Biography:
It’s not easy for an outsider
to break into the small circle of party people who
make up New York City’s dance-music elite, but
the 29-year-old deep-house doyen Neil Aline has not
only entered that celebrated coterie, he’s become
one of its main men. Soon after the Tahiti-born, Paris-bred
Aline became a student at NYU in ’97, he filled
a gaping hole in the city’s airwaves by starting
up the BPM show on the university’s radio station.
BPM quickly became a favorite stop for DJs many of
the city’s—and the world’s—top
spinners. “Hosting my mix show each week,”
he says, “and mixing alongside the crËme
of dance music like FranÁois K, Laurent Garnier,
Dimitri from Paris, Carl Craig, DJ Pierre, Daft Punk,
Afrika Bambattaa and Jumpin’ Jack Frost has
been my biggest inspiration.”
Aline used the connections made through
BPM to book and promote the NYC edition of the fabulous
French soiree Respect is Burning at the now-defunct
superclub Twilo. And he continued his rise to the
top of the city’s club scene by spinning a blend
of sublimely deep house, gorgeous vocal material and
tough tribal beats at parties big and small all over
town.
But it’s through Chez Music,
the record label that he established when only 23,
that Aline’s name has become synonymous with
high-quality house music. The label has released tracks
from such esteemed artists as Osunlade, Jazztronik,
Llorca. Miguel Migs, Alan Braxe and DJ Spen (see below
for a full discography), and Jon Culter and E-man’s
“It’s Yours” was one of THE club
hits of ’01, and reached number one on dance-music
charts around the world. Chez has also released the
Aline-mixed On the Rocks compilations, which serves
as a perfect introduction to his smooth-as-silk mixing
technique and selection skills.
The success of Chez has enabled
Aline to take his deejaying career to the next level.
He currently hold’s down residencies at three
of NYC’s hottest spots, APT, Cielo and a new
residency at Movida NY with Jay-J & Matthias Heilbronn.
He also guest DJs at clubs all over town and travels
around the country frequently to guest and work the
ones and twos. He’s been hard at work on his
international rÈsume, and has spun everywhere
from European capitals like Paris, London, Zurich
and Brussels to Asian metropolises such as Tokyo and
Shanghai—and even his native Tahiti! But it’s
still in NYC that Aline’s influence is most
felt. Flyer magazine summed up it up thusly: "Considering
the current decline of club life in the city, Neil
Aline is pumping needed life's breath into our endangered
scene. He's taking the risks we need to take."
But Tricia Romano, the nightlife editor of the Village
Voice, said it best: “Anything with Chez Music's
Neil Aline's name attached to it is a guaranteed go.”
