbaland (“Mornin’ After Dark”).
