noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 58 October 2008 - Index

One of the joys of editing noiZe is
introducing top new talent to the
gay dance community. Meet Micky
Friedmann. This Israeli native, now
based in Berlin, not only is talented,
but his ear for sounds, how they
mesh and how to get songs to talk
to each other recalls the Old School
DJing of Larry Levan or Little Louis
Vega. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also
drop-dead gorgeous and, in a business
full of (unearned) diva attitude,
a genuinely nice guy. It’s a combination
that guarantees success, as his
star continues to rise in the international
club firmament.
A “sabra” (native of Israel),
Friedmann’s father taught genetics
and his mother owned a boutique
in Jerusalem, his hometown.
Friedmann loved music from an
early age. His parents encouraged
his interest and enrolled him in a
dance school, where he excelled.
After a stint in the Israeli Armed
Forces, he became a ballet dancer
and a highly sought model. If
you flipped through the high-fashion
glossies a few years back, you
probably saw his sculpted face and
chiseled bod staring out from the
editorial pages or ads for products
designed to make you look like
him.
It was an offer to become a soloist
with the prestigious Berlin Ballet in
1998 that led to his move to the
German capital—which, not incidentally,
has become the club capital
of Europe. That was also the
year he decided to buy a pair of
used turntables and started spinning
at home, “just for me, for
fun,” he says. But it was at the Palm
Springs White Party that he came to
the attention of a man who would
change his life.
Friedmann was with a friend, dancing
to the music of Junior Vasquez
when the master mixer spotted him.
“He came down with a bottle of
water and asked me if we would
like to dance for his Pride party at
Spirit,” in New York, Friedmann
recalls. The two stayed in touch via
emails, and he traveled to Fire Island
to hear Vasquez. When he asked
Vasquez whether he should take
the plunge and make a 180-degree
turn in his career path, the man who
learned his craft at the feet of Larry
Levan told the Israeli-German, “You
are a talented kid, go for it.”
And he did. For the past 10 years,
he’s kept busy spinning at Europe’s
largest clubs, with residencies in
Hamburg, Cologne and Amsterdam
as well as Berlin. Now 37, he’s happily
in a relationship and happy when
he’s home in Berlin. His music is
happy, too: sexy-happy. He describes
Photo by Kevin McDermott
his music as “sexy house—music
that makes people feel sexy. We all
know how sexual the dance floor
has become nowadays. Hot bodies,
sweaty skin, searching eyes. I spin
music that fits that atmosphere.
“It’s really easy to put on Deborah
Cox, then mix in some Britney,” he
adds. “Anyone can do that. But,
when I go into a club or party, my
goal is to introduce music that has a
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Happy Am I! Healthy Am I! holy Am I!