Halo – Deeply Minded 002

1. Rufuss – Blow – Jungle Dub
2. Beeka – Right At It – Michel Cleis Deeper Remix – Rekids
3. Soundiata’s Rebels feat. Sage Monk – Tamboula (Argy’s Version) – Offering
4. Sister Pearl – Bang The Drum Dub – Tribe
5. Lil Tony – Cosmic City – Versatile
6. Henrik Schwarz – The Angst (Henrik Schwarz Remix Halo Edit )
7. Black Label #48 (Letting You Go feat. Siri Svegler (Afrilounge Remix) – Compost
8. Masirah – Find A Way (Find A Way (Atjazz Remix) – Promo
9. Culoe De Song – The Fallen Siren -Promo
10. Lelethu – Ndinomsimdo (Rocco Main Remix) – Offering
11. Liefko – Free Your Mind – Beaweasel’s Lazy Dub – Pomo
12. Nelson Jimenez – Pa Casa De Jimenez (Franck’s Earthrumental Version) – RealTone records
13. Tarantulaz – Handle It (Jojoflores & Joe DiPadova’s Therapy Club – Curious
14. Mirko Loko – Tahktok – Original Mix – Cadenza
15. Kuniyuki Takahashi – Flying Music Rhythm & Trumpet Mix – Mule Music

Biography

He’s 16 and working at famed record store Hip House, where it all began – the education in acid house, garage, Detroit techno, et al. Chicago’s underground loft parties inspired him to hear real Chicago house music, plus a dash of disco, spun by such legendary jocks as Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy. These were the artists whose sounds formed the movement, and they made an impression. Listen close: You can still hear them in Halo’s soul-tickling, eardrum-rattling, Deep House rhythms today. Because of Hip House’s location just outside of downtown, the Windy City teen was able to establish contacts with visiting club industry reps, who, after listening to his tapes, began hiring him to play their parties. “I started doing that more and more. And more and more people started hearing me play,” Halo says. Before he left the Midwest for the far west, he served a three-year tour of duty as an A&R with MoodyRecords, a period where he learned more, grew more, saw more. In a word: becoming.

Now he was traveling regularly. He was manning the decks in clubs from sea to shining sea, gaining experience, developing a sound. Early on during his stint in So-Cal, Halo attended the 2000 edition of Miami’s Winter Music Conference. Halo and long time partner Hippe was spinning at a club, when a couple of guys from the then newly opened London-based Fabric approached them. “They “asked,” , ‘Have you ever played Europe?” He said he hadn’t. Soon after, Halo “was” in the rain-soaked city, reaching out and “, crucially,” connecting with an unfamiliar audience. He’d found a home. “The sound system, the staff—it was probably one of the best clubs I’ve been in,” Halo says of Fabric. Fabric offered him his first residency abroad. He accepted. And, yeah, he still plays there on a regular basis

Halo moved out to Las Vegas and started a successful Saturday night soiree called H.O.M.E. He was the first to bring out world-reknowned DJs such as David Harness, Mark Grant, Marques Wyatt, and Jojo Flores to Sin City’s otherwise commercialized clubland. During this time, Halo was also focused on building up City Deep Music, a label he founded in 2004. Dedicated to releasing quality, cutting-edge urban dance music created by the finest producers, City Deep is a house oasis that worships at the altar of deep house, afro, soul and tech-y rhythms—the stuff, in other words, “mature music for the deeply minded”.

In 2008, Halo will load up the U-Haul once again and head up to San Francisco to work on a variety of projects, not the least of which will be rocking parties with David Harness. Also, he and pal/partner Kemal will release “Lift Me Up,” featuring Arnold Jarvis, on MN2S records, as well as “Come Together,” featuring Michelle Weeks, on Jamie Lewis’ Purple Music. In April look out for another City Deep release: Halo’s solo project with Maiya, called “Glory.” Ah, glory. It’s never been Halo’s thing—the music has. It’s the kind of dedication that earned him the top spot on “URB Magazine’s “Next 100”, nominated for best dj in 2003 at the IDMA’s “International Dance Music Awards” and voted top 20 in BPM’s “Whos Americas Favorite Dj” in 2003 and 2004; the support of a small army of DJs and producers from across the globe, including Louie Vega, Mr. V, Alix Alvarez, Marques Wyatt, Osunlade, Aaron Ross,Jon Cutler, Jojoflores and others; and love from labels like MN2S, WestEnd, Large Music, and CoCo Soul, to name but a few. And then there are his club gigs, which include regular appearances at L.A.’s Deep and Balance, NYC’s Cielo and Chiacgo’s SmartBar,to name just a few. Halo’s house is for the soul and spirit, not the cheap and commercial. “I’ve been DJing for 19 years,”he says. “And I love what I do.”