Date Signed: January 2013
Venue: The Wynn Las Vegas
Type of Music: House
Band Members: Dragan Roganovic
Management: Stephanie LaFera
Booking: [email protected]
Legal: Ed Shapiro
Publicity: Jessica Erskine, [email protected]
Web: http://dirtysouth.com
A&R: Dirty South
To sign or not to sign? Fortunately Dirty South (Dragan Roganovic) had the means to avoid the label-signing situation altogether and started his own, Phazing Records, in 2010. The Grammy-nominated Australian DJ and producer has toured heavily for the past five years as well as collaborated and done remixes for names both huge and diverse including U2 and Snoop Dogg. Though he has no need to get picked up by a label, recently Dirty South has done some signing of a different sort. A major Las Vegas resort and casino, The Wynn, signed the artist for an exclusive yearlong residency.
Dirty South debuted Feb. 1 at XS Nightclub, the first of a series of performances there and another Wynn venue, Encore Beach Club. The DJ says in a press release that fans can expect some “cool surprises” throughout the year.
“Always try to make a record yours as much as you can.”
Alongside this huge step forward, Dirty South finally released an album of his own, Speed of Life, on iTunes March 5 and on CD March 18th. With contributions from Rudy, Ruben Haze (a side project between Rudy and Dirty South) and Joe Gil, Dirty South’s debut LP is a variation of the different musical moods of the artist and the product of his touring experiences.
It was during a US tour that Dirty South finally decided to use Phazing Records as an outlet for his first full-length, simply because, as he says, “it just felt right, and timing was perfect.”
He looks at the album as a chance to show different sides. “There are high-energy tracks, vocal tracks, laid back tracks. It’s a concept of the way I work and the different things I can do. The things I normally do are pop-based, purely for the dance floor. A lot of the album is that, but at the same time, I was able to do different stuff,” he says.
Once he decided to make the album, Dirty South committed to the studio, finishing the record in three months. And it was the record he wanted. “I think you should always try to make a record yours as much as you can, and on your terms. The way it comes out, the way it looks, the way people see it. I think that’s important. I think it has to reflect who you are.”
By Jessica Pace
