Louie Vega - A Master At Work
Leader: This May's Wee Chill offers a rare treat - the chance to catch U.S. legends, Masters At Work, DJ on Scottish shores. <br/><br/>Pull Quote: ""Kenny and I have always had a really great relationship, we're like brothers""
| 11 May 2007
Fresh from his well-received Now For Something Morgans Spiced tour of Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow, Louie Vega will appear alongside longstanding production partner, Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez at this year's Wee Chill.
Born in the Bronx in 1965, Vega was surrounded by Latin music - his father was an accomplished jazz and saxophone player, his uncle a renowned Salsa singer. Growing up in the late seventies and early eighties he developed a passion for RnB, disco and hip hop, becoming a regular at the legendary Paradise Garage and Afrika Bambaataa parties, before gaining his first DJ residency at the Bronx's Devil's Nest nightclub in 1985.
"House was just starting out. Back then, I was collecting stuff by producers like Larry Heard, Virgo, Marshall Jefferson and Farley Jackmaster Funk," Vega recalls. A few years later, he met and became friends with Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez, who had become famed for throwing wildly eclectic parties in his Brooklyn neighbourhood. They joined forces as Masters At Work, creating their own productions and remixing artists as varied as Tito Puente, Saint Etienne and Debbie Gibson, quickly establishing themselves as major players on the global house scene. Aside from their MAW productions, they've also recorded as KenLou and NuYorican Soul, worked with the likes of Barbara Tucker and George Benson and completed various solo projects: The Bucketheads, Freestyle Orchestra and Hardrive, to name but a few.
In more recent times they've worked independently; Louie on his Vega Records label, Kenny on his Dope Wax and Kay-Dee labels. "Kenny and I have always had a really great relationship, we're like brothers," explains Louie. "We've taken a break in the last four years - it's good to have that individual, creative side when we've spent most of our careers working together."
Louie has made a real success of this solo-period, establishing Elements Of Life with fellow producers Blaze, vocalist (and wife) Anané and the Elements Of Life Orchestra. Calling it "a celebration of life," he's recorded an album and played over a hundred shows with the band, usually conducting the orchestra on stage. In 2006 he won a much-coveted Grammy for his remix of Curtis Mayfield's Superfly, while this year he was asked to compose and perform a song with Elements Of Life for Cirque Du Soleil, as part of the Super Bowl pre-game show.
"It was an incredible honour. For them to choreograph everything to my music, in front of an audience of 145 million – it doesn't get much better than that! It was also a great step for the dance scene; we took things to a whole new level."
Aside from developing talent like Anané, Mr V and Luisito Quintero on his Vega Records label, his weekly club night, Roots, organised with Blaze's Kevin Hedge at New York's Cielo, is another notable achievement. "Over the past three years it's really established itself. There's always a soulful element to the night. Apart from our core audience of old and newer heads, we've got a real international flavour; people visit us from all over the world."
Despite all these accomplishments away from Kenny, they've resumed the Masters At Work studio partnership this year, recently remixing their River Ocean anthem, Love & Happiness. They'll also be working with vocalist Barbara Tucker, while a second NuYorican Soul project is a possibility. "But we're keeping it a surprise," says Louie, secretively.
If his recent Sub Club and Cabaret Voltaire appearances are anything to go by, a full Masters At Work set is not one to be missed – fingers crossed it's across four decks!
Born in the Bronx in 1965, Vega was surrounded by Latin music - his father was an accomplished jazz and saxophone player, his uncle a renowned Salsa singer. Growing up in the late seventies and early eighties he developed a passion for RnB, disco and hip hop, becoming a regular at the legendary Paradise Garage and Afrika Bambaataa parties, before gaining his first DJ residency at the Bronx's Devil's Nest nightclub in 1985.
"House was just starting out. Back then, I was collecting stuff by producers like Larry Heard, Virgo, Marshall Jefferson and Farley Jackmaster Funk," Vega recalls. A few years later, he met and became friends with Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez, who had become famed for throwing wildly eclectic parties in his Brooklyn neighbourhood. They joined forces as Masters At Work, creating their own productions and remixing artists as varied as Tito Puente, Saint Etienne and Debbie Gibson, quickly establishing themselves as major players on the global house scene. Aside from their MAW productions, they've also recorded as KenLou and NuYorican Soul, worked with the likes of Barbara Tucker and George Benson and completed various solo projects: The Bucketheads, Freestyle Orchestra and Hardrive, to name but a few.
In more recent times they've worked independently; Louie on his Vega Records label, Kenny on his Dope Wax and Kay-Dee labels. "Kenny and I have always had a really great relationship, we're like brothers," explains Louie. "We've taken a break in the last four years - it's good to have that individual, creative side when we've spent most of our careers working together."
Louie has made a real success of this solo-period, establishing Elements Of Life with fellow producers Blaze, vocalist (and wife) Anané and the Elements Of Life Orchestra. Calling it "a celebration of life," he's recorded an album and played over a hundred shows with the band, usually conducting the orchestra on stage. In 2006 he won a much-coveted Grammy for his remix of Curtis Mayfield's Superfly, while this year he was asked to compose and perform a song with Elements Of Life for Cirque Du Soleil, as part of the Super Bowl pre-game show.
"It was an incredible honour. For them to choreograph everything to my music, in front of an audience of 145 million – it doesn't get much better than that! It was also a great step for the dance scene; we took things to a whole new level."
Aside from developing talent like Anané, Mr V and Luisito Quintero on his Vega Records label, his weekly club night, Roots, organised with Blaze's Kevin Hedge at New York's Cielo, is another notable achievement. "Over the past three years it's really established itself. There's always a soulful element to the night. Apart from our core audience of old and newer heads, we've got a real international flavour; people visit us from all over the world."
Despite all these accomplishments away from Kenny, they've resumed the Masters At Work studio partnership this year, recently remixing their River Ocean anthem, Love & Happiness. They'll also be working with vocalist Barbara Tucker, while a second NuYorican Soul project is a possibility. "But we're keeping it a surprise," says Louie, secretively.
If his recent Sub Club and Cabaret Voltaire appearances are anything to go by, a full Masters At Work set is not one to be missed – fingers crossed it's across four decks!