Dresden (Ivan Smagghe & Manfredas)
Ivan Smagghe belongs to a top table of DJs that journalists like to describe as “The DJ’s DJ"". He has the ability to play music like a raw conduit between famously obscure records whilst never losing sight of the dance floor’s strobe-soaked bodies, injecting something of himself seamlessly into the mix along the way.
His genre-defying/defining production from Black Strobe, It’s A Fine Line and now Smagghe & Cross has connected him and garnered praise from the likes of Craig Richards, Vladimir Ivkovic, Paranoid London, Optimo, Manfredas, Solar and of course, his long time friend Andrew Weatherall, all fellow crusaders in the fight to prove that electronic music is so much more than a one-dimensional soundtrack for a night on the lash, and so much more than an Instagram account.
You can catch Ivan subverting the masses any given weekend in clubs and festivals such as Lux/Lisbon, Nitsa/Barcelona, Rex/Paris, In Between/Los Angeles, Arma17/Moscow, Corsica Studios/London, Nuits Sonores/Lyon, Love International/Croatia, Houghton/Norfolk and many other dens of iniquity worldwide.
Manfredas. The name packs a hefty punch. After years spent amassing knowledge as a radio DJ, he took his talents to the club, where he's been convincing the unconvinced ever since. This man has a gift for throwing his every physical move hammering home the strength of his musical convictions. From the unique way he palms the jog wheel to the ardent torque of his dancing, music feels a little more impactful in his midst.
Manfredas' ascent has been aided by musical cult leaders enthusiastically co-signing on his taste and talent. Ivan Smagghe championed his tracks on the LDDM label, aligning with his love of cold-wave-chug, electro-chug, and neo-trance-chug. Realizing which way the chug was blowing, Red Axes inducted him as the only non-Israeli in the Garzen crew, resonating with his uncanny sense of the bizarre and the beautiful. Meanwhile, global groove gurus Multi Culti harnessed his affinity for wild, off-kilter ethno-charms, encouraging the big guy to cool it with the booze, go healthy and maximize productivity. All have invited him on tour, and audiences around the world have been blown away by the epic b2bs, breathtaking b2b2bs, and miraculous b2b2b2bs.
As one of the key residents and programmers at Opium Club in Vilnius, where he runs his clubnight 'Smala', Manfredas has been instrumental in creating a culture that has led some mega-respected DJs to call it their favorite club in the world. The space feels like a feedback loop of love, dramatic intensity, and open-minded passion that draws everyone deeper into the music. Fact: the best DJs are always residents. Fact: Opium just might be the best club in existence. Logic dictates our man is a champ.
Ivan Smagghe belongs to a top table of DJs that journalists like to describe as “The DJ’s DJ"". He has the ability to play music like a raw conduit between famously obscure records whilst never losing sight of the dance floor’s strobe-soaked bodies, injecting something of himself seamlessly into the mix along the way.
His genre-defying/defining production from Black Strobe, It’s A Fine Line and now Smagghe & Cross has connected him and garnered praise from the likes of Craig Richards, Vladimir Ivkovic, Paranoid London, Optimo, Manfredas, Solar and of course, his long time friend Andrew Weatherall, all fellow crusaders in the fight to prove that electronic music is so much more than a one-dimensional soundtrack for a night on the lash, and so much more than an Instagram account.
You can catch Ivan subverting the masses any given weekend in clubs and festivals such as Lux/Lisbon, Nitsa/Barcelona, Rex/Paris, In Between/Los Angeles, Arma17/Moscow, Corsica Studios/London, Nuits Sonores/Lyon, Love International/Croatia, Houghton/Norfolk and many other dens of iniquity worldwide.
Manfredas. The name packs a hefty punch. After years spent amassing knowledge as a radio DJ, he took his talents to the club, where he's been convincing the unconvinced ever since. This man has a gift for throwing his every physical move hammering home the strength of his musical convictions. From the unique way he palms the jog wheel to the ardent torque of his dancing, music feels a little more impactful in his midst.
Manfredas' ascent has been aided by musical cult leaders enthusiastically co-signing on his taste and talent. Ivan Smagghe championed his tracks on the LDDM label, aligning with his love of cold-wave-chug, electro-chug, and neo-trance-chug. Realizing which way the chug was blowing, Red Axes inducted him as the only non-Israeli in the Garzen crew, resonating with his uncanny sense of the bizarre and the beautiful. Meanwhile, global groove gurus Multi Culti harnessed his affinity for wild, off-kilter ethno-charms, encouraging the big guy to cool it with the booze, go healthy and maximize productivity. All have invited him on tour, and audiences around the world have been blown away by the epic b2bs, breathtaking b2b2bs, and miraculous b2b2b2bs.
As one of the key residents and programmers at Opium Club in Vilnius, where he runs his clubnight 'Smala', Manfredas has been instrumental in creating a culture that has led some mega-respected DJs to call it their favorite club in the world. The space feels like a feedback loop of love, dramatic intensity, and open-minded passion that draws everyone deeper into the music. Fact: the best DJs are always residents. Fact: Opium just might be the best club in existence. Logic dictates our man is a champ.
