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February 2009 Profile:
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By Juandingo
In these days of fleeting careers and flash in the pans we can easily say that this months profile is no stranger to the scene and has definitely put in work when it comes to his craft. This month is none other than Mike Constantino. For those not in the know, Mike Constantino is one of Dallas’ early rave jockeys and actually began djing in 1991 while living in College Station, Texas at various college bars in the area. His crowd and format then took a radical departure because shortly thereafter he moved to Dallas in 1994. With his move back to Big D this is where he hooked up with the legenedary Hazy Daze Collectif, who at the time were throwing forward-thinking warehouse parties which are now the stuff of Dallas lore.
Mike soon became a core member of the merrymakers and spent the next several years helping to organize the various events occurring in warehouses and clubs both here and including their trips national and abroad. This gave him some firsthand experience in helping to throw some of the largest parties Dallas has easily ever seen. This also helped progress his evolution as a dj by helping him make the transition into various high profile nightclub residencies which included a who’s who of nightspots at the time including Club One, 2826, SOA as well as the long standing Ruby Room Saturdays he shared with John Walker which helped to bring a large dose of international house music talent to Dallas to name just a few. These nights in particular served as the ground zero for the Dallas house music movement. During the course of all this time he has also managed to become a prolific producer as well. And while living with friends in the Exposition Area, Fair Park Records was born from idea to reality to become a creative music outlet and haven to such early local producers such as JT Donaldson and other house music luminaries.
With the success of this label firmly set in stone, Mike moved on to create something new and sometime later Soundproof Music was to follow the same footprint of breaking new ground with more classic underground house cuts which included the work of Mike and his buddy Waric Cameron. Their focus was always intent on pushing buttons and boundaries and relied on their ever present fascination with the UK and Reggae Sound System Culture dating back to Bristol and Nottingham and having their source in Jamaica. Consequently, over the years Mike has produced under various monikers and his music has been featured on a wide host of projects and international labels ranging with such notables as OM music, Fabric, Seamless, Bargrooves, Nordic Trax and Koch music. More recently, Mike has been living in London and just moved back in the past couple months and is looking to bring some of the flavour he’s soaked in abroad to Dallas proper. One such example is his and Brett Johnson’s idea of quality renegades in the form of their Masdelux parties. These events promise to bring back the old party aesthetic much talked about but rarely duplicated. They look to move venues but keep the vibe throughout. These are professional party people bringing it back to Dallas. Also, be sure and check Mike out on Thursdays at his and Terry Sims’ Bonus Beats night in the back room of Zubar as well at other upcoming Masdelux parties.
