DJ Romain (US)
While Chicago is credited as being the birthplace of “House Music”, there was an unmistakable vibe that New York City and New Jersey brought to the early days of House. New York City and New Jersey producers and DJs approached music with an edge and swag that could only be born from the gritty realness of life in the Tri-State area and Five Boroughs.
Producers blended elements of Hip-Hop, Soul, Jazz, Funk, Disco, Electro and the sounds of the Caribbean in ways that reflected the joys of life New York City represented. Their music was an escape from the everyday struggle of life in The Big Apple. Sampling was allowed, heavy drums were mandatory, dancing until the morning light was the objective, inclusion was the main theme... Love was the message.
Most average “Club Goers” in the late 80’s and 90’s were familiar with the House “hits” that crossed over into the mainstream, but the best clubs with the most sought after DJs didn’t have a mainstream focus - They represented “The Underground”.
Any NY/NJ DJ that commanded respect in that era kept records by a select group of producers in their crates: Todd Terry, Masters At Work, Pal Joey, Kerri Chandler, Jovonn, Roger S, David Morales, Tony Humphries, Roland Clark, The Burrell Brothers, Timmy Regisford, Kevin Hedge and Blaze and without question, DJ Romain.
With a signature style of “skippy” hi-hats, funky grooves and made for the dance floor jams, DJ Romain and his partner in crime, Matt Echols forged a career that established themselves under many aliases including the infamous ROMATT brand, as bonafide architects of that ‘New York City’ sound. Their catalogue of music spans across every legendary record label of the time. Strictly Rhythm, Nervous, King Street, Freeze Records, Francois K’s Wave Music, Emotive, Nite Grooves, Distant Music, their Own FAZE Records, Kult Records, Ministry Of Sound, Body and Soul, Defected Records and countless compilations by major DJs of that era.
DJ Romain served as a resident DJ at some of the most iconic NYC venues of the time. Nell’s, Limelight, Save The Robots, Wonderbar and Palladium just to name a few. He has also travelled the world spreading his brand of feel good House to audiences everywhere. He has graced the decks at Ministry Of Sound, Fabric, and The Egg... He played regularly in Japan at Yellow and other Japanese hotspots. Italy, Croatia, France, Germany, Costa Rica, Scotland, Ibiza, Madrid, Russia, and Switzerland have all hosted the DJ Romain experience. Over the course of his career, DJ Romain has worked with or remixed artists such as Robert Owens, Darryl D'Bonneau, Shawnee Taylor, Masters At Work, Randy Muller, Todd Terry, Johnny Dangerous, Dawn Tallman plus many others.
After focusing on his solo production efforts, he launched MetroTrax and NuFaze Records as well as NuFaze Deep. The MetroTrax label is a premiere “Jackin-House” label that highlights sample-chopping and beat digging skills that can only originate from a NYC veteran like DJ Romain. Other dope artists on the label include Blue-Note and Giant Step's own DJ Smash, NYC Hustle legend Bobby Morales, Distant Music's Jon Cutler, NYC vocal legend “E-Man”, Chicago's Doc Link, the one and only Demarkus Lewis as well as Italy's Allex Millet and many others. Nu Faze and Nu Faze Deep represent the House and Deep House sounds that fans of DJ Romain have loved throughout the years. Soulful, Funky and Jazzy, aimed for the dancefloor and always on the cutting edge, with artists such as Emory Toler, The Sharla Funk Experience, Tommy Bones and Nedelka leading the way. You can catch DJ Romain dropping dope joints every Wednesday at 2pm(EST) with the Raid Train crew out of the UK on his Twitch show “Rhythm & Culture Sessions”