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DJ
REXX ARKANA |
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Music Genres: |
Cutting Edge Electronic, Electro
House Etheric Guitar, Dark 80's,
Hard Trance |
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Bio: |
Headlining
clubs and festivals across North
America and Europe under the
moniker given to him by Ministry's
Al Jourgensen, DJ Rexx Arkana is one
of the dark electronic music
movement's few legitimate
international DJ stars. Having
dedicated the last twenty years to
the scene also makes him one of the
oldest and most respected. For two
decades, from Mexico to Munich,
Arkana has showcased his eclectic
and progressive DJ style, bringing
music to the masses.
Arkana began his career in music by
chance; his love of disco, punk, new
romantic and progressive rock led to
a radio spot, the all-electronic
"Twitch" program, on a local college
station (WVYC) in 1984. Three years
later, Arkana re-located the show to
Syracuse University's WERW, where
the local popularity of the program
led to his first club residencies at
Suburban Park and Buggsy's, in
upstate New York, in 1987.
Though Arkana has been "off the air"
since 1991, his love of college
radio and the freedom of programming
it represents has never waivered. He
spent nearly at decade as a
professional, full-time promoter
specializing in college radio
through his Club Hate Productions
company (later reborn as RazorBurn),
and as the electronic music
specialist for NYC-based independent
label Radical Records. He has also
since appeared as a guest DJ on
WRHU's "Industrial Strength"
program, hosted by DJ Raf, WFDU's
"The Shape of Things To Come,"
hosted by The One Bob and "The
Domain" on Staten Island's WSIA,
topping things off recently with an
appearance on legendary Long Island
commercial radio
station WDRE (WLIR) as a guest of
their synthpop/electronic specialty
show,
Contrast Radio.
Focusing on the arena of club DJing
in the mid- to late-80's, Arkana is
honored to have held a position as
one of the original "dirty dozen"
Wax Trax! DJs (led by the storied
Bobby Shea). Working closely with
the fledgling Wax Trax!, Nettwerk
and KK Records labels, Arkana
quickly became the most recognized
name on the scene by spinning the
cutting edge sounds of early EBM and
prototypical electro-industrial.
Soon, his scene status lead to an
on-camera gig as host of the
award-winning local-origination
television show Back Alley, a weekly
"alternative" arts and entertainment
program of which he ultimately
became a co-producer.
Over the years, Arkana has opened
for some of the scene's top artists,
including VNV Nation, Covenant, And
One, Das Ich, Icon of Coil, In
Strict Confidence and many others.
He was selected to represent New
York City at the Second Annual
Industrial Rave in San Francisco in
1998, and in 2002 was the only
American DJ chosen to headline the
11th Wave Gotik Treffen festival in
Leipzig, Germany.
With a wealth of historical
knowledge and an unparalleled grasp
on today's contemporary electronic
music scene, industry colleagues and
independent
organizations, such as the
Associated Press news service, have
often cited Arkana as an expert in
the field of underground music
culture. In 1997, Arkana was
selected by the prestigious College
Music Journal weekly trade magazine
to schedule and moderate their
first-ever Industrial Music Panel at
that year's CMJ New Music Marathon
in NYC. That same year, the
publishing division of music's
leading Billboard Magazine solicited
him to author a comprehensive book
chronicling the history and
evolution of industrial music, a
tome which, unfortunately, was later
shelved by executive editorial staff
mid-production
due to a perceived "lack of market
interest in the niche genre of
industrial music, Marilyn Manson
fans notwithstanding." In 1998, in
the wake of the Colombine High
School shootings, Rexx appeared on
the ABC News World News Now
television program with Anderson
Cooper, appearing as an expert on
industrial music and culture. In
addition to founding and
contributing to numerous fanzines
and small press periodicals, Arkana
served as Managing Editor of North
America's esteemed digital music
culture magazine, Interface, until
its demise in 2000.
2001-2002 was a busy time period for
the popular disc jockey. Arkana
toured the
East Coast as a manager and DJ for
newcomers Icon of Coil on their
first
concert trip through the U.S.,
opening up for the band at The
Chamber in Atlanta, The Kitchen Club
in Miami and The Limelight in New
York City. In April, he completed
his first international mini-tour,
playing three gigs in London: the
underground Gossips, the
ultra-exclusive Slimelight, and the
world's oldest and longest-running
alternative club, Electric Ballroom.
Rexx also served as a guest panelist
on the Scene Building discussion
panel at
Convergence 7, North America's
largest annual industrial/gothic
music convention and gathering, and
hosted highly successful DJ battles
with London's DJ Rex and Haujobb's
DJ Daniel Meyer. Returning to his
native Pennsylvania after more than
a decade away, Arkana made multiple
appearances at the fetish-friendly
Vesago party and the Dracula's Ball
in Philadelphia and at Pittsburgh's
renown Ceremony club.
Arkana also found himself in
familiar territory across the
northern border,with a string of
recurring gigs in Toronto at
Darkrave and Savage Garden. Even
with residencies locked up at New
York City's top fetish and
industrial weeklies, DJ Rexx Arkana
made his first excursions into the
leading German
scene in the biggest way possible,
showcasing with Blutengel's Chris
Pohl at
Berlin's Lime Club before his main
stage appearance in Leipzig.
In 2003, Arkana's busy schedule
turned relentless with the public
announcement
of the Bruderschaft project, of
which he is founder, producer and
lyricist. Hailed by press and fans
as an electronic "supergroup,"
Bruderschaft features
Arkana, Ronan Harris of VNV Nation
(vocals), Stephan Groth of Apoptygma
Berzerk (backing vocals), Joakim
Montelius of Covenant (loops) and
Sebastian Komor of Icon of Coil
(music). The debut release, the
"Forever" EP, sold out all 1500
limited edition 2CD copies in just
twenty-four hours and went on to top
singles charts throughout Europe,
including four weeks at 1 on the
esteemed German Alternative Charts
(DAC). Dozens of magazine and
webzine interviews followed,
including feature articles in the
scene's biggest glossies: Orkus,
Zillo and Sonic Seducer. The
immensely positive public reception
of Bruderschaft led to Arkana's
first full-scale European DJ tour in
August, where he headlined gigs in
London, Paris, Utrecht, Leipzig,
Hamburg, Leverkusen, Bielefeld and
Munich.
Rexx Arkana's role in the dark
electronic music scene continues to
evolve. He
is presently at work on the second
single from Bruderschaft, entitled
Return. Also in late 2006 he
launched the debut album, Urban
Audio Warfare from his EBM project,
FGFC820, which pairs him with fellow
NYC DJ Dräcos. Signed to NoiTekk in
Europe, COP International in North
America and Gravitator Records in
Russia, FGFC820 features Arkana as
lyricist, vocalist and programmer.
As a lyricist or vocalist, Arkana
has also collaborated with Germany's
The Retrosic ("New World Order",
Supreme Court ("Mass Media Murder"
and Neikka RPM ("Storm of Hell". As
a remixer, he has reworked "Damage
Limitation" by Tactical Sekt with
Suicide Commando, as well as the
underground club stomper "Graograman"
by Germany's noise/EBM act KieW.
With FGFC820, additional remixes
have followed for Icon of Coil, Dawn
of Ashes, Schattenschlag, Corporate
Soldiers, Rumours About Angels and
others.
Still, even with so many projects
active, Arkana refuses to turn away
from his
first musical love, DJing. Guest
appearances throughout North America
continue to be scheduled, as plans
for a return to Europe are also
being staged. With "a finger on the
trigger and another on CUE", as is
his motto, DJ Rexx Arkana continues
to shape the dark electronic music
scene both home and abroad.
Arkana has worked as a club DJ since
1988, having spun in:
*Albuquerque, USA
*Atlanta, USA
*Berlin, Germany
*Bielefeld, Germany
*Buffalo, USA
*Cincinnati, USA
*Cleveland, USA
*Detroit, USA
*Hamburg, Germany
*Harrisburg, USA
*Leipzig, Germany
*Leverkusen, Germany
*London, England
*Mexico City, Mexico
*Miami, USA
*Montreal, Canada
*Munich, Germany
*New York City, USA
*Newark, USA
*Paris, France
*Philadelphia, USA
*Phoenix, USA
*Pittsburgh, USA
*Rochester, USA
*San Francisco, USA
*San Jose, USA
*Stamford, USA
*Syracuse, USA
*Tampa, USA
*Toronto, Canada
*Utrecht, Netherlands
*Washington, D.C., USA
and throughout the East Coast...
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Resident DJ @: |
LIFE |
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Personal Quote: |
"Don't quote me on this..." |
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Official Website:
www.FGFC820.com
MySpace Page:
www.myspace.com/rexxarkana
Vampirefreaks Page:
www.vampirefreaks.com/rexxarkana
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