Hotel DJs In The News

On June 19, New York Times columnist Daniel Altman offered up a stellar column on one aspect of DJ culture rarely making the mainstream press. In the Travel section of NYTimes.com, under the heading Music, Altman’s
Never Mind the Concierge, Where’s the D.J.?
spotlights thriving hotel-based lounge culture driven by talented DJs spinning a wide variety of electronic, dance, hip hop and international beats at some of the world’s coolest hotels. In these days of relentless paparazzi shoving their way into the paths of jet setting young trendsetters, high profile celebrities and well heeled, respected businessmen and women, instead of partying outside the hotel at a super hot nightspot, the party is now happening at the hotel! Where the paparazzi’s camera’s are shielded from the goings on inside.

I’d love to reprint the article here, but the NYTimes.com requires reprint fees of $150 per article for one month, so
you’ll have to follow this link to it if you can.
It may not be free to view, as most NYTimes.com articles are free for a few days and then are archived and only be accessed by paying a fee. This one seems to be clear of that requirement for now.

Altman writes about Stéphane Pompougnac, DJ a the Hôtel Costes in Paris since 1997. Pompougnac’s DJ career took off spinning in the hotel’s restaurant. Actor Robert DeNiro, pop-star Madonna and a few French artists would come specifically to listen to him mix, and one day Pompougnac approached the hotel’s owner about creating a mix-CD to leave as a gift for guests. And so was born the Hôtel Costes CD on French label, Pschent, in 1999.

Other trendy, world class hotels have followed the example set by Pompougnac and the Hôtel Costes, releasing their own custom CD compilations. The Bauer in Venice, Arena in Amsterdam and the Soho Grand and sister hotel, Tribeca Grand, under the tutelage of promoter, Tommy Saleh, are now releasing compilation CD’s as well.

Nice’s Hi Hotel even brought in F-Communications superstar DJ/Producer, Laurent Garnier, and his label partner, Eric Morand to book DJs and acts at the hotel every weekend. And, Ingmari Pagenkemper, music manager at the Lydmar Hotel in Stockholm has been bringing in a variety of acts.

Here is a listing of hotel bars mentioned in the article:

Hôtel Costes, 239, rue St.-Honoré, Paris; (33-1) 42.44.50.00; www.hotelcostes.com.

Lydmar Hotel, Sturegatan 10, Stockholm; (46-8) 566 113 00; www.lydmar.se.

Hi Hotel, 3, avenue des Fleurs, Nice, France; (33-4) 97.07.26.26; www.hi-hotel.net.

Soho Grand, 310 West Broadway, New York; (212) 965-3588; www.sohogrand.com.

The Church Lounge at the Tribeca Grand,
2 Avenue of the Americas, New York, (212) 519-6677, www.tribecagrand.com.

Here are the remaining six Hôtel Costes mix CD’s, compiled by Stéphane Pompougnac and available at Amazon.com:

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