www.DannyTenaglia.com

The tale of Danny Tenaglia’s love affair with music, and the world’s subsequent romance with him, is one of the critical veins in the body of dance music. He is every dancer’s secret discovery; a random purchase at the record store, a reluctant night out that unexpectedly turned magic. Explosive success came not behind a major label release, or a world tour, or a radio hit remix: It happened when enough people had the private Tenaglia experience for themselves.

The momentum started building in early ’70s New York, when a barely 10-year-old Danny first got the feel of vinyl in his hands. Enthralled by the music of artists like Philly Soul’s The Trammps, Motown’s Marvin Gaye, African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, and disco producer Giorgio Moroder, he started to collect records, plumbing the depths of each one, and frequently finding that he preferred the B-side to the A. It was 1979 when he discovered legendary nightclub Paradise Garage, where DJ Larry Levan’s rich, genre-less blend of music seemed to mirror his own “no boundaries” policy. It was here where Danny found the club model he would one day emulate: Levan’s bold style, the venue’s plain décor, and the party’s warmth and inclusiveness.

Danny left New York in 1985 and launched a successful DJ-ing career in Miami as a resident at Cheers nightclub. There he schooled the locals in classic New York and Chicago house, but five years later he returned home, tired of only playing other people’s music. He started to assemble an impressive roster of remixes, including Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” (1991), Jamiroquai’s “Emergency on Planet Earth” (1993), and Madonna’s “Human Nature” (1994). But his first epic was The Daou’s “Surrender Yourself” (1993): With the kick in the bass and the underlying rhythm as the foundation, Tenaglia blanketed Vanessa Daou’s wispy vocal with grand, thick chords, a combination of classic groove and modern club-ready depth that was, at the time, entirely new. The title of his 1995 debut artist album on New York’s Tribal Records described it perfectly: Hard & Soul. But even if the cocktail was his own, Tenaglia never hesitated to declare how heavily his influences weighed in his productions – everyone from Patti LaBelle to Kraftwerk, with countless lesser-known Soul, R&B, Latin, Samba, and Disco artists in between.

In 1996, after a brief stint at New York superclub Roxy, Danny landed a Saturday night residency at white-hot Twilo, a position that upped his profile but didn’t satisfy his expanding artistry as a DJ and producer. While New York swooned for big-room diva anthems, Danny was turning his ear toward the more minimal, tech-y grooves originating in European production studios. This period produced solid remixes like Grace’s “Not Over Yet” (1996) and Janet Jackson’s “The Pleasure Principle” (1996), but by the time he moved to Tunnel in 1998, Danny had already created “Elements,” an instant classic that caused the dance scene’s collective jaw to drop. With his own warped voice providing the narration, “Elements” (one track off full-length Tourism) walked the listener through the different components of a dance track in real time, going from kick to drum loop to snare hit, letting each layer over the other until the track exploded with dark, drum-heavy energy. Next to ostentatious radio anthems, its simplicity was a revelation.

It was around this time that the murmurs started to get louder: Who is this Danny Tenaglia, and just what does he do to people? Clubbers reported seemingly inhuman mixing capabilities, booth-to-floor telepathy, and the grittiest “modern yet classic” grooves they had ever heard come out of a speaker. A trio of label compilations – Mix This Pussy (1994) and Can Your Pussy Do The Dog? (1995) for Tribal, and Gag Me With A Tune (1996) for Maxi – were the first Tenaglia sets clued-in clubbers could take home to dissect, but the release of his first installment in the UK-based Global Underground series of DJ mixes, titled Athens (2000), lit the international fire. Athens (meant to reflect the set he played at the Greek capital’s club King Size) remains one of the darkest, strangest, sexiest sets ever released, and its tame cover photo of a gentle-looking man in a Yankee cap just didn’t seem to fit. DJ dates across Europe dispelled the mystery and started the spread of the infectious Tenaglia fever.

Back in New York, Tenaglia was tiring of the cavernous gloom of Tunnel and longed for a weekly home that better resembled where the DJ bug first bit him – the Paradise Garage. He landed at Vinyl, a black-walled, single-environment, no-liquor club about one-quarter the size of Tunnel. He named the night “Be Yourself,” after the self-affirming, heavy-bottomed vocal track he had recently recorded with Chicago’s Celeda. And he took the name to heart: Without the pressure of bar minimums or an expectant crowd, Tenaglia spread his DJ wings. Next to new tracks by young producers like Rui Da Silva, Peace Division, and Saeed & Palash, he played the artists of his youth, with nary a beat dropped. If he wanted to launch into a two-hour set of straight-up techno, he did. If he wanted to play old Michael Jackson records, he did. If he wanted to get on the mic and tell the crowd the name of the sound he was about to play, or who next week’s guest opening DJ would be, or just give everyone a “verbal handshake” to welcome them to the club, he did. And a city tired of drama embraced the barebones, music-centered night.

The world caught up to Tenaglia in 2000. His annual party during Miami’s Winter Music Conference outgrew its home at the cramped Groovejet and moved to just-opened superclub Space. DJ giants like Carl Cox danced on top of the speakers with the Deep Dish boys, Fatboy Slim mingled on the patio, and for a day the ego inherent to DJ culture evaporated: Tenaglia was hailed as the undisputed king, the “DJ’s DJ.” His roof-raising revamp of Green Velvet’s “Flash” won “Best Remix” at the UK’s Muzik Awards, where he was also awarded the “Best International DJ” prize.

In the two years that followed, Tenaglia released another Global Underground installment (London); toured the world, took the party island of Ibiza by storm, remixed Billy Nichols’ “Give Your Body Up To The Music” (a Garage anthem); got nominated for a Grammy (for his remix of Depeche Mode’s “I Feel Loved,” also nominated for Best Dance Song); returned to Twilo for two special gigs – a President’s Day marathon with Carl Cox that shattered all its attendance records, and the club’s sixth anniversary party with John Digweed, which turned out to be even more meaningful than it seemed at the time (Twilo was shut down permanently a week later); graced the cover of every major dance music magazine; and won a Dancestar Lifetime Achievement award… all while keeping the “Be Yourself” party buzzing every Friday.

In 2003, Danny came full circle with the release of Choice: A Collection Of Classics, a two-CD mixed compilation that let him pay direct tribute to many of the artists who had influenced his sound and style. It featured everyone from Blaze to Adeva to Imagination, as well as hefty liner notes explaining the significance of each track, penned by the man himself. He also remixed another Garage classic (Yoko Ono’s “Walking On Thin Ice,” which became her first Billboard number one ever), opened another Space during Winter Music Conference (the new location down the block), and took another Dancestar award, this time ‘Best Party’ for “Be Yourself.”

“Be Yourself” took the same honor again in 2004, but this time the win was bittersweet. At the time of the ceremony, Vinyl, now called Arc, had already been sold to condo developers. Danny closed the classic club on Sunday, April 25, 2004, with an emotional set that lasted well into Monday afternoon, and culminated with his mix of Kings Of Tomorrow’s paean to unending love, “Finally.”

Since then Danny has remained prolific in the clubs and has graced the decks in all the big rooms in NYC including Avalon, Crobar, Pacha NYC, Roxy and Webster Hall. Now after a long studio silence, Danny re-emerges in 2008 with his newest single on Tommy Boy Records, “The Space Dance”, named in honor of his first weekly residency at renowned global clubbing institution Space Ibiza to begin in July 2008. Immediately following that, Danny will release his first compilation album in five years, entitled “Futurism” also on Tommy Boy, with a nod to the modern dance floor and Danny’s outlook for tomorrow’s sounds programmed to captivate the next generation.

And as in every year since his DJ odyssey began, all across the globe, from his hometown of New York City to Acapulco to Tokyo, more people experienced their first night with Danny Tenaglia, that clubber rite-of-passage that forever changes how you listen to music, go out to nightclubs, and think about DJs.

Discography
Artist    Title    Label    Release Date    Type
Danny Tenaglia    The Space Dance    Tommy Boy    2008    Producer
Danny Tenaglia    DIBIZA    Stereo Records    2006    Producer
Danny Tenaglia    Choice/Classics    Azuli    2005    Compilation
Kult Of Krameria    Esperanca/VooDooDoll    Twisted    2004    Producer
Ono    Walking On Thin Ice    Mindtrain/Twisted    2003    Additional Production/Remix
Sapphirecut    Free Your Mind    Twisted    2002    Additional Production/Remix
Danny Tenaglia    Back To Basics    React/System    2002    Compilation
Billy Nichols    Give Your Body Up    West End    2002    Additional Production/Remix
Depeche Mode    I Feel Loved    Mute/Warner Bros    2001    Additional Production/Remix
Cass&Slide&DT    Fever Rising    Fire    2001    Producer
Kings Of Tomorrow    Finally    Defected    2001    Additional Production/Remix
Alan T    The Door    SFP    2001    Additional Production/Remix
Byron Stingily    Stick Together    Nervous    2000    Producer
Byron Stingily    Why Can’t You Be Real?    Nervous    2000    Producer
The Ananda Project    Cascades of Colour    Nite Grooves    2000    Additional Production/Remix
Danny Tenaglia    GU 017/London    Boxed    2000    Compilation
Green Velvet    Flash    Cajual    2000    Additional Production/Remix
Modjo    Lady    MCA    2000    Additional Production/Remix
DATAR    B    Hooj Choons    2000    Producer
DT vs. Giorgio Moroder    From Here To Eternity    Logic    2000    Additional Production/Remix
DT Feat Teena Marie    Baby Do You Feel Me?    Funktastica Records    2000    Prodcucer
Celeda    Be Yourself    Twisted    1999    Producer
Blondie    Nothing Is Real But The Girl    BMG    1999    Additional Production/Remix
Garbage    When I Grow Up    Mushroom    1999    Additional Production/Remix
Bette Midler    Im Beautiful    Warner Bros.    1999    Additional Production/Remix
DT feat Liz Torres    Turn Me On    Tourism LP/Twisted    1999    Producer
Danny Tenaglia    Back To Mine    Ultra    1999    Compilation
Danny Tenaglia    GU 010/Athens    Boxed/Thrive    1999    Compilation
Heller & Farley    The Rising Sun    Junior Boys Own    1999    Additional Production/Remix
The Orb    Little Fluffy Clouds    Island    1998    Additional Production/Remix
DT feat Celeda    Music Is The Answer    Tourism LP/Twisted    1998    Producer
DT feat Jojo Americo    Headhunter    Tourism LP/Twisted    1998    Producer
DT feat Lula    Read My Lips    Tourism LP/Twisted    1998    Producer
Dt feat Cevin Fisher    Better Days    Tourism LP/Twisted    1998    Producer
Dt feat Darrell Martin    Roots    Tourism LP/Twisted    1998    Producer
DT feat Liz Torres    Do You Remember    Tourism LP/Twisted    1998    Producer
Ultra Nate    New Kind of Medicine    AM:PM    1998    Additional Production/Remix
Danny Tenaglia    Elements    Tourism LP/Twisted    1997    Producer
Wayne G    Twisted    FFRR    1997    Additional Production/Remix
Club 69    Drama    Twisted    1997    Additional Production/Remix
Kinane    Heaven    Coalition/UK    1997    Additional Production/Remix
D-Note    Lost & Found    Virgin    1997    Additional Production/Remix
Moby    James Bond 007 Theme    Mute    1997    Additional Production/Remix
Faithless    Salve Mea    Arista    1997    Additional Production/Remix
Soulboy    Harmonica Track 97    Maxitracks    1997    Producer
NYLX    Goosebumps    Twisted    1997    Producer
Giselle Jackson    Love Commandments    Waaco    1997    Additional Production/Remix
Funky Green Dogs    Fired Up    Twisted    1997    Additional Production/Remix
Kimara Lovelace    Only You    King Street    1997    Additional Production/Remix
Pet Shop Boys    The Boy Who Couldn’t Keep His Clothes On    EMI    1997    Producer
Grace    Not Over Yet    Kinetic/Warner Bros.    1996    Additional Production/Remix
A Guy Called Gerald    The Curse of Voodoo Ray    DMC    1996    Additional Production/Remix
Vanessa Daou    Two To Tango    Krasnow/MCA    1996    Additional Production/Remix
Cerrone    Supernature    Pure    1996    Additional Production/Remix
Kim Mazelle    Love Me The Right Way    Logic    1996    Additional Production/Remix
Janet Jackson    Pleasure Principle    AM:PM    1996    Additional Production/Remix
Pet Shop Boys    Saturday Night Forever    EMI    1996    Producer
Danny Tenaglia    ohno    Twisted    1996    Producer
Pet Shop Boys    Before    EMI    1996    Producer
Francois K    Mindspeak    Wave    1996    Additional Production/Remix
Rapination (Kym Mazelle)    Love Me The Right Way    RCA    1996    Additional Production/Remix
Various Maxi Artists    Gag Me With A Tune    Maxi    1996    Compilation
Club 69    Warm Leatherette    Twisted    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Shamen    MK2A    One Little Indian    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Akiko    Crazy About You    Sony (Japan)    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Hambone    Wow    Kumba/Tribal    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Madonna    Human Nature    Maverick/WB    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Frankie Knuckles/Adeva    Love Can Change It    Virgin    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Oletta Adams    Never Knew Love    Fontana    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Balo    Only You    Tribal    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Danny Tenaglia    Hard & Soul LP    Tribal    1995    Producer
Roach Motel    Work To Do    Junior Boys Ow    1995    Additional Production/Remix
East 17    Hold My Body Tight    London/ffrr    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Willie Ninja    Hot    Nervous/MCA    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Mija    Fun At Home    Maxi    1995    Additional Production/Remix
E-N    The Horn Ride    Tribal    1995    Additional Production/Remix
NYDC    Up In This House    Tribal    1995    Producer
Dt feat Carole Sylvan    Look Ahead    Tribal    1995    Producer
Various Tribal Artists    Mix This Pussy/compil.    Tribal    1995    Compilation
Patricia Kaas    Reste Sur Moi    Columbia    1995    Additional Production/Remix
Shernette May    If You Want Me To    Virgin/UK    1994    Additional Production/Remix
Crystal Waters    100% Pure Love    DMC    1994    Additional Production/Remix
Danny Tenaglia    Bottom Heavy    Tribal    1994    Producer
Daphne    Change    Maxi    1994    Producer
Underground Sound of Lisbon    So Get Up    Tribal    1994    Producer
Deep Dish prsnts Quench    High Frequency    Tribal/Deep Dish    1994    Additional Production/Remix
Ride Committee/Roxy    Love To Do It    Tribal    1994    Additional Production/Remix
Kiwi Dreams    Y?    Tribal    1994    Additional Production/Remix
Xavier Gold    You Used To Hold Me    Strictly Hype    1994    Additional Production/Remix
The Daou    Give Myself To You    Tribal    1994    Producer
Grace Jones    Feel Up    Island    1993    Additional Production/Remix
The Look    March    Sexy    1993    Producer
Jamiroquai    Emergency on Planet Earth    Columbia    1993    Additional Production/Remix
X-Press II    Music Xpress    DMC    1993    Additional Production/Remix
Right Said Fred    Hands Up    Virgin    1993    Additional Production/Remix
Visions    I’m Coming Home    Flying    1993    Additional Production/Remix
New Order    World (The Price Of Love)    Qwest/WB    1993    Additional Production/Remix
Mavis Staples    The Voice    Paisley Park    1993    Additional Production/Remix
Liberty City    Some Lovin    Tribal/Murk    1993    Additional Production/Remix
The Look    Glammer Girl    Sexy    1993    Producer
The Daou    Surrender Yourself rmx    Tribal    1992    Producer
Giant Steps    Satsuki    Eightball    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Third World    Every Little Touch    Mercury    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Caron Wheeler    I Adore You    A & M    1992    Additional Production/Remix
T-Connection    At Midnight (’92)    Chemistry    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Code 718    Equinox    Strictly Rhythm    1992    Producer
The Good Girls    Just Call Me    Motown    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Spill feat William Orbit    Don’t Want To Know    Virgin    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Hammer    Gaining Momentum    Capitol    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Michael Jackson    Thriller (’92)    Epic    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Jamie J. Morgan    Why?    A&M    1992    Additional Production/Remix
React 2 Rhythm    All Or Nothing    Tribal/Guerilla    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Yothu Yindi    Treaty    Hollywood    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Jackie 60    The Jackie Hustle    Minimal    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Was Not Was    Listen Like Thieves    Phonogram/UK    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Loleatta Holloway    Hit & Run (’92)    Salsoul    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Blind Truth    Love Is The Key    Minimal    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Wailing Souls    All Over The World    Chaos/Columbia    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Lisa Stansfield    Everything Will Get Better    Arista    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Beats International    Change Your Mind    London    1992    Additional Production/Remix
The Daou    Surrender Yourself    Columbia    1992    Additional Production/Remix
First Choice    Double Cross (’92)    Salsoul    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Soul Verite    Chain Me To The Beat    Maxi    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Right Said Fred    Dont Talk Just Kiss    Charisma/Virgin    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Anything Box    The Beat Of Life    Epic    1992    Additional Production/Remix
Love Root    Funky Emotions    Fourth Floor    1992    Producer
Ed Lover/Doctor Dre    Back Up Off Me    Relativity    1991    Additional Production/Remix
Dread Flimstone    From The Ghetto    Scotti Bros.    1991    Additional Production/Remix
Susan Clark    Deeper    London/ffrr    1991    Additional Production/Remix
King Street Crew    Things U Do To Me    Nervous    1991    Producer
King Street Crew    Gonna Be Alright    Nervous    1991    Producer
Right Said Fred    Im Too Sexy    Charisma/Virgin    1991    Additional Production/Remix
Arthur Baker    Let There Be Love    RCA    1991    Producer
Cause & Effect    Nothing Comes To Mind    Exile/BMG    1991    Additional Production/Remix
Cause & Effect    Another Minute    Exile/BMG    1991    Additional Production/Remix
Soulboy    Harmonica Track    Minimal    1991    Producer
Soulboy    Love Or Lust    Minimal    1991    Producer
Robert Owens    Something U Cant Finish    Minimal    1991    Additional Production/Remix
Hansoul    Imagination    Epic    1991    Additional Production/Remix
Isis    Hail The World    4th & B’way    1991    Additional Production/Remix
Escape Club    Call It Poison    Epic    1991    Additional Production/Remix
Daphne    When You Love Someone    Maxi    1991    Producer
Deepstate (Remix)    Everybody Get Down    Atlantic    1990    Producer
Patrick OHearn    Black Delilah    Private Music    1990    Additional Production/Remix
Double Dee    Found Love    Epic    1990    Additional Production/Remix
Bardeau    Shangri-La    Enigma    1990    Additional Production/Remix
Hi-Impact    Lookout Weekend    Epic    1990    Additional Production/Remix
Red Flag    Count To Three    Enigma    1990    Additional Production/Remix
Shakespears Sister    Break My Heart    FFRR    1989    Additional Production/Remix
Dead Or Alive    Baby Don’t Say Goodbye    Epic    1989    Additional Production/Remix
Euro-House    Nothing Changes    Profile    1989    Additional Production/Remix
Clockwork    Shout It Out    Polygram    1989    Additional Production/Remix
Deep State    Waiting For A Call    Atlantic    1988    Producer