March 2012

Last Monday night at Dream, on Miami's South Beach, Markus Schulz's Coldharbour Records event became the early toast of the Winter Music Conference 2012. Playing to a packed house of trance and electronic dance devotees, it presented another pinpoint sharp showcase of the label's inimitable, much-celebrated sound. It was against the backdrop of the night, and WMC '12 at large, that Markus chose to make official details of his new music venture. Under Dream's roof, all assembled together for the first time were the enterprise's debut signings. This allowed Markus to formally announce the creation of the Schulz Music Group.

A year in planning and development, SMG has been conceived to provide a to-the-next-level platform for producers sharing similar musical aims and directions to Markus. He goes on to explain: "since the launch of Coldharbour I've been very lucky to work with some exceptionally gifted and driven people. Feeling this way, it's natural to want to get as many as possible to the next level and put them into contention as a fully-fledged electronic dance music star of tomorrow. That, in a nutshell, is the objective here so I decided to launch the Schulz Music Group as a means to do that. WE approached 3 artists with an offer to become part of it. Between them, KhoMha, Mr. Pit, and Grube & Hovsepian have built numerous tracks that I fuel floors with wek in, week out. I believe they exhibit dynamic and forward-thinking musical inclination and as such represent the perfect launch collective. I'm delighted to say that those guys have come on board with SMG at this time and I'm very much looking forward to helping guide and mentor these producers/DJs! I see Schulz Music Group as every bit a long-term, talent-house project. I'm very excited to see where we can take them over the coming months and years... So I'd like you to meet SMG's first intake!"

KhoMha: Barely 18 months into his professional career, KhoMha's music has already sent shockwaves through electronic dance music circles. The effect of his widely embraced audio has latterly been amplified by  run of dexterous, electrifying turntable performances. For visiting big name DJs to his native Columbia, he has become the warm-up man of choice, regularly rocking the sound-systems at clubs like Forum, Carnival, Wild, La Kasa, Mistica, and Envy. Markus says: "KhoMha has that rare ability to produce music that appeals to an exceptionally broad span of EDM spinners. With guys like David Guetta and the Swedish House Mafia tuned into his sound and all over his tracks and remixes, he has cross-party appeal and this is without a doubt a huge asset."

Mr. Pit: He's known to his friends as Adrian Ivan, but it's under his artist name, Mr. Pit that he's spent the last 5 years delivering one immense track after another to the world's dance floors. Having already broken out of his native Romania as a DJ, he's smashed colossal festivals like Sunrise and Global Gathering in Poland and brought floor uproar to clubs like Avalon in the US, X2 in Indonesia, Russia's Matrix, and GodsKitchen in the UK. On welcoming him to the Schulz Music Group, Markus says: "with over a dozen tracks released on the label, Mr. Pit is a near distillation of Coldharbour's current sound and is certainly a key contributor to its make-up. He brings eclecticism and imagination to his music and DJ sets and that's standing him in excellent stead."

Grube & Hovespian: G&H came into being in 2008 when Florida-based producer Tim Grube reached out to LA-based Mike Hovespian. Having heard Schulz playing Mike's tracks on his Global DJ Broadcast show, Tim had picked up on the Coldharbour-edged themes contained in his solo productions. Recognizing a like-mind, he suggested an east-to-west spanning partnership - a challenge that Mike readily accepted. "Tim Grube has been my right-hand-guy for many years and understands as much as anyone about what makes me tick musically," says Schulz. "When he teamed up with Mike Hovsepian, I immediately saw that they'd found a connection that was going to work for them both. For me, they have become the most exciting duo to come along in the past 3 years."

Having already become one of th emost talked about tracks during Schulz's Los Angeles' 12 gigs last month, Mr Pit's 'Monsi' scored a 5/5 review in Mixmag, with the magazine saying it was "definitely one of the most creative releases around at the moment." KhoMha's 'Mind Garner' was similarly praised in their March issue, marking the track up as "confident, convincing audio" and one that was "smoking hot." Giving it 8.5/10 DJ Magazine meanwhile noted that "from its intricate drum and percs programming to the whip-quick mod flips in that least expected places, there's far more going on here than first meets the ear." Grube & Hovsepian have come in for much praise too with Mixmag describing 'City of Angels' as "peak time combustion" and their forthcoming 'Venom' (featuring singer Tiffany Johnston) "never less than enthralling."

For more info and everything else SMG related, head over to www.schulzmusicgroup.com.