Lightspeed and Nokia presents KENNY DOPE (Masters At Work - New York USA). Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez is the embodiment of the eclectic sound of New York. His prolific body of work fuses soul, Latin, Afro-beat, jazz and funk, with house, hip-hop, disco, rap and R&B. To music connoisseurs, this regular Puerto Rican New Yorker is nothing short of a deity.

Kenny is one half of the most revolutionary house production team of the past decade. Since 1990, Masters At Work - his studio partnership with "Little" Louie Vega - has maintained an awe-inspiring output of dancefloor classics, spearheading the evolution of house music as we know it. The MAW Records imprint is now the biggest selling vinyl label in the world.

Not limited to one genre, Masters At Work are the undisputed remix champions. Kenny's list of clients includes the biggest names in music - from Michael Jackson to Madonna, Ray Charles to Roni Size, The Braxtons to Björk, Donna Summer to Daft Punk, Armand Van Helden to Aaliyah, Janet Jackson to Jamiroquai... nearly everyone has a MAW-touched track in their collection somewhere!

Simultaneously, Kenny has continued his stunning solo career, with house releases as The Bucketheads and The Untouchables - plus a wide range of hip-hop projects, many on his own Dope Wax label. Kenny's 1995 release under the Bucketheads moniker, 'The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)', topped the dance charts and is still the ultimate disco cut-up.

With 1997's multi-Grammy nominated 'NuYorican Soul' album, Masters At Work changed the direction of modern dance music. Acclaimed as an aural encyclopaedia of dance, its cross-cultural blend of styles, seamlessly mixed with live instrumentation, featured such all-time greats as Roy Ayres, George Benson, Jocelyn Brown and Tito Puente. MAW were crowned the "Kings Of New York".

The Brooklyn-raised block party beat-master remains true to his roots. With his long-established reputation as a DJ extraordinaire, Kenny is a highly sought after presence, performing at dance music's most memorable events - including centre-stage at his own NuYorican Soul concerts in Central Park.

"It's hard to believe that one of my records has been touched by God!" remarked
Nathan Haines when, at the start of this year, he became the first New Zealand artist to be honoured with two Kenny Dope remixes of his single, 'Believe'.

Hot off the shelves, the new Masters At Work album, 'Our Time Is Coming', is an elegant demonstration of universal house music - yet another extension of the MAW legacy of excellence.

http://www.mastersatworkinc.com

"Masters At Work still produce the best contemporary dance music. Their music is one step ahead of the rest... They've got Latin, house, dance, disco, hip-hop, funk, rare groove, jazz. They've got it all absolutely covered. That's what makes MAW the true masters." - Gilles Peterson

After years of rumours, Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez is finally coming to New Zealand - performing his legendary "Anything Goes" DJ set.

Wellington
Thursday 11 July - SubNine

Supported by Cian, Schmoo, Cuffy, John Saunders, DJ Vee & Zen

$42 preferential tickets @ Ticketek, Sounds (Lambton Quay), Tower Music
(Manners Mall), Real Groovy, Flipside & Planet Jack.com

Auckland
Friday 12 July - St. James Theatre Complex

Supported by Manuel Bundy, Roger Perry, P-Money, Nick D,
Stinky Jim, Cian, Chris Cox, Dan C & DJ Dick Johnson

$47 preferential tickets @ Ticketek, Sounds (Queen St, Broadway, Glenfield, Takapuna, Pakuranga, Manukau), BPM, Real Groovy, Beat Merchants,
Texas Radio & Burgerfuel