Darshan Jesrani’s recording project “Metro Area” (together with partner Morgan Geist) on the Environ label has left an indelible mark on the dance music landscape. Known for its forward-looking, freestyle recombination of influences, Metro Area’s work revolves around classic production styles and the songwriting focus of disco, new-wave/synth-pop and R&B, Metro Area has injected much needed doses of funk and sensuality, mood and space back into the loop-based and seldom-subtle world of underground dance.
Their 2002 debut album elicited superlative responses from The New York Times to The Onion, from web-logs to the Wire. Metro Area won a place among Rolling Stone’s “Top 50 Albums of 2002”, a rock and rap-dominated list for which most club/dance projects are not even considered. Further accolades include BBC/Radio 1’s “Dance Album of the Year” and a “Best New Artist” prize at the 2003 DanceStar/American Dance Awards.
In 2007, Darshan caught the collective ear with his co-writing, production and remix work (alongside Ewan Pearson and Klas “Sasse” Lindblad) on “It’s All True”, the debut single from beloved UK singer Tracey Thorn’s (Everything but the Girl) solo album “Out of the Woods” (Virgin). This release made waves in broader arenas and was touted as a fresh and uplifting update of the Funhouse-style, vocal-led, New York City synth-pop sound of the early/mid-80s.Darshan’s extended “Parks Dept. Dub” remix of “Starlight”, an underground hit by celebrated and hungry New York disco upstarts Escort (July 2006) landed on the year-end top-10 lists of many DJs known for their selections and taste.
The latest chapter (EP number 7) in the Metro Area series was released November 2007 to superlative praise, and the duo now set their sights on the completion of a Metro Area mix for highly-regarded mix-CD series Fabric (November 2008) and a new full-length album (2009).
Early 2008 saw the release of Darshan’s remix of Mock & Toof’s “Black Jub” on their Tiny Sticks label, as well as the debut release from new project Arcade Lover (with Dan Balis of Escort, Lisa Shaw and Jonathan Maron of Groove Collective) on Manchester’s Tirk Records.
These days, Darshan stays very busy with regular DJ bookings world-wide, the approaching completion of a new studio and recording space in Brooklyn, his party Strobe Lodge with DJ extraordinaire Citizen Kane and new Metro Area material with Morgan Geist.
Dennis“Citizen”Kane has been a seminal and iconic figure in contemporary dance music culture since his emergence in the mid 90’s NYC downtown scene. A former disco and old school buyer for the infamous A1 records, Kane has been digging and collecting since his early teens in Philadelphia.
Kane has been a Saturday night resident at APT since the fall of 2000. His Deep End party is known for it’s varied mix of lyrical sophistication, rare selections, and dance floor intensity.In 1999 Kane released Selects 001 (with Chairman Mao) a mix of rare Northern Soul, boogie, and disco treats. It gained significant critical praise from Journals like Urb, The Wire, and LA Weekly,and it was nominated to numerous top 10 lists, including The Village Voice’s. A follow up mix,The Greatest Part released in 2001, went further into the realms of disco and garnered similar critical praise. In 06 Kane released Adult Section, a solo mix with numerous re-edits, that in it’s diversity reflects the dynamic range of his live sets. It was named one of the years 10 best by Filter magazine, and cited as an essential disco “must have” by Ocean Drive magazine.
Kane’s label Disques Sinthomme had it’s initial release in the spring of 2007. Featuring tracks by Kane and Lodge co-resident Darshan Jesrani, the 12” charted throughout Europe and Japan, and has appeared on several mix compilations. The labels second release featured original work by Silver and Professor Genius, as well as remixes from Kane and Nick Chacona. Silver’s track has been licensed for a forthcoming cosmic compilation helmed by Ibiza luminary Phil Mison.
Kane was asked by Diesel and Dave Jarvis to contribute an arrangement for the return 12” of the legendary Moton label. The track “Kane’s Spanish Home” was one of the biggest 12”s of the past year, a favorite of DJ Harvey, Prins Thomas, and The Idjut Boys among others. It has be selected for a forthcoming “Heavy Disco” compilation, and was listed in numerous year-end top 10 lists. Kane also has work out on the Ghost Town and Homestyle labels as well. This fall Disques Sinthomme will release a third 12” featuring tracks from The Beat Broker, and Lars Behrenroth, with remixes from Smith & Mudd and Citizen Kane.
When not touring or digging Kane resides in NYC, working on the Strobe Lodge party with Darshan, his various residencies or buried in his studio. He lives with his wife Karen and son Roan. He can barely recognize his neighborhood anymore.