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Renaissance is a British electronic dance music club brand and record label. [1] Renaissance was started by Geoff Oakes at Venue 44 in Mansfield, England in March 1992. [1] Renaissance was Geoff Oakes' antidote to the sci-fi imagery and dressed down clubbers of the 'rave' scene. [2] Early resident DJs at Renaissance were Ian Ossia, Sasha, John Digweed and Nigel Dawson; other DJs with long-time attachments include Dave Seaman, Nick Warren, David Morales, Anthony Pappa and Hernán Cattáneo.
In 1993, Renaissance moved to a newly renovated former print works in Derby called The Conservatory. The Conservatory was only just finished in time for opening of Renaissance on the Saturday night but was decorated with the (by then) signature gold cherubs and velvet drapes which have become indicative of the opulent style of Renaissance events. In 1995, Renaissance put on their first international show at Womb in Tokyo. Other international dates soon followed, and in 2007, Renaissance hosted over 150 shows in more than 25 countries around the world.[ citation needed ] The Renaissance monthly residency at the Cross nightclub in London was one of the longest running continuous club nights in the world, and ended in November 2007 when the venue closed permanently to make way for new development. They are known for their use of classical imagery in their packaging and advertising. [3]
Renaissance is also renowned for their special shows in stately homes and castles, including Shugborough Hall, Allerton Castle, and several others around the UK. [1] In late June 2007, Renaissance hosted "Wild in the Country" at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire. The event featured the only summer appearance in the UK of the electronic band Underworld, as well as a lengthy DJ set by Sasha and John Digweed. Other major artists on the line up included Hot Chip, François K, and Ricardo Villalobos.
Renaissance has also been resident during the summer season in Ibiza for more than 15 years, and has played on the Spanish island in venues such as Pacha, Privilege, and Amnesia. [1]
In early 2010, Renaissance ceased operations and entered into administration. Ministry of Sound acquired the copyrights to the Renaissance brand, although under MOS ownership the brand was not active until recently. In July 2011, original founder Geoff Oakes once again took control of the brand and both the label and events are now fully operational again. A series of special events and record releases to celebrate Renaissance's 20th Anniversary was announced in 2012.
In late 2018, a controlling stake in the promotion and associated record label was acquired by media and finance entrepreneur, Scott Rudmann. Rudmann had been a small shareholder of the company since 2000, was formerly a non-executive director of the company, and had remained close with Geoff Oakes over many years.
Beginning in 2018, Renaissance's event calendar began again, with the promotion staging events in Birmingham, United Kingdom with artists including Tale of Us, Sasha, Dixon, Solomun, and Amelie Lens.
In January 2020, Renaissance made its debut in Tulum, Mexico, at leading Tulum outdoor venue Zamna, with a groundbreaking line up including artists who had ever performed in Tulum previously, among them Adam Beyer, Ida Endberg, Charlotee DeWitte, Danny Tenaglia, Nicole Moudaber, Dubfire, Blancah, and Sirsax. The promotion has announced a return to Zamna, Tulum in January 2021. [4] [5] [6]
Renaissance has an associated record label which has featured releases from artists such as John Digweed, Sasha, Dave Seaman, Hernan Cattaneo, David Morales, Faithless, Satoshi Tomiie, James Zabiela and BT. Sasha and John Digweed met while resident DJs at Renaissance. [1] Two years into their Renaissance residencies, they produced their first mix album, Renaissance – The Mix Collection Volume 1 , which was released on the club's label 1993. This 3-CD set became the first mix compilation to achieve gold record status. [1]
Thomas John Digweed is a British DJ and record producer. DJ Magazine voted him the World No. 1 DJ in 2001. As well as achieving success as a solo act, he has collaborated with Sasha as Sasha & John Digweed, and with Nick Muir as Bedrock.
Sasha & John Digweed are a British DJ duo comprising Sasha and John Digweed. Digweed had been DJing for ten years before getting a gig at Renaissance where he met Sasha, who had been working the past few years in various acid house music clubs and raves. Together, they honed their DJ skills, focusing on track selection and technical mixing abilities. In 1994, they released the triple CD mix album Renaissance: The Mix Collection on Renaissance Records. It contained many popular dance hits of the time from artists such as Leftfield, Fluke, and 2 Bad Mice as well as original productions and remixes from themselves. Two years later, the duo became "true superstars" (AllMusic) with the release of their double CD Northern Exposure on mega-label Ministry of Sound. This release was brought to the United States the next year in a single CD package on Ultra Records. 1997 saw the release of the Northern Exposure 2 double CD mix album, again on Ministry of Sound. Sasha and Digweed toured internationally, helping define the sound of progressive house & trance music in the late 1990s. In 1998, both John Digweed and Sasha released separate mix albums on Boxed as part of the Global Underground series with Digweed's GU 006: Sydney and Sasha's GU 009: San Francisco release.
Alexander Paul Coe, known professionally as Sasha, is a Welsh DJ and record producer. He is best known for his live events and electronic music as a solo artist, as well as his collaborations with British DJ John Digweed as Sasha & John Digweed. He was voted as World No. 1 DJ in 2000 in a poll conducted by DJ Magazine. He is a four-time International Dance Music Awards winner, four-time DJ Awards winner and Grammy Award nominee.
Homelands was a music festival run by Mean Fiddler Music Group which consisted mainly of dance music, both live acts and DJs. The festival was held in locations in England, Scotland and Ireland in the period 1999 to 2005. The organisers of Homelands were also behind the Home Nightclubs chain including Home nightclub in London and Sydney.
Global Underground is a British record label and compilation series founded in 1996 by Andy Horsfield and James Todd. The label symbolised the international explosion of dance music during the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s and first manifesto for high-end DJs such as Tony De Vit, Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed, Danny Tenaglia, Nick Warren, Dave Seaman, Darren Emerson, James Lavelle, Carl Cox, and Solomun.
Dave Seaman is a British DJ and record producer. He was formerly a member of the DMC Publishing, and editor of music magazine Mixmag.
Hernán Cattáneo is an Argentine house DJ. He produces electronic music, mostly progressive house.
The Zap was a beach-front nightclub and performance arts venue, in Brighton, England that became known in the late 1980s and early 1990s particularly for its acid house nights. It has been described as an "influential ... club which pulled together many of the underground strands of visual art, fashion, music, design, comedy, cabaret and theatre which were circling at the time".
Benoît Franquet, better known as Pole Folder, is a Belgian electronic musician and live club performer, based in Brussels.
Anthony Pappa is an Australian DJ and electronic music producer from Melbourne.
Northern Exposure is the second mix album by British DJ duo Sasha & John Digweed. Released on 27 September 1996, it is the first in their Northern Exposure series, followed by Northern Exposure 2 in 1997 and Northern Exposure: Expeditions in 1999. There is both a British edition released by Ministry of Sound and an American edition released by Ultra Records in 1997. The British package contains both CDs, whereas the American only has the first disc. In 2013, the album was certified silver in the UK.
Renaissance: The Mix Collection is the debut mix album by British DJ duo Sasha & John Digweed. It was released on 14 October 1994 and was the first in a series of mix albums released under the brand of the Renaissance nightclub. Containing music from the house, progressive house and trance genres, it was intended as a sampler of the kind of music played by the club.
Adam Johnson is an American electronic musician from Minneapolis, Minnesota, known for his 2003 album, Chigliak, on the Miami based electronic music label, Merck Records. He has released music on American and European electronic music record labels, and licensed his music for use in advertising, TV and films. His music has also been licensed by world renown DJs and record producers such as Sasha, John Digweed, and Way Out West. In 2014, Fact magazine included the track "Anex" from the album, Chigliak, on a list of "The 100 Greatest IDM Tracks."
Monster Massive was a Halloween-themed electronic music festival held annually on a weekend near Halloween at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. Many of the attendees dressed in costume. The event was sponsored by Go Ventures.
Creamfields Buenos Aires is an annual electronic music festival hosted in Buenos Aires featuring DJs recognized in the worldwide electronic scene. It has seen more attendees compared to other Creamfields events in Latin America with almost 70,000 people attending its sixth edition.
DJ Awards is a celebration of electronic music, and aims to recognise and honour DJs and individuals who have influenced electronic dance music worldwide.
Darin Epsilon is a music producer, DJ, radio personality, record label owner, and music critic from Chicago, which is widely considered the birthplace of House music. He lived in Los Angeles from 2008 to 2016 and currently resides in Berlin as of 2017.
Nicole Moudaber is a Lebanese/British event promoter, record label founder, radio personality, and DJ/producer. She is the head of her own imprint MOOD Records and runs an award-winning weekly radio show, In The MOOD.
Perspectives Digital is a record label for Deep House, Tech House, Progressive House, and Techno. Based out of Los Angeles and founded in 2010 by Darin Epsilon, the imprint is an extension of his popular radio show of the same name. In summer of 2017, DJ Mag nominated Perspectives for 'Breakthrough Label' in their first ever Best of North America Awards.