noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 58 October 2008 - Index

different edge, something new that
has depth to it. I love diva anthems,
but a DJ has an educational task
to bring new sounds to the dance
floor and make people think as they
dance.”
An International House Style
Micky Friedmann incorporates several
styles into his sets: tech house,
vocal house, electro-house—their
only requisite that underlying, propulsive
beat that distinguishes
house music.
Along with Vasquez, Friedmann
cites a potpourri of contemporary
DJs as influences, including Victor
Calderone, Ismael Rivas, D.O.N.S.,
Tom Novy, Danny Tenaglia, Pablo
Ceballos (of Chus and …) and his
fellow Israeli, Offer Nissim, a favorite
since his earliest clubbing days
in Tel Aviv. “I used to go every
Friday to hear him spin,” he says.
“Offer is a huge producer of music
that brings a touch of Israeli soul to
the dance floor. These days, when I
play a track of Offer’s, I feel like I am
bringing a piece of home with me.”
Friedmann isn’t shy, however,
about his preference for Americanproduced
music. The Europeans,
he complains, like their music in
degrees of hard, harder and hardest—mostly
techno, trance and very
deep house.
Maybe that’s why he’s gravitated to
the U.S. His first gig stateside was at
New York’s Splash only a year ago,
September 7, 2007. That quickly
led to big changes: gigs around
the country, from Provincetown to
San Francisco; and a chance meeting
with his future rep, George
Dellinger, one of the top DJ managers.
This year, he’s playing both the
New York and Berlin Hustlaballs;
the Berlin version of the love-forsale
celebration has grown to one
of the biggest gay events (if not
the biggest) in a city known for bigroom
events and street-filling dance
festivals like the Love Parade.
Photo by Joseph Sinclair
Playing a party like Hustlaball involves
a different vibe and another set of
records from a dance bar like Splash:
“I play a completely different set
when playing to a crowd coming to a
party so sexually oriented. The music
must also represent that dark kind
of sensual vibe these events have.”
Unsurprisingly for someone whose
music and whole demeanor are so
frankly sexy and sexual, Friedmann
would love to play a Black Party.
But don’t pigeonhole him: He’d be
as happy at a White or Winter or
Alegria.
Staying True to His Art
Friedmann considers himself a professional
and an artist. He also knows
that he hasn’t been hired to impose
an artistic vision from on high but to
get people off their butts and onto
the dance floor. As someone who
worked for years in controlling his
muscular body to move to music,
he understands that the essence
of dancing is expressing emotions
through music—and the importance
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Happy Am I! Healthy Am I! holy Am I!