This is not your first time in Portugal. Have you been here many times in the past?

I’VE BEEN TO PORTUGAL NUMEROUS TIMES, ITS BEEN WONDERFUL IN MANY CITIES. LISBON, OPORTO, ALGARVE, CLUBS LIKE BBC, SASHA BEACH PARTIES, CAPITOL, ETC

Have you noticed a big difference in the club scene during your nights here?

THIS TIME IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT, THE CROWD WERE VERY OPEN TO ALL KINDS OF SOUNDS. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE ENVIRONMENT, THE CROWD, THE PROMOTERS, THE ATMOSPHERE, ALL THESE ELEMENTS MAKE UP AMAZING NIGHTS.

The BBC club is celebrating 8 years. Soul Heaven is celebrating 10, with a triple CD. Will these be two great nights for the Portuguese fans of dance music?
IT WAS VERY EASY TO ADAPT, THE CROWD ACTUALLY RESPONDED VERY WELL AT BBC BOTH NIGHTS. ANANE PLAYED AN AMAZING SET, AND AN INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE SINGING HER NEW SONGS FROM HER ALBUM. THE STYLES RANGED IN HER PERFORMANCE FROM REGGAE TO ROCK TO CAPE VERDIAN SOUNDS. AND THE DJ SET SHE PLAYED INTRODUCED HER NULU MUSIC (HER IMPRINT/LABEL), AFROTECH. I PLAYED MANY DIFFERENT STYLES AS WELL, ITS ALL ABOUT HOW YOU PROGRAM, PERFORM, SELECT & MIX (TEHNICALLY) , IF YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOOD MUSIC, THEY WILL FEEL IT IF YOU DO IT WELL. AND LISBON WAS A SUPER HOT!!! SEXY CROWD!!!! YES THE NIGHTS WERE AMAZING IN MY BOOK ONE OF THE BEST TIMES IN LISBON. FRIDAY NIGHT WE CELEBRATED TEN YEARS OF SOUL HEAVEN AND SATURDAY NIGHT THE RELEASE OF ANANESWORLD, ANANE’S NEW ALBUM, MY NEW PRODUCTION. AS WELL AS IT BEING 8 YEARS FOR BBC, THE COMBINATION OF ALL CREATED THE OUTCOME OF THE EVENTS. BOTH NIGHTS WERE PACKED, ESPECIALLY SATURDAY, HUGE HUGE HUGE!!

Do you have enough time to play, or the ‘producing part’ takes too much of your time?
Where do you like to play most?

I MAKE THE TIME TO PRODUCE, WHEN I’M HOME, I HAVE MY STUDIO CALLED DADDY’S WORKSHOP, NJ. I HAVE TO MAKE MUSIC, IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE.
You started playing music when you were very young, so you came across lots of different music styles and club styles, right?

I LIKE TO PLAY MOST IN NYC, AT MY ROOTS PARTY AT CIELO OR ONE OF MY DANCE RITUAL EVENTS WHICH HAPPEN IN VARIOUS VENUES.
Was it easy to adapt yourself? Do you miss any of the ‘old decades’?
YES, WHEN I WAS YOUNG I GREW UP WITH ALL KINDS OF MUSIC. DISCO, HIP HOP (WHEN IT WAS BORN IN THE BRONX) R&B, SOUL AND SALSA MUSIC. DJ INFLUENCES LARRY LEVAN, DAVID MANCUSO, JELLBEAN BENITEZ, TONY HUMPHRIES, DAVID MORALES WERE ALL PLAYING AT MAJOR CLUBS IN NY AND NJ
Were your mother and father important to define the DJ you are today? Or maybe their albums, and the albums they let you ear when you were young?

YES, MY MOTHER AND FATHER ARE IMPORTANT TO DEFINE THE DJ I AM, THEY HAVE INFLUENCED ME IN MANY WAYS. MY MOTHER PLAYED LOTS OF SALSA MUSIC, AND SHE IS THE OLDER SISTER OF HECTOR LAVOE, SO HIS SOUND WAS ALWAYS IN OUR APARTMENT. MY DAD PLAYED SAXAPHONE, JAZZ MUSIC AND I HEARD THE SOUNDS OF JOHN COLTRANE, MILES DAVIS AND CHARLIE PARKER TO NAME A FEW.
I ALSO HAVE SISTERS AND THEY LISTENED TO LOTS OF DISCO AND URBAN MUSIC IN THOSE DAYS.

You have an immense career. What’s missing?

WHAT MISSING? I’M VERY HAPPY WHERE ITS ALL GONE, WINNING A GRAMMY, CREATING MUSIC FOR CIRQUE DU SOLEIL FOR A WORLDWIDE EVENT, HAVING MY OWN BAND ELEMENTS OF LIFE PERFORMING WORLDWIDE, DJING AS WELL, AND PRODUCING MANY PIECES WITH GREAT ARTISTS THAT TOUCHED MANY AROUND THE WORLD AND NOW ANANE MY WIFE SINGING, WRITING, DJING, OWNING HER OWN LABEL, THIS HAS ALL TAKEN A CYCLE OF WONDERS.
I WOULD LIKE TO PRODUCE MANY ARTISTS THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CONNECT WITH YET. STEVIE WONDER, ERYKA BADU, ALISHA KEYS, JILL SCOTT, TITO PARIS, CESARIA EVORA, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, PEVAN EVERETT, MARIZA, THERE ARE MANY.
What do you still think you want to do that haven’t done yet?

I HAVE MUCH MORE TO DO…..WITH MY NEXT PROJECT ELEMENTS OF LIFE II, THERE WILL BE MANY SURPRISES.

Anané, your wife, is also presenting her new album – Ananésworld – here. She came from jazz music, I think, was she one of your music ‘findings’?

YES, ANANE IS VERY TALENTED, SHE IS AN ALL AROUND ARTIST. SHE SINGS, WRITES, DANCES, AND DJS AS WELL. SHE HAS A NATURAL ABILITY TO INTERPRET SONGS WITH HER UNIQUE STYLE. I’VE BEEN HERE FROM THE BEGINNING OF HER SINGING CAREER AND HAVE TO SAY SHE HAS BLOSSOMED IN A LOVELY WAY AND STILL GROWING EVERY DAY IN HER TALENT.

Last year you both played at the Superbowl, for an enormous audiance, and I was told she is also trying a career in the movies. That’s a big jump, I suppose?
YES WE PERFORMED THE SUPERBOWL, WELL I ONLY CONDUCTED MY ORCHESTRA, SHE SANG LEAD SO IT WAS A BIG STEP FOR US ALL. SHE SANG LEAD ON “ONE DREAM” A SONG BLAZE AND I COMPOSED FOR CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, CIRQUE REQUESTED FOR US TO HAVE ANANE ON THE LEAD VOCAL. IT WAS SOMETHING TO BE REMEMBERED FOR LIFE. CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, WHAT CAN I SAY, THERE IS NO HIGHER FOR ME!!!!
MOVIES, YES ANANE HAS WRITTEN AN INSPIRATIONAL LIFE STORY AND THERE IS MUCH INTEREST. I DON’T WANT TO SAY ANYMORE FOR NOW. LOOK OUT FOR IT!!!!

As for Portugal, did you enjoy last night at the BBC? Did you and Anané get to see a bit of Lisbon?
THE FIRST NIGHT WE ARRIVED ON FRIDAY, WE HAD A HOME COOKED MEAL BY ANANE’S COUSIN THERESA, WHICH WAS THE PERFECT WAY TO START, IT WAS A FEAST. THEN WENT BACK TO THE HOTEL TO PREPARE FOR BBC FIRST NIGHT WHICH I DJ’D TO CELEBRATE THE TEN YEARS SOUL HEAVEN CD AND OF COURSE BBC’S PART ONE 8TH YEAR PARTY.

ON SATURDAY, IN THE EVENING ANANE AND I HAD DINNER AT AN AMAZING RESTAURANT CALLED CAFE DE MOURNA, ITS OWNED I BELIEVE BY THE LEGENDARY TITO PARIS. THE FOOD WAS DELICIOUS, I TRIED A LOT OF THE MENU, WOW!!! I WENT WITH ANANE’S DAD (CHICO) AND THE FAMILY, THEY ARE FROM LISBON AND CAPE VERDE. TO TOP IT OFF, OUR TABLE WAS SET, WE WERE READY TO ORDER, THEN TITO PARIS COMES OVER HIMSELF AND SAYS HELLO, WHAT AN HONOR!!!!! I WAS VERY HAPPY WITH THIS EXPERIENCE. ANANE HAS SHOWN ME HIS MUSIC FOR YEARS, WE’VE PLAYED IT AT HOME AT OUR HOUSE PARTIES, AND AT HER PARENTS HOUSE, SO IT WAS AN HONOR TO MEET HIM IN PERSON.
WE THEN WENT BACK TO THE HOTEL TO PREPARE FOR BBC, WHEN WE ARRIVED AT THE CLUB IT WAS SUPER PACKED, READY FOR THE ANANESWORLD ALBUM CELEBRATION, WITH MANY CARS OUTSIDE, MUCH TRAFFIC TO GET IN. I CAME TO THE STAGE WITH A PACKED HOUSE. I OPENED, THEN ANANE PERFORMED, THEN SHE DJ’D AND I JOINED HER ON THE DECKS. THE CROWD WENT MAD, IT WAS GREAT TO SEE HOW ANANE’S FANS WERE ALL SCREAMING WITH JOY WHEN SHE WAS PERFORMING AND DJING!! MANY CAMERAS, FLASHES, AND HAPPY PEOPLE!!! THANKS TO BBC , THE PROMOTERS, AND GROOVES PRODUCTIONS FOR AN AMAZING EVENT!

One last question. Can you name 4 or 5 music albums (of any type, recent or old), that you consider important to you?

MY MUSIC ALBUMS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO ME:

1. SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE   BY STEVIE WONDER
2. NUYORICAN SOUL BY NUYORICAN SOUL
3. ELEMENTS OF LIFE BY ELEMENTS OF LIFE
4. DR BUZZARDS ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND
5. MFSB BY MFSB
6. LIL LOUIS AND THE WORLD BY LIL LOUIS
7. TROUBLE MAN BY MARVIN GAYE
8. OUR TIME IS COMING BY MASTERS AT WORK
9. ANANESWORLD BY ANANE
10. PERCUSSION MADDNESS BY LUISITO QUINTERO