Yolanda Be Cool

With one record Yolanda Be Cool have gone straight to the top of the music industry A list.

Their second single - 'We No Speak Americano' (co-produced with DCUP) sold over 5 million copies and hit number 1 in 18 countries; infiltrating radio waves, TV shows, and pretty much every dance floor in the world over the summer. You'd need to be a Tarantino assassinated corpse to have not felt its impact in some form.

Also known as Johnson Peterson and Slyvester Martinez, Yolanda Be Cool have demonstrated that with the panache and production skills to back it up it's possible to cultivate an international smash hit without the need for a major label vehicle, instead releasing on homegrown Australian indie 'Sweat It Out'.

With over ten years DJing under their belts their musical influences extend far beyond their Native Sydney, from old school hip hop, to Chicago house to techno to pretty much everything in between. Bondi beach locals at heart, when out of the studio or not playing at the biggest clubs in the world you'll find them at the beach catching waves.

The distinctly tropical flavour to their productions and fiercely educational attitude to sampling (in the case of 'We No Speak Americano' crate digging as far back as 1950's Italia) combined with their big room pull to pack out festival stages and mammoth venues, as a dance act, nods more to creative sampling heavyweights like Switch than any of their more current peers.

The first half of 2011 saw the guys embarking on extensive tours of North and South America, Australia, Asia and of course Europe. This included heavy publicized and extremely well received dates for MTV in Ibiza as well as Music Hall in Brazil and Avalon in Los Angeles. Alongside strong dates in Europe this summer, Slyvester and Johnson have been hard at work in the studio, putting the finishing touches to their highly anticipated debut studio album. Calling on inspiration from their summer spent at the home of dance music- Ibiza.

Their forthcoming single will be dropping before the year is out- expect a bump!

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Van She Djs

A four piece that seemingly came out of nowhere but were probably always going to happen, the band broke out of the gates and into hearts in 2005 with their self-titled debut EP. It was this Nick Littlemore (Pnau, Empire of the Sun) produced recording that not only introduced the world to the stadium air punch of "Kelly" (and its moderately evil twin "Sex City") but also a broader sense of the light and shade the band were working with; a glazen-pop facia with a driving energy behind it and some passion noir in the middle. At this point the band went hammer-drill and tongs touring locally and overseas, showing festival crowds and backroom fiends alike that what they were doing (a frontfoot ultra-prom soundtrack) worked and was only getting more mindblinding each time. In between all the stunning and touring came the birth of Van She Tech, an offshoot by 50% of the band that saw them fill floors from the booth rather than the stage. Not content just dropping other people's jams, the pair churned out a mountain of remix work including some highlight moments for Tiga, Klaxons and Feist in addition to a UK #1 with their take on Utah Saint's all-time mega classic "Something Good".

The last seven years have seen Van She go from strength to strength, supporting the likes of Phoenix and Daft Punk, thrusting themselves upon a myriad of festivals, headlining their own tours and racking up an abundance of fans along the way. Noteworthy above all else though is the band's sound, a constant plasmatic evolution into what's next and could be. From the anthemic proto-wave nestling up against synthetic lovers' rock to the Ocasek-house fleshing in and out of midnight daiquiri funk, it's all Van She. It's the skewed memory of the past and the glistening promise of the future but crucially it's four idealists putting all the best bits of everything together to make their own slice of another dimension that weirdly nobody else has figured out yet.

Van She's 2nd album, Idea Of Happiness, is out now via Modular Recordings.

vanshe.com / modularpeople.com

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Cassian

Cassian has become one of Australia's busiest exports, clocking up some serious miles performing all over the world in clubs from LA to Rome, Warsaw to Shanghai & Vancouver to Singapore. Or as he would put it "Yews all over the world." Cassian has been keeping busy inside the studio as well, remixing America's biggest summer dance hit and delivering 3 new releases this past year.

2012 started with the launch of Cassian's much talked about "Country Club" collaboration with fellow Aussie youngster Shazam. Their debut 4 track EP was hastily signed to Radio 1 duo Jaymo & Andy George's UK imprint, Moda, and received support from the likes of A-Trak, Yolanda Be Cool, Bag Raiders, and Treasure Fingers. With the help of dance music, they intend to spread the good word of grass sport participation and dining etiquette far and wide.

The collaboration was soon followed by the release of Cassian's third solo EP, The Love Cuts. New York City's Nurvous Records (legendary dance label -Nervous Record's sister label) released the 'modern house' with a 'disco punch' record with support from Aeroplane, Oliver and Faze Action.'I Love It' was echoed around the world when the aptly titled single reached #3 on Beatport's Indie Dance/Nu Disco chart.

But Cassian may have saved the best for last when he debuted 'On & On' at the end of November. The 'cool, funky nu disco house tune' is currently receiving worldwide blog support, including a premiere on Gotta Dance Dirty, and airplay from Australia's own Triple J.

In between releases he garnered praise from indie dance fans far and wide for his remix of RAC & Penguin Prison's 'Hollywood.' Reaching the #1 Remix spot on The Hype Machine twice and a staggering 120,000+ plays on Soundcloud.Cassian has completed a slew of well received remixes for artists such as Two Door Cinema Club, Flight Facilities, The Rapture, Bag Raiders, Miami Horror, PNAU, Empire of the Sun, Classixx, Gigamesh, Citizens!, and more.

With several tours across North America, Asia and Europe and appearances at the biggest festivals in Australia: Splendour in the Grass, Stereosonic, Creamfields and The Big Day Out, it's clear this Aussie golden boy has an unparalled energy that will continue to dominante the dance floors in 2013.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS:

- Major festival performance including Creamfields, Big Day Out, and Stereosonic
- Extensive touring worldwide (Australia, Europe, North America, Asia)
- Resident on Triple J's Mix Up Exclusives (June 2012)
- Extensive press/blog features including Gotta Dance Dirty and Magnetic Magazine
- Latest EP, The Love Cuts, released on Nurvous Records with heavy charting on Beatport.
- Single and remixes on Beatport "Indie Dance" charts
- Major club DJ support worldwide