Sep 10, 2014
As two wise Chemically enhanced men once said, ‘The brothers gonna work it out’. It’s an adage the Smokingroove brothers - Safe and Marko - have taken to heart and we’re glad to have worked out getting them on the Gangstercast for episode 43.
Starting off the main part of their career in their native home of London, they cut their teeth on the underground club scene in the 90s and their style of “deep, Chicago-flavored House music with a Jacking vibe” has seen them sign records to Roger Sanchez’s Stealth Records and DJ Sneak’s Magnetic Recordings, as well as penning a string of releases on their own Illuminati Recordings imprint.
Their love of House music has prevailed and they reflect, “[House music] is the spirit of clubs, the people we meet and the life we have. For a musical genre, it’s pretty special in that way.“
They’ve hosted radio shows for over 10 years and it’s perhaps on the DJ front that the brothers have made their biggest impact. With both Safe and Marko now based in Dubai, they hold down the most coveted residency in the Middle East at the much-copied but never bettered Nasimi Beach, and have played huge events such as Creamfields Abu Dhabi, Pete Tong’s Wonderland, El Divino Ibiza and Savannah Ibiza as well as countless legendary UK clubs. More recently they have become brand ambassadors for Adidas Originals, New Era & Pioneer DJ and they have mixed the first in a series of Pacha Dubai CDs.
Episode 43 of the Gangstercast allows Smokingroove to flex their DJ muscles, as they explain, “Over the last 16 years, we’ve built our own mental-inventory of great records and music we honestly love and feel. The mix captures our love of the sound. This mix was recorded live so everything in there is pretty indicative of what we play. You’re getting the Smokingroove sound in this mix. This isn’t a practiced, studio set. Real deal, one-shot take.”
They add that the House Gangster movement is, “like a global clique of people who all vibe off the same music and mentality. House is a broad genre so this feels like membership to an exclusive global family within that. Real underground House music with a street-edge to it. A little something for everyone but keeping the beats correct and a definitive underground vibe.”