TRUE HOUSE STORIES W/ BOBBY & STEVE (GROOVE ODYSSEY) # 093 - PART 2
A visit to Larry Levan's world renowned Paradise Garage club in 1987, just three months before the club closed its doors forever, gave them their first taste of a new sound, later dubbed 'Garage' music, a sound which American jocks such as Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles and Tony Humphries were championing.
Evolving from the more soulful and gospel parts of disco, US garage music, with its soaring vocals, intricate melodies and jazzy instrumentals, captured the ears of the twins. They had found their sound - dance music that still contained their beloved soulful influences. Klub Zoo was instrumental in planting the UK roots for what became more commonly referred to as ‘house music’. Inspired by what they had witnessed in NYC, Bobby & Steve wasted no time in launching their iconic new brand ‘Garage City’.
Hailed as the UK's most established house night it was renowned for playing the best in soulful, funky and uplifting US garage, this side of the Atlantic. Joined regularly by the biggest names from the house spectrum such as Masters at Work, Kerri Chandler, Tony Humphries, Eric Morillo, Todd Terry and Danny Tenaglia, to name but a few. Telstar Records released various Garage City compilation albums mixed by Bobby & Steve and to mark its ten-year anniversary Defected Records released a ‘10 Years of Garage City' album also mixed by the duo. The iconic club Fabric in London hosted its 10th birthday party. Garage City also enjoyed successful seasons at Ibiza super club Es Paradis. The growing success of house music alongside their outstanding reputation as both DJ’s and promoters placed them in high demand throughout the nineties.
Bobby & Steve were regular guest DJ’s at the biggest club nights across the globe. They founded their ‘Summervibes Dance Weekenders’ which were a sell out each time and launched their own record labels producing their own tracks as well as for artists such as Leroy Burgess. They were in high demand on the remix side, reworking tracks for the likes of Faith Evans on behalf of P Diddy’s Bad Boy Records.
In 1997 they were nominated for a MOBO Award and in 2001 they travelled to Asia to DJ at the MTV Asia Music Awards party. The new millennium brought about a new chapter for Bobby & Steve and in that same year they launched their new night Soul Heaven at the Ministry of Sound as well as a weekly Ibiza residency at the illustrious El Divino.
At the Ministry launch night, the twins joined by Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez played to over two thousand party people with a further one thousand queuing outside. The brand went from strength to strength with Defected Records releasing a ‘Soul Heaven’ compilation mixed by the Bobby & Steve. In 2008 alongside their business partner Michael Hughes, the new powerhouse ‘Groove Odyssey’ record label and club event was created. Ten years strong, the brand’s label is churning out original releases and compilation albums to critical acclaim. 2017 saw Groove Odyssey embark on a white isle adventure and their hugely successful GO Ibiza weekender, has been running for three years now and kicks off the island's summer season in May with the line-up for 2020 soon to be released. The five-day event hosts hundreds of clubbers from around the globe alongside an unrivalled line up of the biggest and best DJ's from the house music fraternity.
In 2020 life takes a big change with the Covid Pandemic hitting all, in the early part before the lockdown began both Bobby & Steve contracted Covid.
Listen to the story unfold how they both coped with the virus and how they are today.
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