Jon Dasilva
The Hacienda in Manchester, circa 1988, was a special place; a convergence of post-modern architecture, cutting edge music, out there youth culture, Factory Records (arguably the most influential record label of the decade), the greatest bands for yet more decades to come, including New Order, The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, and three DJs that “pissed petrol on the fire” (Anthony.H.Wilson), were busy sound tracking the whole affair with a freshness of attitude that launched many, many clubs and even more DJ’s. You’ve read the books, seen the films, bought the albums, and yes, even worn the T-shirts! A great time was had by all…clearly!
One of the Hacienda Three, “perhaps The Hacienda’s most singular resident DJ”, is Jon Dasilva. Fresh to the scene in ’87, Dasilva had found DJ inspiration in the House and Disco DJ’s of deepest New York and Chicago, amidst a sea of influences from Bowie to Dub Reggae to Kosmische Musik and beyond…
As a DJ, these wide musical tastes and his ability to work so many genres into proper dance floor action also mark Dasilva out as specialist deck-master, taking his cues from the legends that inspired him, the likes of Francois Kevorkian and Ron Hardy. Considered an influence on a whole generation of DJs from Balearic Legend, DJ Moonboots to the ubiquitous star, Sasha, Jon has nevertheless retained a freshness of approach as displayed in his recent DJ mixes where his penchant for the varied shades of techno and house as well as his keen nose for sniffing out the most interesting modern producers have been so clearly evident.
A mercurial producer, he has had a string of cutting edge productions to his name spanning over three decades, on labels including Ellum Audio, Rush Hour, Soma, Mute, Deconstruction, Eskimo, and many more. Maceo Plex and Jon Dasilva were recently been awarded Best House Track 2012-13 at The International Dance Awards for Love Somebody Else. (Feat. Joi Cardwell)… He is in the process of finishing a second album with his band The Virgo Mechanically Replayed, alongside new electronic collaborations, which will see the light of day in 2018/19. Also look out for Dasilva’s label Moiré Product …a string of releases due this year after it’s debut with Starmer’s U Got in March this year. His collaboration with Posthuman continues (several I Love Acid Parties in Manchester in 2017/18) with their THIS IS ACID hybrid DJ/Live show (see simon@mam.agency for more details)
SASHA On Dasilva:
“Well Jon to me was the most influential DJ in my career really. He showed me the way! Not only did he give me my first breaks, my first proper, proper breaks, he taught me how to build DJ sets. I used to go and watch him play from 9pm and follow the whole night and listening to the way he crafted his DJ sets and his use of vocal a cappella and sound effects was just mind-blowing. He was so ahead of the game. I don’t think there’s another more influential person on my DJ career really.”
Contemporary DJ Mixes:
https://www.mixcloud.com/jondasilva/hallo-halo-look-at-the-owl-dj-mix-2014/
Classic Mixes from Jon Dasilva:
https://www.mixcloud.com/jondasilva/jon-dasilva-hot-night-mix-1988/
Dasilva on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPYZpGhlwso
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmFI-OBBNV8