Nov 6, 2013
Atlanta DJ Elio Stereo is in control for episode 22 of the Gangstercast, with a mix that blends old with new, and is underpinned by his hip hop roots. Elio tells us that the I’m A House Gangster has helped this merging of musical cultures, “I think of it as the bridge many were afraid to cross, it has allowed the crossfade between house and hip-hop culture. As insignificant as it may sound, wearing fitted's wasn't "the" look for a house deejay up until Sneak, Loco and so many other world figures began rocking them. I transitioned from hip-hop to house MANY years ago and though I still listen to it from time to time, I've never looked back. As opposed to many in my generation, I didn't grow up listening to House music, I've been part of many cultures before I chose this one. It wasn't an accident or the natural thing to do, I just simply connected with the sound and the people that listens to it as I never did before.
He talks at length about the special mix he has put
together:
“GANGSTERCAST is by far one of my most listened podcasts, when you
think about composing a recording that will be heard by the most
original of all house gangsters DJ SNEAK you've got to sit back and
think about the shit. I mean, this was probably the most fun but
time consuming part of creating this mix - it needed to be
timeless. I also felt there was a message to be told, but I'll
explain this later. Among my priorities when selecting the tracks
was to pay respect to the gangsters before me: Armand Van Helden,
Derrick Carter, Cajmere to name a few.
“I’m a ninety's boy, this mix represents an era of liberty, color, and industrialization where house music embodied as anthem of the concrete jungles of the world. I'm a strong believer that if the creation of new music was stopped, we'd have years ahead of us to look back and appreciate what's been done before. I wonder how many of you find the time to go back with so much being thrown at us, always battling to stay current. In this mix you'll hear the new and the old work seamlessly as one, that's much of who I am.
“There's definitely some subliminal messages sent out through this mix. I've learned from Sneak to have the courage to express my opinion, even when it results in controversy. So far in my career I've had to swim through the pool of cheese that surrounds me, commerciality used to mean common appreciation for one given thing but we all know how the music industry is run. That's not news to anyone, at first we all complained about it until eventually you learn how to navigate these waters, what really bothers me today are the snobs that keep new followers of our sound from entering our scene. It's always some bullshit like: "this is REAL music, you don't know enough, or look like us". I'm tired of hearing foreigns of our sound say: "well, I would've come out if I didn't feel like everyone's too cool for me."
“To bomb that state of mind, I featured Afrojack on this mix. Just so after a house music snob hears it and thinks it's the shit, they read this and think to themselves: "oh hell, I was listening to Afrojack? But he's not underground" hahaa. To me underground isn't what no one knows, it’s what’ it sounds like and "Looking Out For Love (Afrojack Mix)" sounds DAMN underground to me.
“House music is the reason I'm happy with myself and who I've become.”