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Alice Deejay
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| Alice DeeJay | |
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| Origin | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Genres | Dance-pop, Eurodance, Trance, Techno |
| Years active | 1999–2002 |
| Labels | Republic/Universal (US) |
| Former members | |
| Sebastiaan Molijn, Eelke Kalberg, DJ Jurgen, Judith Anna Pronk Mila Levesque Angelique Versnel |
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Alice DeeJay was a Dutch electronic music group, who achieved success from 1999 to 2002.
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Members
The group consisted of record producers Pronti (born Sebastiaan Molijn), Kalmani (born Eelke Kalberg) and DJ Jurgen, with lead singer Judith Anna Pronk. They also had background dancers; Mila Levesque & Angelique Versnel.
After the successful years of Alice Deejay, Judith, Mila and Angelique called it quits. Now, Pronk works as a freelance hair and make-up artist around the world. She is represented by Touche Models in Amsterdam.
Mila Levesque has graduated from the Lucia Marthas Dance Academy. After Alice Deejay, she is still very active in the world of dance. Mila has released the single "Lift Me Up" for a lollipop commercial.
Angelique Versnel (Angel) began her education as a dancer at the School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles, USA. After completing 4 years at the dance academy (as well as high school study) at Alvin Aley in New York, she became a part of Alice Deejay. In 2004, Angelique started her own company (AV Performing Productions), which gives training lessons (and creative complete choreographies) to artists, bands and commercial shows.
Commercial success
Alice DeeJay launched their career in July 1999 with the single, "Better Off Alone", an accessible and upbeat Eurotrance pop song credited to DJ Jurgen presents Alice DeeJay. In the UK, the song went platinum and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, and #3 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play, also reaching #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Alice Deejay achieved success with the follow-up single "Back In My Life" in November of the same year.
The group's first and only album is Who Needs Guitars Anyway?, which was released on April 11, 2000 with the help of Claire Goff and Neil Young. The album contains upbeat, popular trance tracks. It entered the Top Ten of the UK Albums Chart.
Alice DeeJay made the UK Top 20 with three more tracks: "Will I Ever", "The Lonely One" and "Celebrate Our Love", although each single's chart position was lower than its predecessors.
Alice DeeJay won the Award for their hit single, "Better Off Alone", in the category Best Chart Act, defeating other nominees such as All Saints, Jennifer Lopez, Eiffel 65, and Vengaboys.
Alice Deejay also performed a version of the Mel C (of the Spice Girls) song "I Turn To You" live.
American rapper Wiz Khalifa samples Better off Alone in his 2008 single, Say Yeah.
Decline
The group had not performed publicly since November 9, 2002, when they played seemingly their last gig in Utrecht.
A new act called Candee Jay was formed in 2004. Candee Jay shared many similarities with Alice DeeJay but failed after only 2 major hits. Afterwards, the project was ended.
Final Performance
On December 1, 2007, Pronti and Kalmani were brought to Los Angeles under the title "Alice Deejay" for "Winter Fresh" by Fresh Entertainment. They were brought out again for "Fresh" in April 2008, performing for the last time as "Alice Deejay" since many people didn't get a chance to make it into Winterfresh. Wiz Khalifa also made an appearance and performed 'Say Yeah'
Dash Berlin
In the summer of 2007, Pronti & Kalmani formed a new act together with Jeffrey Sutorius: Dash Berlin. This group has its focus more on the trance genre instead of the dance genre. Their first single, "Till The Sky Falls Down", became a massive hit all over the world in the dance/trance scene.citation needed In April 2008, the single had its commercial release. The video clip for the single is shot at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Dash Berlin is a true deejay at heart with a profound passion for the comprehensive culture of dance music. He is often described as an invigorating and charismatic newcomer, with the unique ability to leave a long-lasting impression upon his audience well after the night is over. Dash is one of those rare individuals that seem to apprehend the unwritten laws of the nightclub by nature. He keeps his ever expanding, nocturnal following alert, ecstatic and craving for more, with remarkable precision and skill. One could easily mistake him for a superstar deejay, but the truth remains that Dash Berlin is viewing the world through the same eyes as his public. “It’s virtually impossible to make progress without the continuing support of the people”, he said, humbly.
Dash Berlin, was born as Jeff X. Sutorius, on November in 1979, in The Hague, the Netherlands. A family with wide musical tastes surrounded him and because of his late father, who was a distinguished drummer in a jazz band; Dash became acquainted with the typical marks of rhythmic music at a very young age. While still at high school, he became a devoted fan of electronic music, regularly enjoying mix tapes that his older sister brought home from the clubs she worked at as a professional dancer.
In his late teens, Dash Berlin started working at a record shop and became a dedicated vinyl collector with a fascination for melodic, synthesized house music, subsequently known as “Trance”. Inspired by pioneering figures such as; Sven Väth, Oliver Lieb and Sander Kleinenberg, he slowly but surely started to develop his own innovative style of mixing and producing. His hidden work ethic seemed not to be about producing more, but rather less and differently. It is this vision that still sets him apart in a crowded and highly competitive scene.
Propelled by his passion, he literally performed everywhere, from nine-hour gigs in shopping malls to the notorious illegal Dutch warehouse parties. During his set on the world famous Love Parade, Dash decided to incorporate the word “Berlin” behind his artist name. ”It’s a dedication to that metropolis and her engaging, urban landscape,” he said, “Where I have seen more then a million people dancing on the streets, in the in the spirit of an ever-evolving Europe”.
In early 2006, Dash teamed up with fellow producers and close friends, Molijn & Kalberg, who were regular customers at his record shop. “These guys are amazing visionaries and astonishing studio wizards, they are the foundation of my sound” Dash enthused, “I still learn from them every day”.
Together they are designing an ambitious and unprecedented new division in Trance, critically acclaimed as the “Dash Berlin Sound”. Futuristic, scintillating, but above all, moving and emotive music that relates to the universal dance floor experience, shared by innumerable music fans from multifarious cultures around the globe. Although a vigorous believer in political awareness, the message of Dash Berlin is simple; “It’s all about having a good time again,” he stated, “The art of celebrating life resonates inside of everyone”.
In 2007, none other than Armin van Buuren revealed his newfound discovery to the world and featured Dash Berlin’s debut record “Till The Sky Falls Down” on his legendary “Universal Religion” album. The track became one of the most memorable, global anthems that year and remains one of the cultivated blueprints of the new Trance renaissance. The mood-filled black & white music video that complimented the radio mix was shot in the heart of Berlin proper. The clip grew to be a genuine labour of love, using the latest in digital cinematography, and successfully avoided the typical clichés of modern day dance music videos.
In the beginning of 2009, under the mighty wings of Armada Music, plans emerged to expand the Dash Berlin universe with his personal, freshly inaugurated, imprint called “Aropa”. It represents an eclectic high-quality outlet for Dash Berlin’s avant-garde productions, collaborations, his highly anticipated forthcoming album, as well as a solid foundation for rising talent and established like-minded artists. “The Aropa hallmark holds a deeper connotation too”, Dash revealed, “As it stands for the axiom of sharing art, inspiration and creativity.”
On October 5, their debut album "The New Daylight" was released:
- 01. Till The Sky Falls Down
- 02. Man On The Run (with Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren)
- 03. Wired (ft. Susana)
- 04. Waiting (ft. Emma Hewitt)
- 05. Never Cry Again
- 06. To Be The One (ft. Idaho)
- 07. End Of Silence (ft. Rowald Steyn & Nina Deli)
- 08. The Night Time
- 09. Renegade (ft. DJ Remy)
- 10. Janeiro (ft. Solid Sessions)
- 11. Feel U Here
- 12. The New Daylight
- 13. Believe In You (feat. Secede & Sarah Howells) (ONLY DIGITAL RELEASE)
- 14. Surround Me (ONLY DIGITAL RELEASE)
Discography
Albums
- 2000 Who Needs Guitars Anyway? (UK #8)
Singles
- 1999 "Better Off Alone" (UK #2, AUS #4, US #27) - DJ Jurgen presents Alice DeeJay
- 2000 "Back In My Life" (UK #4, AUS #19)
- 2000 "Will I Ever" (UK #7)
- 2000 "The Lonely One" (UK #16)
- 2001 "Celebrate Our Love" (UK #17)