For a country with such a small population, New Zealand has produced some of the world’s finest DJs over the years. Here are four of the greatest.
Zane Lowe
Auckland-born Zane Lowe is as well known for his television-presenting and radio-DJ career as much as for his music production and live DJ skills. After moving to the United Kingdom in 1997, Lowe came to prominence hosting shows on XFM and MTV Europe before landing a global music show on BBC Radio 1. As a live DJ, Lowe has enjoyed an international career touring with bands like Muse, Kasabian, and The Prodigy, and playing festivals like Coachella, Future Music Festival, and Glastonbury. He has also regularly DJ’d at Ibiza and Mallorca Rocks. Lowe’s discography includes remixes of Snow Patrol’s In the End, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip’s Look for the Woman, and Kasabian’s Vlad the Impaler.
If you want to try out your own remixes for fun, a good place to start is the popular DJ Hero video game. You can mix tracks from a selection of more than 100 songs across numerous genres. And if you are in the mood for some more DJing fun, check out the DJ Wild slot game, which is available at Casumo online casino.
Nanotek
New Zealander Nanotek, whose real name is Mark Christiansen, is an international dubstep and drum and bass DJ and producer. He began his involvement with music during his teenage years when he played cool electric guitars under 500 and drums in heavy metal bands before discovering electronic and industrial music in the mid-1990s.
When he moved to Wellington in 2003, he was introduced to music by the likes of Photek, Dylan, and Dom & Roland, who became major influences in his hard darkstep sound. Nanotek’s break came in 2006 when Dylan, the owner of Freak Recordings, signed his two tracks Deadly Force and Acid Burn to his sister label Obscene Recordings. The two tracks gained attention from such recognized DJs as Counterstrike, Tech Itch, and Current Value, and it was not long before Nanotek received a global audience.
P-Money
Hip-hop DJ and producer P-Money came to prominence with his second studio album, 2004’s Magic City, which reached number two on the RIANZ New Zealand Singles Chart. The album contains the single Stop the Music, featuring New Zealand rapper Scribe, which gave P-Money his first number one song. The album contains many collaborations with both international and local artists, including Skillz, >Akon<, and Grandmaster Roc Raida. In 2003, P-Money scored another hit with Scribe with the smash hit track Not Many.
For someone who started out in student radio and DJ competitions, P-Money has certainly come a long way. Over the years, he has won numerous awards, including Best Producer, for Scribe’s multi-platinum album The Crusader, and Songwriter of the Year at the New Zealand Music Awards in 2004.
Mark de Clive-Lowe
Now based in Los Angeles, Mark de Clive-Lowe was born and raised in Auckland. He began playing piano at the age of four and developed an interest in jazz via his father’s vast record collection. During his teenage years, Mark de Clive-Lowe collaborated with local R&B and hip-hop artists.
In 1998, he moved to the United Kingdom. It proved to be a good move. He soon became a regular collaborator with other producers like Attic, Bugz, and Restless Soul. Not before long, de Clive-Lowe helped to develop the UK’s broken beat movement, which blends jazz, funk, electronics, and world music. Amazingly, throughout his career, he has been involved with more than 200 releases, including collaborations with Omar, Shirley Horn, and Lauryn Hill.
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