Influenced by equal parts of Kraftwerk, AC/DC, and Farley Jackmaster Funk, mid-west rave legend and Brooklyn, NY resident Tommie Sunshine is raising the bar. Covering ground as artist, remixer, producer, label owner, DJ, journalist and songwriter with his unexplainable DJ sets and legendary live performances now traveling the globe it won't be long before there will be, at least a little, Tommie Sunshine in your life.
His studio collaborations have included Felix Da Housecat, James Murphy, Arthur Baker, Mylo and DJ Hell; he has played everywhere from the Electroclash festivals in New York to Bjork's tour wrap party in Reykjavik to serving as support DJ on the Spring 2003 leg of Fischerspooner's North American tour to opening for New Order in London to Colette parties in Paris beside 2 Many DJs to Vice Magazine launch parties in Tokyo and he has rocked crowds in Mexico City, Barcelona, Munich, Sao Paulo, Berlin & Rio de Janeiro. As an established remixer, Tommie (alongside long time collaborator Mark Verbos) has been requested to retouch work from a diverse list of Good Charlotte, Kelis, Louis XIV, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Elvis Presley, Pink, The Killers, 'Da Brat, P.O.D., Fischerspooner, The Faint, Kill Hannah, Ima Robot, Ladytron and Avril Lavigne. Furthermore, major fashion houses have asked Tommie for his deck time such as Versace, Raf Simons, Chanel, Xavier Delcour and Jeremy Scott – Beverly Hills. At SXSW 2005 he was even asked by Paul Frank to design a signature pair of sunglasses for their 2006 collection. Now with all this under his belt, Tommie is setting the international stage for the release of his debut album this year and an album preview on Hell's label, International DeeJay Gigolos. His first artist single 'Head 2 Toe In Drag/Dance Among The Ruins' is out now via his own imprint, xylophone jones Recordings. Tommie's original music has also been featured in a film by designer Jeremy Scott, NY hotel Tribeca Grand's website, Blockbuster Video radio spots, a CD advertisement for the fashion label Chanel and on the CBS show "Without A Trace". He was also commissioned to do score work for the upcoming Paramount Pictures film Bad News Bears.
But far from an overnight sensation - the spotlight has been a long time coming for Tommie - after six years in Georgia where he ran Satellite Records - Atlanta and held down two residencies at Club Sol and Fusion, he moved back to Chicago for four years establishing club nights ElectroSweat and Degeneration, holding down the position of promotional director of the Midwest dance mecca Dust Traxx and being named in URB magazine's 'Next 100'. As a member of Thee Maddkatt Courtship with longtime collaborator Felix Da Housecat, Tommie co-produced "Cosmic Pop" for ffrr/London Records and worked again with Felix & Miss Kittin - co writing "Silver Screen", "Happy Hour" and "Glitz Rock" - on the award winning 2002 "Kittenz & Thee Glitz" LP that Thom Yorke of Radiohead is quoted in URB Magazine saying, "That should have been fucking number one all over the world". The single "Silver Screen (Shower Scene)" continues to be a dance floor classic around the world years after release. The duo returned to the studio again for Felix's new album "Devon Dazzle & The Neon Fever" and the first single, "Rocket Ride" is co-written and co-produced by the duo as well as the track "Everyone Is Someone In LA". Since his move to New York, Tommie also worked with International Deejay Gigolo records supremo DJ Hell and DFA's James Murphy on Hell's "NY Muscle" LP and has produced and written a track with DJ Magazine's 2004 Artist Of The Year, Mylo. Tommie was also featured DJing in Billy Corgan's post-Smashing Pumpkins band Zwan's video for the song "Lyric".
His long history in the mid west rave scene made him a major source for Mireille Silcott's novel, "Rave America" and earned him an appearance in Peter Jennings Reporting on ABC, two separate BBC documentaries on House Music as well as the just out on DVD rave documentary "Rise". In addition, Tommie has been featured in print magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, The Face, Paper, Self Service, The Fader, Muzik, URB, Mixer, Big Shot, Filter, BPM, XLR8R, Teen People, Rolling Stone, Time Out NY & London, Raveline, iDJ and Groove in addition to newspapers such as The New York Times, The Reader (Chicago), Miami Herald, Boston Weekly Dig, City Pages (Minneapolis), Houston Chronicle, LA Weekly, Creative Loafing (Atlanta) and Village Voice (NYC) who named him "Best DJ with ridiculous fashion sense" in their Best Of 2004 issue. He is also a contributing writer for SPIN with his regular column "Tommie Sunshine's Riot Sounds Of The Underground". He has also been establishing his own presence as A&R and label owner with xjR - upcoming releases and feature work from Hakan Lidbo, Jon Autry, Gabe Cantanzaro, Ulysses, Exotika, Kerowack, Binge & Purge, Junior Sanchez, a cast of shocking newcomers and Tommie himself. 2004 also brings Tommie to radio, doing a monthly feature on XM Channel 80: The Move - nominated for a DanceStar award in 2004. His xylophone jones Recordings Showcase at WMC 2004 was named by URB Magazine as the #2 event of Conference in between Ultra Music Festival and BBC Radio 1 Essential Selection and WMC 2005 saw Tommie on the decks over a dozen times in just five days.
Rock House, ElectroDiscoPunk & Lo-Fi Dance Pogo is what you can expect from the decks and a full-blown, unpredictable party is what you can expect through the speakers and on the dance floor.