As the UAE dance label celebrates the release of its first full-mix CD, Rob Garratt got the lowdown from DJs Mr Mr and Raxon on how the brand came about and what exactly enticed them to release an album.
There are few clubbers in the UAE that will be unfamiliar familiar with Audio Tonic. The concept was born as a radio show on Radio 1, which is still in session every Thursday night from midnight, and has grown into a mini monster that invites international guest DJs to play at either Sea Lounge at the Monte-Carlo Beach Club in Abu Dhabi, or at 360° in Dubai every week (Thursdays and Fridays). It’s all about a sound which is accessible yet upfront and it’s easy to listen to.
‘The Friday night party is ten hours long, so we get to play a wide spectrum from sunset chillout to infectiously good house music,’ says Mike Bufton, aka Mr Mr, a 32-year-old Brit. The Audio Tonic record label also launched in October 2011 and they have released 25 records, with strong support from some big industry players, so they are not only expanding on a local level, but globally now as well.
Few can claim to have done more for the UAE house music scene than Audio Tonic. The brand’s reliable roster of residents are responsible for developing and defining what clubbers affectionately dub ‘the Audio Tonic sound’. It’s that sound that has been captured on the brand’s first full CD release.
The first in an ongoing series, Audio Tonic @ 360° Volume 1, is a conceptual, two disc affair, following the course of an evening at the venue, working from relaxed sundown sounds, slowly building the tempos progressively as the night rolls on. Mixing the first disc is Audio Tonic founder Mr Mr, who opens things with Seva K’s ‘Falling’.
‘Every week people come to hear us play and say, “where can I get this music?”,’ says Mike. ‘Now I can say, “go ask the guys at the bar”.’
The album’s 28 tracks have been drawn directly from the dance floor; the grooves which defined the 2012/13 season at the venue, with 12 releases straight from Audio Tonic’s homegrown label, and five exclusive tracks unavailable elsewhere.
Label manager Raxon – who picked up Time Out’s Best Dubai DJ award earlier this year – takes care of the second disc, opening with a Kolombo remix of his production, ‘Stanton’. ‘These are the tracks that have made a difference for me and the venue,’ says the 27-year-old Egyptian, otherwise known as Ahmed El Raghy.
The release rounds off an impressive season for Audio Tonic as the brand is gaining more international note every month, with Mr Mr and Raxon off to DJ at European festivals like Barcelona’s Sonar this June.
If you’re a fan and really don’t want to miss out on their music this summer then you’ll be happy to hear that Audio Tonic is continuing throughout the hotter months for the first time, with the Summer Sessions concept at Dubai’s 360°’s lower deck, which premiered on Friday June 7.
It’s the CD the team seem most excited about though; while there are other UAE-based DJs who have contributed mixes to international labels, this is believed to be the first time a homegrown brand has put out its own bespoke release.
‘To have a physical release out there is a milestone,’ says Raxon. ‘To be in the shops in the city you live in, that’s a special feeling.’
In an era when dance music is traded electronically – or on vinyl – and every bedroom DJ can upload their mixes to SoundCloud, the release of a mix CD might seem slightly antiquated to some.
But it’s more than music – for the transient clubbers of the UAE, it offers a unique opportunity to take home a little piece of one of the emirate’s best nights.
‘One of the main reasons we’ve done this is that people live and work in the UAE – and then they leave,’ adds Mike. ‘And now when they leave they can take a piece of the UAE music scene with them – a part that we think has been pretty influential over the past seven years. ‘Now people can have Audio Tonic in their music collection forever.’
Audio Tonic @ 360°Volume 1 is available in Virgin Megastores now. Audio Tonic’s Summer Sessions take place at 360°, Jumeirah Beach Hotel every Friday, 4pm-3am, throughout summer (056 682 6617).
