Tony de Vit - overrated?

tman · 28-07-2009 9:39am #1

On the back of the departed artists thread, I'm kind of curious to find out people's opinions on this one...

Personally, I'm thankful to him for making some of my favourite tunes of all time, but it is common knowledge that Simon Parkes engineered his music from day one*. If the stories are to believed, Tony had very little creative input in them, but I'm not too sure if I buy into that.
*apart from the dawn, which had Paul Janes at the controls

Sadly I never got a chance to see him live, so my only exposure to his mixing was through the Trade and (utterly classic) Global Underground CDs

His remixes of "Cygnus X - turn it around", move any mountain, show me love and Age of Love all still get regular plays whenever I'm having a mix, and I can't really say that about many other productions from that period (apart from some of the early Tinribs like "Elvis")

So in my opinion - not at all overrated...
You?

Scubadevils · 28-07-2009 10:25am

Never heard him live either but certainly loved some of the mixes over the years - I still have a huge soft spot for the following two mixes which I listened to a lot back in the mid 90s and were also spun at several parties...

The 2nd disc on 'A Retrospective Of House '91 - '95 Volume 2'

http://www.discogs.com/Various-A-Retrospective-Of-House-91-95-Volume-2/release/113884

And also the second disc on the first Trade mix, a serious belter of a mix...

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Trade-Volume-One/release/113948

In both cases, cracking tune selection, set progression and full of energy.

The night the UFO was raided actually a big group of us went to a mates place in town (I forget what time the UFO was raided but we were all out of our heads and in need of somewhere else to dance

) - we played the Trade mix above, first and second disc and the place was absolutely hopping by the time we got through them.

Klim · 28-07-2009 10:38am

I think he was without a doubt a legend. I think the main problem is that his music hasn't aged well at all, and anyone listening to it for the first time will wonder what all the fuss was about,

He was the first dj to make hard house be taken seriously by his peers. Can you see any of todays hard house djs getting on a global underground series??

28-07-2009 11:00am

Not a fan, think someone suggested that his music hadn't aged too well and that might be some of the reason I don't like it, think by the time I found his stuff I knew I didn't like that hard sound. Maybe if I had heard it in 1995 I might remember him more fondly.

Jay D · 28-07-2009 12:40pm

GU = Very basicly mixed and built sets, nothing whatsoever special about them and also anyone actually listened to Elements? Tune selection good, not so much the mixing, if anyone were to be completely honest.

derra · 28-07-2009 1:32pm

The live in Tel Aviv is a brilliant CD , great tune selection which is what is most important to a clubber than being technically brilliant on the mixer etc..
Who gives a flying fúck when on the dance floor as long as the tunes are good, if ya do a thread on over rated DJs ya will have a long thread

Peoples opinions are gonna differ especially when alot here are in the younger age bracket and not around at the time and comparing him to modern DJs with totally differnt genres etc
He was actually playing the Red BOX the week Tokyo G.U was released here, but was on Thursday night and could'nt make it in :mad:
Still prefer the Tel Aviv one, but have another great mix here which i think is so much better than the two of them but it is tagged badly and just says it is very rare and yellow disc 1 & 2 but is an excellent live mix.
Was also supposed to go down to Sir Henrys to see him and Mark Kavanagh but TDV pulled out for health reasons at the time which eventually turned out to be fatal eventually. Never got to see him play which was a disappointment.
He gave Fergie his big break too from seeing him play in Kilwaughter house up North.
He was highly influential to alot of DJs and loved collecting his mixes to which i have a lot of now.
Here is one from early 90's in Kilwaughter House ..
Side A
http://www.mediafire.com/?dzvz0wjztm2
Side B
http://www.mediafire.com/?mvcmvywhonz

28-07-2009 1:54pm

derra wrote: »

He gave Fergie his big break too

Jesus.

Another black mark...

derra · 28-07-2009 2:01pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Jesus.

Another black mark...

Would'nt be mad about Fergie meself.
Having said that, he gave an unknown DJ a chance to shine on the big stage and stuff like that has to be commended whether ya like that particular DJ or not.

Jay D · 28-07-2009 2:27pm

Derra have to disagree with ya buddy. Like everyone's all TDV legend mixer and he's just not. Tune selection is part of making a great set but what has gotten to me is the perfection people have in albums where TDV definitely doesn't. Simple as that. So is he over rated? Certainly.

derra · 28-07-2009 6:16pm

Jay D wrote: »

Derra have to disagree with ya buddy. Like everyone's all TDV legend mixer and he's just not. Tune selection is part of making a great set but what has gotten to me is the perfection people have in albums where TDV definitely doesn't. Simple as that. So is he over rated? Certainly.

I think it just boils down to personal preference Jay, maybe your looking at it from a different perspective to me with yourself being a DJ

I have very few commercially released live mixes and mostly like just collecting mixes and unmixed compilations, as for the most part the live mixes i have are untouched and straight from the tape deck, whereas alot of the modern mixes would be enhanced by external samplers etc or whatever features mixers have these days and cut and chopped in the studio to make it perfect and then released.
I loved the tunes TDV used in his mixes back then, and they were individual tunes like every tune but not as easy to make it a seamless mix like in other genres.
Remember a while back on Nioldskool a discussion about Sasha and his mixing abilities, and was split down the middle by people saying he was dirt and others saying tune selection is what matters etc, and probably clubbers and DJs were on either side of that.
I am not mad into the technical side of mixing cause i have'nt a clue, i just like when the crossfader goes from side to side real quick to hear whats next and a hint of the tune lol
Saw Dave Clarke few times,mixing like a mad thing , some good nights ,some bad ,but down to personal taste really on the tunage used but no doubting his mixing ability,but ya have to like what ya hear too..
DJs now would probably make a show of TDV but he was good when he was about and that was good enough for me and many other clubbers.
Now let the man R.I.P

jonny68 · 28-07-2009 7:25pm

i was fortunate enough to see TDV a few times and each time he was absolutely rocking,and his mixing spot on as well, that was the golden age of pumping house music (unortunately as the years went on hard house became too fast

) but IMO no way was TDV overated.

Executive Steve · 29-07-2009 12:46am

derra wrote: »

He gave Fergie his big break too from seeing him play in Kilwaughter house up North.

Rumour has it he saw Fergie doing more than play, and he broke him in before he gave him his break...

FLYNN-DOG · 29-07-2009 1:58am

Gas man. Finally someone can have a laugh at all this. I can't imagine Fergie and his Rangers FC loving mates were mad for TDV's lifestyle choice!

Jay D · 29-07-2009 9:22am

FLYNN-DOG wrote: »

Gas man. Finally someone can have a laugh at all this. I can't imagine Fergie and his Rangers FC loving mates were mad for TDV's lifestyle choice!

Yeah, an epic joke you gotta admit.

And Derra you cheese monger I am letting him RIP, not knocking him for a second, I do realise each to their own

:pac:

29-07-2009 9:29am

FLYNN-DOG wrote: »

I can't imagine Fergie and his Rangers FC loving mates were mad for TDV's lifestyle choice!

Protestants and Loyalists can be gay too...:cool:

derra · 29-07-2009 10:36am

Jay D wrote: »

And Derra you cheese monger I am letting him RIP, not knocking him for a second, I do realise each to their own

:pac:

Deleted User wrote: »

Protestants and Loyalists can be gay too...:cool:

''Let's come together right now
oh yeah in sweet harmony''
(in the year 3000 maybe)

CaptainSkidmark · 29-07-2009 6:16pm

FLYNN-DOG wrote: »

Gas man. Finally someone can have a laugh at all this. I can't imagine Fergie and his Rangers FC loving mates were mad for TDV's lifestyle choice!

There was always story's going about that Ferg or anyone that associated with Tony were of the homosexual nature. Ferg moved over to tony when he was 16 so there was not many of his "rangers loving friends" around with him in those years. Bar of course the others from his home town of Larne such as Robbie Nelson and Gleave and mark dobbin and maybe even Ferg's brother Ken but at that i dont think anyone would care if they were gay or not. from what ferg tells me tony and his partner were the only 2 Homosexuals in " the gang" bar when they played the usual gay haunts of Birmingham and the likes.

That story about Fergie standing on milk carts when Tony seen him dj was untrue also. Lots of untrue story to be honest.

As for Tony being overrated.... i guess like every other dj, its a matter of opinion.

its like Deadmau5, i think he's overrated but there are thousands that think he's a genius.... truth be told.... 2 maybe 3 good tracks out of 200.....

JoeSchmoe · 30-07-2009 3:02pm

I think TdV gained his reputation from being a DJ, I never saw him DJ, but apparantly he was fantastic at what he did, he was part of a time when being a good DJ was all you needed, you didn't need to be a DJ/producer as is pretty much essential now.

Things like releasing 12" and tunes were all there to raise a DJs profile and cash in on his reputation. I wouldn't use them to judge his talent as a DJ, likewise mix CDs, the amount of prep and licencing of tracks and recording and rerecording that goes into that type of thing is very much removed from being an on point club DJ.

So you can only really judge him or indeed any DJ on the sets they do in clubs and how the crowd reacts to them. and that's impossible to do when he's dead.

A_Fitz · 01-08-2009 12:55am

Totally overrated, but then so are most DJs, to be fair. Don't know about his productions - I'm no expert but they would seem technically pretty simple pieces. And as for Fergie, FFS........did he really need to bring him in to the limelight?? Just goes to show it's all about connections - Fergie's mixing is piss poor and his productions are awful.......without TDV he'd be still sucking off Rangers fans up in Larne

**edit

and in fairness, if you couldn't mix hard house, then you couldn't mix jack **** - piss easy to mix

Klim · 01-08-2009 1:35am

A_Fitz wrote: »

Totally overrated, but then so are most DJs, to be fair. Don't know about his productions - I'm no expert but they would seem technically pretty simple pieces. And as for Fergie, FFS........did he really need to bring him in to the limelight?? Just goes to show it's all about connections - Fergie's mixing is piss poor and his productions are awful.......without TDV he'd be still sucking off Rangers fans up in Larne

**edit

and in fairness, if you couldn't mix hard house, then you couldn't mix jack **** - piss easy to mix

Good on you. Thanks for that insightful, knowledgable post. You've showed everyone. Close thread I suppose.

Cray92 · 02-08-2009 7:35pm

Overrated big time,he was brutal,responsible for startin off that hard house,worst genre of dance music bar none.

jonny68 · 02-08-2009 11:46pm

Cray92 wrote: »

Overrated big time,he was brutal,responsible for startin off that hard house,worst genre of dance music bar none.

Tony de steamer.

Moderators is there going to be something done about this?

It's one thing slagging off a DJ (although to slag someone who is dead is a bit sick) but bringing someones sexuality into it is not on and people have been banned for less:mad:

seannash · 03-08-2009 1:35am

jonny68 wrote: »

Moderators is there going to be something done about this?

It's one thing slagging off a DJ (although to slag someone who is dead is a bit sick) but bringing someones sexuality into it is not on and people have been banned for less:mad:

lighten up johnny.
incase you forgot you posted a zshare link to a track you uploaded in the identity of techno thread which is a HUGE no no on this forum

A_Fitz · 03-08-2009 3:44am

Klim wrote: »

Good on you. Thanks for that insightful, knowledgable post. You've showed everyone. Close thread I suppose.

LOL, Fergie's got a fan:D

WTF is wrong with you though?? Don't tell me he's a good mixer, because he isn't, and if you think he is, then you, Sir, don't know what you're on about........he's also a bandwagon-jumping ****, and whatever 'talent' TDV saw in him is not in evidence to my eyes and ears........and TDV was overrated, like all DJs are, end of.

Klim · 03-08-2009 12:47pm

A_Fitz wrote: »

LOL, Fergie's got a fan:D

WTF is wrong with you though?? Don't tell me he's a good mixer, because he isn't, and if you think he is, then you, Sir, don't know what you're on about........he's also a bandwagon-jumping ****, and whatever 'talent' TDV saw in him is not in evidence to my eyes and ears........and TDV was overrated, like all DJs are, end of.

I wasn't commenting on anything musical. Read my post again. Its good to know we're in 2009 just.

And if all dj's are overrated 'end of', why sir, would you find your goodself perusing the dance music forum??????

Jay D · 03-08-2009 1:16pm

Leave the Kerryman alone. He may have beaten around the bush a little but his point is still very valid!

tman · 03-08-2009 8:03pm

A_Fitz wrote: »

and in fairness, if you couldn't mix hard house, then you couldn't mix jack **** - piss easy to mix

That's a pile of bollocks imho... Have a look at some of the more technical DJs like Ben Stevens, Rodi Style, Adam M etc... I'd like to see anybody on this board mix ANY genre of music as well as those guys

Daroxtar · 03-08-2009 8:25pm

I think you have to take a look at his contemporaries and see where are they now. Back in the day the big names who ranked as highly with the fans as he did were tong, cox, oaky, sasha and the like, all still big names but to varying degrees of relevance. If TDV was still around his music would have evolved but its hard to figure out if he'd still be packing crowds in like Coxy or dropped off the face of the planet like tong or oaky.

Whoever made the point about his music not ageing well is absolutely spot on. I threw on a couple of Trade eps recently and i just cringed at the tunes but when i decided to play them at a party everyone started whooping and hollering.

Anyway, i think myself that if he was still alive he'd be a big name for the odd gig and he'd have produced a few more big tunes but i doubt he'd be the main attraction he was back then.

So was he overrated? Ya, a bit but he wasn't bad either

Jay D · 03-08-2009 8:28pm

Oh come on, are you really trying to say that hard house is in anyway difficult to perform a perfect set, even if you have only DJ'd for a month? Give me a break!

A_Fitz · 03-08-2009 9:23pm

Klim wrote: »

I wasn't commenting on anything musical. Read my post again. Its good to know we're in 2009 just.

And if all dj's are overrated 'end of', why sir, would you find your goodself perusing the dance music forum??????

So you're upset because I slagged off Fergie/Rangers' Fans/Gays?? LOL, lighten up boy......slagging off is all it was......I couldn't give a **** what TDV and/or Fergie were/weren't doing etc., etc.......I just think hard house is complete muck, TDV was overrated, and Fergie is brutal, that is all.

And yes, I do think all DJs are at least somewhat overrated, but that doesn't mean I going to stop listening to electronic music, or that I'm not going to have opinions about it.

That's a pile of bollocks imho... Have a look at some of the more technical DJs like Ben Stevens, Rodi Style, Adam M etc... I'd like to see anybody on this board mix ANY genre of music as well as those guys

Relax.......I'm not saying that there aren't technically proficient mixers in the HH scene, I'm just saying that as genres go, it is one of the easiest ones to mix........big difference between mixing two DnB records, two electro records, or two dubstep tracks and two HH tracks, IMO

tman · 03-08-2009 9:36pm

Daroxtar wrote: »

I think you have to take a look at his contemporaries and see where are they now. Back in the day the big names who ranked as highly with the fans as he did were tong, cox, oaky, sasha and the like, all still big names but to varying degrees of relevance. If TDV was still around his music would have evolved but its hard to figure out if he'd still be packing crowds in like Coxy or dropped off the face of the planet like tong or oaky.

You can't really compare him with Tong and Oakey though... I reckon he'd either still be playing out regularly like Andy Farley for instance, moved on to a more sedate style of music, or just retired ... (TBH he was getting on a bit then though, so I'd say the latter)

I saw Ian M (the supposed godfather of hard house) recently and compared to some of the newer blood playing at the night, his set did absolutely nothing for me... Loads of dead beats, fairly obvious tune selection and just plain boring really. I have a feeling I would have left with the same impression if TDV was still alive and playing out today

Tony de Vit - overrated?

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