John Acquaviva

The bigger you get, the more mainstream you sound, right? Not so for John Acquaviva, who drops the needle on both established and obscure yet exceptional producers signed to Force Inc. on Mainhatten Sound. Comments John about the concepts for his latest release on Shadow Records, "I like their [Shadow's] concept because they ask DJs to focus on a label, as opposed to a general mix. It's different from a total full-mix DJ CD, more showcasing the sounds of a label and a city." The remark about showcasing the sounds of a city refers to the title, Mainhatten, which is a nickname for Frankfurt, Germany, one of the world's foremost sources for first-rate house and techno, and home of Force Inc. "Force Inc.'s a great label, they've had a lot of people grow up through their ranks and a lot of cool underground people. I took some of my favourite songs from their catalogue. Some of the names are big but some aren't as famous as Thomas Heckmann, or Ian Pooley, but they're all good and I think they flow." Indeed, the mix is seamless, half done via analogue vinyl, the other half through Final Scratch, an experimental software/hardware mechanism where Acquaviva mixes digital files through a computer/turntable interface. This superb album starts of funky, goes tech-house and closes in the abstract electronic realm, a direction never gone before on any of his other releases, which is to say, deep.