“Like I said on Twitter tonight, no f-ing mainstream bullsh-t music. Are you ready to rage with me?” That was Gregori Klosman’s first address toward the packed crowd at Cielo on Thursday night. For the most part, he held true to his word.
Opening up for Klosman, was an up and coming star on the decks, Tyler Sherritt. Sherritt recently had his new track “Lux In Tenebris”, included in Paul Oakenfolds new compilation “We Are Planet Perfect vol. 2”. One notable guest in the audience, was the man himself, Paul Oakenfold. I don’t generally get star struck, but Oakenfold is a legend, and one of the founding fathers of the EDM revolution. As with most DJs I’ve met, Paul was a very nice guy who told me he was there to support Tyler. Sherritt did a great job of opening up, and getting the crowd perfectly revved up for what was about to hit them.
As one o’clock rolled around, Hailing from Paris, Gregori Klosman emerged from a back room, and stepped into the DJ booth. Being that Klosman is known for leaning towards electro and progressive house, and seeing him a few times before, I was thrown off immediately, in a good way, by the first track selection. The track was “Get It On” by Joe T. Vanelli. A fairly dark house track that was released in 2006. I knew right then that this set was going to be different. At the beginning of “Get It On”, the legendary New York City MC and host, Anthony Lamont, Introduced Gregori, and so began our musical trip around the world. A few tracks later, Klosman dropped his own “Bombata”—a tech-house banger that makes me feel like I’m in the Jungles of Africa. Shortly after “Bombata”, came Dennis Ferrer’s “Hey Hey”, one of the anthems from last summer, and in my opinion, a great way to get the crowd amped up. The whole place was chanting along. Another recognizable track soon after that was Prodigys 1997 hit, “Smack My Bitch Up”. At this point, Cielo was at full throttle. Next was the first of very few “mainstream” tracks that would be dropped throughout the night. A well produced mash-up of Tristan Garner and Klosman’s “Fuckin’ Down”, Nari & Milani’s “Atom”, One Republic’s “Apologize”, and Otto Knows’ “Million Voices”.
Gregori decided to then take us to electroville. The next few songs were more towards what everyone was expecting from him. Tom Falls “IROK”, and “Turn Up The Sound” by Andain (Tristan Garner remix). These were two absolute monster tracks which you will definitely hear more often. One of the next highlights for me was “Turn Up The Music” by Roger Sanchez. It struck me as very appropriate, as Sanchez will be at Cielo on Sept. 13th. Klosman’s hit “Minibar” was up next. Layered on top of “Minibar” was the acappella of “Somebody That I Used To Know”. Personally, I think the DJ community should start hunting for more songs to remix. Everybody and their mothers have made remixes for that and “Rolling In The Deep.” Klosman then dropped a few of those “mainstream” songs he was discussing earlier. “The Night Out” by Martin Solveig, “Years” by Alesso, the SHM mash-up of “Quasar”, “Coming Home”, and Aerodynamic”, and probably my least favorite song, “My feelings For You” by Avicii.
Another huge track of the evening was Gregori, and Tristan Garner’s “Knight” remix of “Spectrum” by Zedd. A couple of songs later, an energetic Klosman asked the club, “Who wants to come to Ibiza with me?” He then dropped One of Ibiza’s anthems, “Funky Vodka” by TJR. Gregori rounded out his incredibly diverse set with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode, the Tristan Garner remix of “Rapture” by Nadia Ali, two Skrillex tracks, the Reggae inspired “Bonfire” by Knife Party, and a few more. Watching him work the mixer and decks from the booth is really awe inspiring. Klosman’s mastery of his craft, versatility, and the fact that he is blatantly having a ton of fun while spinning, puts him near the top of my list of the best DJs out there. Klosman is a REAL French DJ.
After his set, Klosman stuck around for a little bit, took pictures and signed autographs. He then invited me to his hotel room to hang for a little while. The first thing he said was, “I have to check the Twitter”. We spent a while talking music, while he eagerly responded to fans tweets. Gregori Klosman is a truly a good guy that loves the music, and his fans. On my way out of his room, he said, “Hey look, I have a Minibar!”
-Adam Levine for EDMNYC
The three-hour set can be downloaded for free here: http://soundcloud.com/gregoriklosman/klosmania-15
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