Nathan Coles [Fabric]
Resident at the prestigious superclub FABRIC in his hometown, London, Nathan enjoyed his musical journey at such seminal clubs as SPECTRUM at HEAVEN and the SUNRISE parties where the first generation of House Music entranced a whole generation. Nathan was there at the very beginning, ready to make his mark. Armed with a 10000 watt grin, and almost superhuman reserves of stamina, Nathan bumped and hustled his way into the hot, humid netherworld of the warehouse party scene, and in alliance with Mr C launched the legendary RELEASE parties. it was in 1994 however that he really cemented his lofty position in House Music's Hall of Fame when he and Terry Francis begun the infamous WIGGLE parties, and in the process, gave birth to musical movement now known as TECH-HOUSE. WIGGLE'S far-reaching reputation was officially recognized when it was nominated for "BEST UNDERGROUND CLUB' at the MUZIK MAGAZINE SAS awards.

In this respect Nathan can justifiably be called a musical pioneer, having spent the last 15 years as a kind of roving ambassador of Tech-House, laying down rapturously-received sets of loose-limbed, funk-fuelled House in an array of venues all over the world, such as: Space, Pacha, Bora Bora, Underground (Ibiza), D Edge and Lov E (Sao Paulo), Mint(Buenos Aires),The Milwegg, Stalker, Now Wow, Impulse, The Caves & Ofcorso (Holland), The Zouk(Singapore) Aria(Montreal), Folis Pigalle, RedLight , The Rex & FatKat (France) The Roxy & Summer of Love(Czech Republic) The Bomb, Turnmills and of course Layo and Mr C's club The End(UK)... to name but a few.

Nathan has also aquired a reputation as an excellent producer, having built up an essential portfolio of House and Breaks releases on labels such as Loaded, Visitor, Plank, 10 Kilo, Household, The End, Eukahouse and Funk'd (offshoot of Jamayka), picking up critical acclaims such as'Essential Release of The Month' for his and Nils Hess's"Get Fucked' albums. He has worked with the best, such as Mathew Bushwaka! Nils Hess, Asad Rizvi(Two Right Wrongans), Gareth Oxbey and Terry Francis. And remixes for Hardfloor, Kurtis Blow, DJ Pierre and most recently the acclaimed Will Saul track 'I got rhythm' reaching no. 3 in DJ Magazine's Breakbeat charts and appearing on his new album "Give me a Break", on 10 Kilo.Having recently built a studio at his home in London, and on his 4th release with his new label "Is This", Nathan thankfully shows no signs of slowing down. Like a fine wine he surely gets better with age, where his ability to read a crowd, taste in music and flawless mixing abilities never cease to amaze and astound.

* as you can see he fits Groove Nation's sound and ideals just like the many others from the past.

Toti Dalmacion [Groovenation]
-Words from MUSIKLOKAL.COM FORUM

Considered by many to be the Godfather of House and Techno in the country, Toti Dalmacion aka Toti D. paved the way for modern electronic dance music to to touch local soil and reach Filipinos ears.

Many can claim to be this and that but the man doesn't need all the superlatives that most local djs give themselves but for the uninitiated, Toti D. "is" Groove Nation and via his roving club/ rave Consortium in the mid 90's , he and his crew brought in a who's who in true blue house/techno and beyond. He was responsible for DJs and producers like Derrick May, Laurent Garnier, Richie Hawtin, Josh Wink, Derrick Carter, Stacey Pullen, Doc Martin, Swayzak, Terry Francis, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Misstress Barbara,Silicone Soul and many more to grace our shores.

As you can see from the calibre of talent he's brought in, he himself backs it up with his own mixing skills and through the years has given those who jumped on the scene early on, some of the funkiest, quirkiest, "no compromise" dj sets that do damage on the dancefloor and do your head in.

In 2003, he stopped DJing altogether and started his own record label,Terno Recordings which unleashed some of the most awe-inspiring, critically acclaimed releases from artists like Radioactive Sago Project, Up Dharma Down, Drip and introduced us to more great artists like Swissy,Sleepwalk Circus, Musical O and Giniling Festival etc. On Feb. 9 Saturday he returns to the scene he pioneered after a 6 year hiatus with the equally intense, Benjie Lopez, formerly with Burnscode and also of Groove Nation. You're definitely not going to dance to Bonnie Bailey or anthems that night but you'd be a fool not to check it out if you want your to dance your ass off to the "real" groove thang.

Photos from http://www.flickr.com/photos/7431764@N06/427820803/

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IT'S STILL A GROOVY NATION
From Radical Music Shop to Roving Dance Party to Laidback LAVA LOUNGE--- How Groove Nation Has Provided the Alternative
by Lionel Zivan S.Valdellon

published in LocalVibe.Com: May 1999

I remember visiting the old Groove Nation shop at the rooftop of Vernida Building on Amorsolo Street some years back. I drooled all over the records. Rack upon rack of rare new wave, funk, indie rock and jazz on vinyl. No place else at that time offered the same collection of music for sale, whether used or brand new. Remember, this was a few years before Music One, a lifetime before Tower Records. This was heaven for the collector of non-mainstream music… and fashion, since the shop boasted quite an array of vintage clothes and accessories.

It was a bit later when I learned about Consortium--- the progressive roving dance club organized by the Groove Nation collective (a band of eleven self-confessed music junkies) and initiated in 1993. The group decided that it was time to offer an intelligent alternative to the cheesy club music that was being played throughout Manila's nightspots, and came up with a regular "event" that would introduce the dance/DJ culture which the whole world was enjoying but which we hardly knew. They invited foreign DJs to spin their records for Consortium, they corraled venues and spread the word that Manila was invited to their regular out-of-bounds parties.

People called the Consortiums "raves"--- a term not exactly correct (since the local events hardly approximated the real things happening in Europe for example), but the term was bandied about so much that it gained general acceptance. Whatever term you used for it, Consortium was (and still is) always filled to the rafters with people eager to trip out to the sounds.

Groove Nation honcho and resident DJ, Toti Dalmacion explains: "Consortium is Groove Nation's platform for exposing and introducing modern electronic dance music and the rave culture to the Filipinos. Music is the main focus…to educate and get the people used to quality dance music. And here, everyone's equal." He talks about breaking down social barriers while celebrating life thru gyrations and 4-on-the-floor house music beats, about giving people an option apart from the music that's crammed down our throats on radio and in other clubs. And, yes, the people come to experience the alternative.

"We Filipinos tend to play it safe. Anything new, we tend to shy away from until everyone is into it," says Toti Dalmacion. Which is why Groove Nation is dedicated to exploring the uncharted territories of style and music. It's about staying one step ahead of what's 'uso'.

Even a venture into recording--- with the release of the Rivermaya Remixed album, produced primarily by Groove Nation DJs--- only helped strengthen the group's commitment to pushing for international-quality Philippine dance music.

But it seems like times are changing. We ask him about the newest addition to the Groove Nation family…the unofficial headquarters and hang-out, Lava Lounge at 2216 Laureano Building in Pasong Tamo, and how it's such a break from the electronic music they've been pushing.

Dalmacion explains, "For me the bottom line is always to be 'different' and every other place says that but i don't see the difference.especially with the music. Give them something that's unusual. Much like the monster that we helped push, 'raves'. Now it's rave this, rave that and that's why we set this up. It's completely opposite, a break so to speak. It's all about reinventing yourself and moving into different directions, always two steps ahead. When you think like this then you have something new to offer and hopefully people will appreciate it and come back for more."

After the music shop and the roving parties, Lava Lounge is a laidback retro place playing traditional jazz, '50s soundtracks, '60s MOD stuff, samba, mambo, bossa nova, torch songs, spy themes and lots of obscure and incredibly weird music. Martinis are served, as well as the city's tastiest bar chow: Wasabe chips. And the atmosphere? Like their ads say, it's the most comfortable lounge on earth.

After all is said and done, the truth remains that Groove Nation collective are bent on giving us quality alternatives, good options, to what's already out there saturating our senses. And truly, it's about time.