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WHO: Owner of Alphabet Music
MUSIC FOUND ON LABELS: OM, Ministry Of Sound, Astralwerks, The Welk Group, Alphabet, Amenti, Aroma, Peaches, Dust Traxx, Robsoul, Oomph, Brique Rouge, Tequilasound, Moonshine, Hallucination, Odds and Ends, Mamas Home Cookin, Lowdown, Nightshift, Afterschool, BlackCherry Recordings, Jamayka, ABA, ITH Records, Deep Funk, Knockin Boots, Koch Records, Igloo, Tinted, Renassaince, DJ Mag.
Voted in URBS 2000 Next 100, still livin and breathing music peacefully in Chicago IL where he resides with his girlfriend and min pin.
Influences and Friends: Aranya Tomseth, Stank Dubz, Juan Zapata, Joe L, Brandon B, Sparky, Frances Mitchem, Apps, Shang, Jiggy Jen, Graham Jackson and the rest of the Wrong Crowd! Olivier Desmet, Funk Transplant, Superdeluxx, Doug Smith, Kerri Chandler, Moodymann, Derrick L Carter, IZ and DIZ, James Curd, Barada aka Brian Zentz, Brett "the brain" Johnson, JT Donaldson, Preston and the Stompers, Ivan in SF, everyone from Inhouse and Primal, DJ Hut, Super Jane (Heather, Collette, Dahota, Darlene), Chicago Teamsters (Sammy Diaz, Halo, Trev and Justin), Honey D., The Freaks, Crazy Penis, Eddie Matos, Black Science Orchestra, Luke from Nordictrax, Ingrid Hakenson, Fred Everything, Everyone at N.E.W.S, Mark Farina, Sharon Buck, Mes, TSR, Jason and Romano, SNav, Aaron DAE, Marlon D, Thomas Blondet, Isis, Neighbor, Allgood Funk Alliance, Wicked Lester, Bougie Soliterre, Ninja's who make tunes, Jimpster, Carlos Sosa aka Sneak, Nnekka and Shannon (smoking hot girls who book me monthly), HAWT LA, Cade, Solid TOKYO (Marshall, Kai and Megumi), Sejun aka Oriental Funk Stew, Tim Love Lee, Jazzanova, Doc Martin, Thunderball, Theivory and the rest of the ESL Posse (Farid), Kurosh, Nikki Solgot, Marcus Manley, Bob James, Neptunes, Common, Razel, Mos Def, James Brown RIP sooo many more faces I met along the way and put being an artist into prospective. Music is about sharing, creation and never letting your head get to big for your britches, stay humble, stay balanced, we are all in this together. Mad love for artist's, I would consider myself an artist much more than a Rock Star DJ.
These days, all DJ's and music producers need to have a biography in order to give people a feel for what is in store for them at the club and on the dance floor. But a biography is - in short - usually nothing more than a statement full of hype on how the DJ got started, what types of music they listen to, what influenced them and what larger acts they have opened up for, or followed. The biography is intended to enhance their popularity, and it usually does. It is also intended to enhance their pocket book. But a biography can also serve as an open door that leads a person to discover something new - and thus, a biography is something that must and should be written. After all, even a biography can become a form of art. The statement you are reading right now is all about an artist, and written by the artist himself, rather than a hired on professional.
I want to talk about my philosophy and not about where I was born, what records turn me on and how many crowds I have "rocked" on the dance floor. I guess I should tell you who I am first. My name is Ken Christensen, and I am a solo artist. I have pretty much always been a solo artist, although you can associate me with the DJ duo "East Coast Boogiemen" or ECB, if that helps you place my name to music - namely, House music. ECB was a music partnership that ran from Halloween night 1996 to Halloween night 2006, and it began as a friendship that was rooted in a mutual love of turntables and music manipulation. But ECB is merely a piece of the puzzle that is my life - a puzzle that I am still struggling to put together, and subsequently the reason why I keep searching for that ever elusive "masterpiece," whether it be a performance at a club, or in the studio creating pieces of a story that I want to share with people around the world. I have yet to feel totally complete as an artist, but I think that never ending quest is why we artists do what we do... we are searching for the perfect way to convey our essence and our emotions... the ultimate expression of ourselves.
My whole life, I have always taken "the road less traveled." In some ways it has been my downfall, but in many respects it has given me incredible personal satisfaction in terms of what I have discovered musically and artistically. I am one of the lucky few breed of DJ's to have had the enormous privilege and pleasure of traveling to just about every continent on this planet to share myself with crowds both small and large. If you want to see specs on my achievements and the labels to which I have been signed, you can Google my name. Or, for the slightly less motivated, there is an accurate list at the end of this personal statement. I do not want to use my bio to sway your opinion of me - it just simply, is not what I am about. I would not feel like an honest person if I told you that everyone loves what I do, because I believe wholeheartedly that great music and great performances are determined by one thing, and one thing only - the opinion of the individual person who is listening and watching. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it always will be. So I guess what I am trying to say is that I have somewhat of a "purist" philosophy when it comes to matters of art and music. I prefer not to cloud my craft with business, or deluge people with photos and press. I realize of course, that I have to deal with these things on some level in order to reach out to you, the listener. So my purpose in writing all of this right now, is to allow us to have an honest moment with each other - without all the hype.
When I am DJ'ing, I am playing music for you. I say "you" because, although the dance floor is an area packed with people, everyone on it represents one very important entity to me. After all, for most of us, a perfect night is when we all feel like we are dancing and being free with each other as one, and when we are taken to that state of mind together. We are sharing - me, my music, and you, your expression. When it all flows perfectly, it is a sublime state to be in. You are a sea of heads and bodies, open and ready to take in the textures and meanings I put together in a seamless two-hour set of music selections. There is nothing I love better than a dance floor that is open minded and that comes to my shows to hear the unexpected. I do not like to be predictable. I want to take us on a journey together where we will find something new and experience our own version of enlightenment. If you are reading this right now, you most likely have been to a club, have listened to House music before and know what I am talking about already. Please do not come to my shows to hear popular music... I may play some, I may not... you never know.
Someone once asked me what my favorite record is, and my reply was "my entire collection of music." Each and every track is a part of my heart. I can manipulate my music according to how I feel and react to the vibe that I am getting from the crowd on the dance floor. To a large degree, DJ'ing is mental because it is a measure of one's ability to make a psychological connection. A good DJ will read a crowd and figure out where it wants to be taken within the fist ten minutes of their set. A good DJ will know how to hook the audience in - and then, when everyone is in the right state, there is ample room to introduce new material and start the real part of the journey.
When I was in high school, I used to make mix tapes for all of my friends. I made each tape unique, catering to each individual person. This is how I started as an artist. I enjoy all types of music - there is no genre that I cannot appreciate, and there is no artist that I do not like. I like to consider myself one of those rare people who can put myself into the artist's shoes and find a meaning that applies to my own life. I have also loved dancing all my life, and that is something that helped me when I learned how to program music, simply because I knew that when a dancer feels a change, that means a change should happen. I have also found that when the music is slow and deep, you can create a high level of energy through edging - just as you can take fast music and make it slower and more powerful. Most of all, I like to make records "talk" to people and to other records - when I can create the perfect conversation, it can be magical.
Music to me is the vibration of life, and it is the most powerful thing in the world. It moves mountains, it takes down governments, it changes hearts, it heals those who have less or who are in pain, and it helps those who are lost to find themselves. It is the one thing that truly connects us all as humans, and it is a very spiritual thing for me. No amount of money can take that away. Music should be free, but like everything, there must be a balance. Musicians have to eat and provide for their families as well, so when I perform, I ask for what I need to stay comfortable in my life, and to pay for current technology and the "paints for my pallet," so to speak.
So this is my biography. It is the "anti-biography." But my hope is that you now know me better than if I were to try and justify my status by bragging about my mixing skills, telling you how I got into it and by name-dropping and exaggerating about how well I stack up against other artists. If you truly want to know everything about me, you can go to www.kenecb.com or, as I said before, simply Google my name. But if you really want to know me and have some fun, then come and see me perform, so I can share myself with you and vice versa. That is when I feel the most alive, and that is when we all become a single being - a united purveyor of emotion and artistic expression, an open mind and a body in full release. Thanks for listening...
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