And though there's a popular dance-world theory that Madonna goes through DJs the way she does hairstyles, Calderone doesn't seem worried. For starters, he's avoiding the bite-that-hand-that-feeds-you shenanigans of some of his DJ predecessors, including Manhattan-based Junior Vasquez; in 1996, Vasquez, who manned the production helm for Madonna's Bedtime Stories that year, released the clever and widely played dance single "If Madonna Calls, I'm Not Home," after longtime fans accused him of selling out. Efforts by Madonna, her management and Warner Bros. Records to block the record's release were unsuccessful; since then, Vasquez hasn't had to worry about screening Madonna's calls -- they don't come -- and his career both as a DJ and as a remixer has been restricted to Manhattan and its ever-dwindling coterie of circuit party divas. Some say the incident was responsible for Madonna's exploration of Europe in her search for DJ talent to replace Vasquez.
"I think it was a bad move for him," says Calderone. "I don't know exactly how it went down, but from what I understand, Madonna herself didn't want it released, her management didn't want it released, and Warner Bros. didn't want it released. When you get phone calls from those people telling you not to put a project out, you listen, because you know you're burning a major bridge there."
He rocks the body: Victor Calderone.
Details
10 p.m. Saturday, May 12
$25-$35, 303-298-PURE
Pure, 2637 Welton Street
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Calderone describes his partnership with Madonna as a "great relationship," one that allows him to focus his energy creatively. As for his new down-tempo direction, it's something he says listeners will hear more of in the future -- a stylistic move that may be influenced by the fact that every significant regional dance scene from Paris to San Francisco to London has been slowing things down for the past couple of years. (New York City's hyperactive early-morning clubs failed to note the trend until recently, one of the reasons the city has fallen behind the global drift of dance music during the last five years.)
"I've been working on dance music for ten years now," Calderone says, "and I feel like I've done that format. I wanna do a 360 and drop the tempo, open some new avenues.
"I've really been feeling what Moby's doing," he says, referencing another New York club idol as the partial inspiration for his latest venture. "I remember when we were both spinning techno at the same clubs in 1991, and now I have so much respect for the direction he's taken. That's something I see for myself in the future."
Considering the cachet of artists Calderone has worked with since Madonna shined her ray of light on him, it's possible that it is his work you're hearing out on the dance floor, whether the beats are slow or slamming. His most recent project is a remix of Destiny's Child's "Survivor," the first single off the unit's 2001 full-length platter. Long-term goals include a deeper level of exploration inside the studio. Under the name Collaboration, Calderone and fellow Manhattan DJ Peter "Club 69" Rauhofer are currently working on a cover of Raze's house classic "Break 4 Love" that features Neil Tennant on vocals. The duo's debut full-length will be shaped over the course of the summer. According to Calderone, the effort will be an "experimental electronic" recording rather than a "[straightforward] dance album."
And so even Gotham's fastest and brightest remixer is feeling the urge to cut his speed and get with the down-tempo beats that have intrigued other world-class DJs. But don't expect Calderone to slow down for long.
