Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2009
Courtesy of Vega Records
Louie Vega spent his childhood enveloped in music: his father was a jazz saxophonist and his uncle a singer in salsa unit the Fania All Stars. From this start, the native New Yorker went on to make a name for himself as a DJ in Bronx and Manhattan clubs, including the now almost-mythical Studio 54. That was over three decades ago. Fast-forward to the present, and Daikanyama club Air is hosting not just an innovator, but the founder of Latin house.
“I love what I do. For me, music is life,” says Vega by email. “I will always make great music and play music the way I do, with this passion that I have that will never die.”
Vega’s uplifting style was New York’s alternative to Chicago’s driving, bass-led sound, enhancing a “love is the message” vibe invented by disco-inspired predecessors Larry Levan and Tony Humphries.
In the 21st century, Vega insists that New York’s positive house is still relevant: “[It] can always offer enlightenment, positive energy, and can even change someone’s life. It has for many years.”
Under his Masters At Work partnership, formed in the ’90s with Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez, Vega achieved worldwide renown. The pair’s remixing skills even extended the realms of mainstream pop: credits on Madonna, Janet Jackson and Earth, Wind & Fire tracks confirmed an appeal that transcended clubland. MAW reached Grammy status in 2006, when they bagged a golden gramophone for a remix of Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly.”
Vega’s signature sound is an amalgamation of house with world music styles from bossa nova to salsa, Afro-beat and jazz. His most ambitious project yet is the Elements of Life band, a live house-music collective that has rocked leading jazz events including the Montreux Jazz Festival.
In addition to previewing his upcoming show at Air, Vega was quick to confirm EOL’s return here next year. “Elements of Life will be back in Japan in 2010,” he says. “I am recording the new double album now. I want the album to be a tribute to women. All the lead singers will be strong, beautiful women. I’m very excited about my new album, and I will premiere some of it when I come to Air.”
Vega is well placed to look at house in retrospect, but turning the question on its head, he is also quick to look forward and challenge younger artists to push on. “House will always keep evolving as long as new generations embrace it,” he says. “Anane and Boddhi Satva [both on the Vega label] are two artists that have so much to offer musically, both in DJ performance and the recording world.”
Vega’s first trip to Japan was in 1987, and not unlike other big dance names, he enjoys a special affinity with clubbers here. “We’ve had many fans for Masters At Work, Nuyorican Soul and for us (Kenny Dope and I) individually,” he says. “When we come over, we give our souls musically to the people, and they recognize that. We will always give love back. Japan is always at the top of my list.”
Air
Louie Vega. House: DJ Louie Vega. Dec 12, from 10pm, price TBA. Daikanyama. Tel: 03-5784-3386. www.air-tokyo.com
