going down down down

A few months ago I posted about Gabriel and Dresden, San Francisco based djs and producers that have gained international fame. One of the bonus links was for a contest to remix their monster single “Tracking Treasure Down.” This evening it occurred to me that I never found out who had won the contest and, as it turns out, the answer is quite interesting.

Two years ago, Chris VanderKolk graduated high school, enrolled at Eastern Michigan University and went to his first club – Blue in Detriot. The djs playing that night were Gabriel and Dresden. Inspired, he dedicated himself to remixing and creating electronic music. Fast forward to this spring and it is clear that Chris’s work has been paying off. Not only did he select a cool performance name (Retrobyte), but he won G&D’s remix contest. Released on G&D’s own label Organized Nature as ON 005 you can buy the Retrobyte Vocal and Retrobyte dub mixes of Tracking Treasure Down from Beatport.

More exciting for Chris, he created a track (Going Down) that has been getting massive support from the likes of Sander Kleinenberg and Markus Schulz. Özgür Can developed a deliciously twisted dub to accompany the original mix, and G&D signed the track and are releasing it on Organized Nature. The official release is in October, but you can buy it early from either Beatport or iTunes. It is very large, and it is destined be one of the top club songs of the year.

Retrobyte - Going Down (iTunes Prerelease) (Beatport)

Chris is hosting two dj sets on his server, and I recommend downloading them. They are very well programmed and mixed, and they are the only source for some of his new remix work like the storming Here With You from Robbie Russell.

Retrobyte - TheBounceFM (05-10-06)
00) Way Out West - Don't Forget Me (Intro) [Distinctive]
01) Noir - My MTV (Chris Lake Remix) [Toolroom Records]
02) Serge Devant and Filo & Peri - Electric Funk (Lys & Gigi Remix) [Baroque Ltd.]
03) Noel Sanger - Falling Through (Original Mix) [Baroque Ltd.]
04) Motorcycle - Around You (Nynex & Trent Cantrelle Mix) [CD-R]
05) Retrobyte - Going Down (Club Mix)
06) Above & Beyond - Alone Tonight (Matthew Dekay Remix) [Anjunabeats]
07) Retrobyte - Hot Damn (Guitar Mix) [Undermine Records]

Retrobyte - June 2006 Promo
01) Lindstrom - I Feel Space (Original Mix)
02) Micha Moor - Slip & Slide
03) Filthy Rich - It's Like That (Funkagenda's Bombay Badder Remix)
04) Gabriel & Dresden - Tracking Treasure Down (Retrobyte's 'Breakfast Special' Remix)
05) Silicone Soul - Under a Werewolf Moon (Martinez Full-Moon Madness Mix)
06) Jody Wisternoff - Cold Drink, Hot Girl (Original Mix)
07) Dr. Kucho & Gregor Salto - Can't Stop Playing (Klaas & Micha Moor Remix)
08) Steve Angello - Straight (Original Mix)
09) Noir - My MTV (D. Ramirez 'Evil Business' Edit)
10) Robbie Russell - Here With You (Retrobyte Vocal Mix)

Chris still works at Trader Joe’s but I am suspecting that that will change. He is a rising star in electronic music and it seems like he is a really nice kid. Listen to more of his music and read his blog on myspace. If you enjoy it, drop him an IM (Retrobyte on AIM). I certainly wish him the best of luck and I look forward to his future releases.