CityDeep @ Pink - DJ HALO & Mauricio Aviles August 30, 2008

The Foundation
Chicago. He's 16 and working at famed record store Hip House, where it all began—the education in acid house, garage, Detroit techno, et al. Chicago's underground loft parties inspired him to hear real Chicago house music, plus a dash of disco, spun by such legendary jocks as Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy. These were the artists whose sounds formed the movement, and they made an impression. Listen close: You can still hear them in Halo's soul-tickling, eardrum-rattling, Deep House rhythms today. Because of Hip House's location just outside of downtown, the Windy City teen was able to establish contacts with visiting club industry reps, who, after listening to his tapes, began hiring him to play their parties. "I started doing that more and more. And more and more people started hearing me play," Halo says.Before he left the Midwest for the far west, he served a three-year tour of duty as an A&R with Moody Records, a period where he learned more, grew more, saw more. In a word: becoming.

Go west, young man
San Diego. Now he was traveling. Regularly. He was manning the decks in clubs from sea to shining sea, gaining experience, developing a sound. In addition, Early on during his stint in So-Cal, Halo attended the 2000 edition of Miami's Winter Music Conference. Halo was spinning at a club, when a couple of guys from the then newly opened London-based Fabric approached him. "They were like, Have you ever played Europe?" He said he hadn't. Soon after, Halo were in the rain-soaked city, reaching out and, crucially, connecting with an unfamiliar audience. He'd found a home. "The sound system, the staff—it was probably one of the best clubs I've been in," Halo says of Fabric. Fabric offered him his first residency abroad. He accepted. And, yeah, he still plays there on a bi monthly basis

The heat
Las Vegas. So now he's lived in three places, journeyed and spun records in many more—UK, Europe, Australia, Asia, South America.—and he's holding it down in Sin City's commercialized clubland, helping to bring DJs such as David Harness , Mark Grant and many others who had heretofore never performed in the desert town. "I just brought to the table what I do and the music that I was feeling," he says, noting that he'd helped start a successful Saturday soiree called "H.O.M.E." at the now-defunct Barcode. "It was different for Vegas. It wasn't the typical casino-club." During this time, he's also continued beefing up his label City Deep Music, which he began in 2004. Dedicated to releasing quality, cutting-edge dance music created by the finest producers, City Deep is a house oasis that worships at the altar of deep house, afro, soul and tech-y rhythms—the stuff, in other words, of thebeat-happy spirit that lives within us all.

Inside the crystal ball In 2008, Halo will load up the U-Haul once again and head up to San Francisco to work on a variety of projects, not the least of which will be rocking parties with David Harness. Also, he and pal/partner Kemal will release "Lift Me Up," featuring Arnold Jarvis, on MN2S records, as well as "Come Together," featuring Michelle Weeks, on Jamie Lewis' Purple Music. In April look out for another City Deep release: Halo's solo project with Maiya, called "Glory." Ah, glory. It's never been Halo's thing—the music has. It's the kind of dedication that earned him the top spot on "URB Magazine's "Next 100", nominated for best dj in 2003 at the IDMA's "International Dance Music Awards" and voted top 20 in BPM's "Whos Americas Favorite Dj" in 2003 and 2004; the support of a small army of DJs and producers from across the globe, including Louie Vegas, Mr. V, Alix Alvarez, Marques Wyatt, Osunlade, Aaron Ross, Jon Cutler, Jojoflores and others; and love from labels like MN2S, WestEnd, Large Music, and CoCo Soul, to name but a few. And then there are his club gigs, which include regular appearances at L.A.'s Deep and Balance, NYC's Cielo and Chiacgo's SmartBar,to name just a few. Halo's house is for the soul and spirit, not the cheap and commercial. "I've been DJing for 19 years,"he says. "And I love what I do."

Official Website: http://www.pinksf.com