DJ Sylvain

The muse of electronic music took over Sylvain's destiny the first time he laid his hands on decks and mixer. Silvano Fortuna is one of the last active night-clubbing legends in his homeland Slovenia. His career spans over three decades. He was working as a deejay even before techno and house were established as individual music genres and he’s still on the forefront of electronic music scene.

He was one of the main forces behind the big explosion of Slovenian electronic dance scene in the 90s and he’s to blame for the evolution of Slovenian house from the underground music genre that lived only in dark clubs into the hype that took over the mainstream radio stations. Until recently he was part of the crew which hosts the only daily prime time radio show build on live DJ program in the region. He has mixed and released more than 50 compilation albums, collaborated with biggest music stars in the region and made his name in the international circuit as an excellent house producer.


PERFECT MIX IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
In the world of deejay clones, which promote themselves as great technicians, Sylvain understands the art of turntablism and perfect beat matching and mixing only as a first step in the art of deejaying. He’s not stranger to simultaneous three-deck mixing, but what defines him most and makes him unique in comparison with his peers is his unique music taste and personal interaction with the crowd. His sets are musical journeys with perfect rising and lowering of the energy on the dance floor, skill which defines all great turntable masters. Although his passion for good music is unlimited, he established himself with eclectic house sets, reflecting the hedonistic Mediterranean influences blended with typical Slovenian rough underground electronic sound.

The other side of DJ Sylvain – the artist is eclecticism: he likes to play with records, combines classical vocal house with fresh edgy sounds, crosses trough the boundaries between soft and sharp, sweet and rough, deep into experimental productions. In his sets you can hear small personal touches made with the sounds from the 80s and 90s, which he grew up and as a musician evolved with, but are unknown to younger club-goers.

After all this years he still takes time to experiment with harder, less compromising sounds in backrooms of big clubs, although he’s mostly known as a perfect navigator for big arenas in which he has to put in motion dancers with very diverse music taste. And since he does that with such ease that it looks almost as child playing with its toys, the gig promoters often book him to warm their arenas for the global stars such as David Guetta, Martin Solveig, Steve Angello, Jocelyn Brown, Chris Lake, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, Shapeshifters, Seamus Haji, Spiller, Roman Flügel (Alter Ego), Lisa Millet or Syke 'n' Sugastarr.


BIG ROOM AND UNDERGROUND ANTHEMS
Silvano's first big success under the DJ Sylvain moniker, which he adopted few years ago, came almost without notice. If I … (Fell in Love) recorded with pop-rock vocalist Ursyna immediately burst out of the underground, crossed over into the mainstream and became huge success after being picked up for the Vodafone advertising campaign, and is still often heard on radio stations. The year later same happened with Stop the World collaboration with "Pamela Anderson’s younger sister" Petra, that won the Hero of the Future production competition. This track was also picked up by Vodafone. The third collaboration with Vodafone is this year’s biggest summer anthem in the region titled Call Me. This song was made by Sylvain, his partner in crime Shark and sung by fatal vocalist Lara Love. They’ve already filmed the video that debuted and is still heavily rotated on the MTV, but the track is still available for international release.

The other, tougher side of DJ Sylvain is represented on his underground productions that were released on different European and USA labels. Dance Avec Moi, The Exit (with Shark and Umek), Random Disaster, Life Installer and Africa all reflect his vivid passion for rougher electronica, house that blends with techno and electro elements. And this is exactly that kind of eclecticism and perfect touch for mixing commercial and underground elements which distinguish the most influential trend-setters in the industry.

Last but not least, DJ Sylvain recently took over the residency in Slovenia’s first virtual club in Second Life community. He’s chief of music program in Arena Life in the Slovenia region.

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DJ SYLVAIN (selected discography)

Single releases:
Sylvain - Dance Avec Moi, 2004
Sylvain ft. Ursyna - If I . (Fell in Love), 2005
Sylvain - Random Disaster, 2006
Sylvain - Life Installer, 2006
Sylvain - Africa, 2006
Sylvain ft. Petra - Stop the World, 2006
Sylvain & Shark & Umek - The Exit, 2006
Sylvain & Shark ft. Lara Love - Call Me, 2007
Sylvain & Shark - Make things Easier, 2008
Sylvain & Shark Ft. Hannah Y. - Let Love In, 2008
Sylvain & Shark - Lift Me Up, 2009
Sylvain & Mike Vale Ft. Lara Love - Mysterious, 2010
Sylvain - Balkanistic, 2010
Sylvain & Mike Vale Ft. LeeLooJamais - Still I Try, 2010
Sylvain & Mike Vale Ft. Hannah Mancini - Ti Si Tisti (Nothing But Love Will Do), 2011
Xequtifz - And We Danced (Mike Vale & Sylvain Remix), 2011
Brassila vs. Sylvain - The Race, 2012
Sylvain Vs. The Tide - Adieu, 2012
Sylvain - Whatever, 2013

Mix compilation
Sylvain & Shark – Smart at Heart 2