Tony Hewitt has firmly set his foundations in the US having living in Manchester back in \'88. From there he has placed himself on the list as a recognised producer, superb DJ, and owner of a fantastic label;Tango Recordings... can life be much better... more inside!

Tony, firstly can you give us a brief intro to yourself: ie. Yout move from the UK over to the States.

TONY: \"Ive been dj\'ing for 0ver 10 yrs, I moved from Manchester England in 88 to LA and started dj\'ing not long after.Im live in San Francisco now, been there for 10 yrs. Ive dj\'d all over America, and San Francisco is the best place for sure to play. I was mostly influenced musically by Doc Martin in LA, he\'s still one of the biggest dj\'s in the US. \"

EXTRACT FROM THE TANGO SITE:

\"A native of Manchester, England, Tony came to the US in 1988. While living in southern California he discovered LA\'s underground warehouse parties where he would hear DJ\'s like Doc Martin, Steve Loria,Barry Weaver and Michael Cook who inspired him to start DJ\'ing. In 1992, he moved to San Francisco where he began a residency at the legendary gathering parties, funky tekno tribe and guest spots at Come Unity, the longest running underground club in SF. To date, he has DJ\'d all over the US, Canada,
and Europe, with guest spots at Fabric in London, the Bomb in Nottingham, Spain and Croatia. With a busy production schedule and running both labels Tango and Nightshift, there are a lot of exciting things in the works.

The whole 6400 crew sound has been getting a lot of play and attention by top DJ\'s all over the world for some time now. Tony and the rest of the Crew have recorded for the best and most respected labels in British and US house without a doubt. Their aim was to really get their sound out there and heard on labels like Soma, Yoshitoshi, Low Pressings, Shaboom, 20-20 Vision, Siesta, Primal and the list goes on. Their music
can also be heard regularly on Pete Tong\'s radio 1 show, along with other Radio 1 favourites Lottie and Yousef.

Tony and the rest of the 6400 Crew have always kept a strong underground feel in everything they do,with the music they make and also when they DJ. It\'s a sound that has been slowly developing for years (from parties happening on the west coast of America), that started in the late 80\'s and is sure to be heard for a long time to come.\"

Your career stems back a long way, which people have influenced you through the evolution of house music?

TONY: I like a lot of different people, In house music derrick Carter, Swag, Mark Bell (shaboom) a lot of that early British House, like early Junior Boys Own, Andy Weatherall stuff was a big influence. Other influences, Kraftwerk, a lot of music out of Manchester, bands like A Certain Ratio.


How long have you been producing, and what are some of the projects you are involved in, both with Tango and outside you own label?

TONY: Ive been producing for about 6 years, ive worked with a lot of producers in California. About 3yrs now with 6400 CREW. I slowly built a studio over the years and it just took off from there.


Can you give us some further information on your Tango Recordings. As part of the 6400 Crew we see many releases from that on the label, what else is to come in the near future?

TONY: Tango has been going for 2 yrs now, were coming up to our 20th release. it\'s been great, we all ( 6400 CREW ) started labels about the same time. We\'d had so many releases on other labels, I just wanted to start something of my own. it\'s been really fun, lots of work, but good. Were excited for the upcoming months, lots of good stuff coming up. New project from Jay-J Hipp-e and Halo together, under the name Moulton Manglers, a new Tony Thomas on the way. Artists have been, all 6400 CREW, Chris Lum, LHK and Da Sunlounge.


Do you find yourself edging between DJ\'ing and producing, or is there an equal amount of time and love for both?

TONY: Love doing both, find myself locked away in the studio midweek and weekends are just dj\'ing.


With being a recognised and efficient producer, does it help you in DJ\'ing? .. knowing what tracks to play and what points in the set ect?

TONY: No, but it helps if you have dj experience for producing I think. But not vice versa .


What projects will be released soon for you away from your label?

TONY: Ethnic Souls, just coming out on Tango. It\'s a project I did with Halo.Also have a solo project on Elektrik Soul, a new Soma project on the way with Hipp-e under \' Soul Interactive\' and a new project on Nightshift i did in Madrid last year with DJ Chus and ceballos, Should be out in July.


Over the next few months, what are your aims? where would you like to be taken?

TONY: Work on the labels more, more travelling dj\'ing in Europe. I love spain, it\'s the best place ive been to. Barcelona is one of my favourite city\'s.


So finally, with the move from the UK back in \'88, how do you see the American scene at the moment? and is it on the rise?

TONY: it\'s great , LA and San Francisco are the best for clubs in California. For producers, youv\'e heard all the names, Jay-J, Chris Lum , Miguel Migs, H-Foundation, David alvarado, Mark Farina, They all live here. So you get to hear great dj\'s all the time.

TANGO RECORDINGS DISCOGRAPHY:
TR001:Onionz & Tony-\'summer\'
TR002:Halo Hipp-e & Tony-\'three to tango\'
TR003:Hipp-e & Tony-\'Interactive Night\'
TR004:Eleketrik Soul Brothers-\'6400 Crew Theme\'
TR005:Joint Ventures-\'Interactive Night\' Remixes
TR006:Joeski-\'Stateside Connection\'
TR007:Afterdark Inc-\'Boom\'
TR008:6400 Crew-\'Down In A Land\'
TR009:Peter Black-\'Spell Of Dub\'
TR010:Solomonic Sound-\'Remember Garnett\'
TR011:Chris Lum-\'Bigger Tool\' EP
TR012:Solomonic Sound Remixes Blakkat & Afterdark Inc
TR013:Paul Davidson-\'Vinyl Roads\' EP
TR014:Tony Thomas Feat Chris Rodriguez-\'Amigos\' EP
TR015:Onionz
TR016:Da Sunlounge
TR017:LHK

So, after the Interview..what is Tony personally charting himself?.....>>

Tony Hewitt. 6400 CREW . Tango/ Nightshift

1. Nervous Acid : Jay tripwire remix. Downtown White
2. Jose devina.Ethnic tribe : Joeski Mix : Maya
3. LHK & ALex Moran : Sometimes. Detour
4. Blake. Saturday night . Joshua Mix . Ideal
5. Papa Washington trio. D\'julz mix. Paper
6. Dizzy .Nappy Funk. Bluem
7. Ethnic Souls .\"feel Alright\" : Tango
8. Atomfunk . Dub . Toko
9. DJ Ali. White Label. Leaf
10. Harris Grooves. heeby Jeeby. Tronic sole
11. Mazi. Detour 003 white Label
12. Dirty Vegas . Ghosts Joeski Dub . Credence
13. Hanna Time . Lawnchair generals mix . Viva
14. Barrio Brothers. Hold on to your love. Fred Everything mix. Shaboom
15. Chris Lum. get Connected : Nightshift

Many thanks to Tony from me and all at i:Vibes!

check out his site: www.tangorecordings.com