Dean Zone - My Year In Hard Dance

What's been your biggest achievement of the year?

It has to be getting my label Zone Traxx off the ground. It's taken what feels like an age to get everything in place and find enough tracks that are good enough, but i'm chuffed to bits that I finally got there in the end. It's something I have been planning to do for 3 years but I only started actually getting the ball rolling in early 2011, so it felt good when the first release came out, and on my birthday of all days too!

What moments will you never forget?

There's been a few; getting to play @ Eden in Ibiza, finally launching my Zone Traxx label, signing one of my tracks to Bionic, seeing some excellent feedback from some amazing DJs and Producers for some of my tracks released earlier this year, but the best one was standing in the middle of a packed dance floor at RAW back in April. The event was a culmination of 5 months hard work with 5 other promoters in one of London's biggest clubs. It involved lots of time, money and was very stressful at times, but in the end it was worth it and I can't wait to do it all again next year.

Who's been your favourite newcomer of the year?

It's a toss up between DJ W, Dave J and The Locust, but I am going to go for DJ W. He just rocked up out of nowhere with half a dozen awesome tracks, including "Value" which is one of my favourite tunes of 2011.

Who's been the artist of the year for you?

It's a 4 way tie between Sa.Vee.Oh, SHOCK:FORCE, DJ W and Nomad.

What's been your favourite label of the year?

So many great labels to choose from, but I am going to say High Fish Digital as they are probably the most consistent.

What do you think has been the best track of the year?

Nomad - Ahead Of The Curve (Acid Mix). Works without fail every time.

What's been your favourite event of the year?

RAW @ The Colusseum on Friday 2nd April. But then I am biased, haha!

What's the funniest thing that's happened to you?

Being locked out of my Hard Dance Ibiza room for the entire night by my room mates because they thought that the person banging on the door in a very drunken manner was some Chav who was going to rob them blind at knifepoint...

What do you have planned for the next year?

I have big things planned for my new label Zone Traxx for next year. I have some amazing original productions signed and some awesome remixes to boot, from established and new artists alike, so keep your eyes peeled for those! I also have loads of my own tracks signed to other labels which should be out next year, as well as more Rebellion events from myself and the Rebellion Collective too!

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