May 7, 2013

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DJ/Remixer Peter Rauhofer, 48 passes away

The Grammy winning DJ/remixer/producer/record label owner lost his battle with brain cancer today at the age of 48. Originally from Austria, Peter began his career working as a record label A&R for Gig Records. He made forays into DJing and production a short time after.

Peter's first major release was under the alias Danube Dance with "Unique." which went on to be an underground hit. Under his most famous production alias of Club 69 with Eric Kupper and Georg O'Luksch, "Let Me Be Your Underwear", "Sugar Pie Guy", and "Take A Ride" followed. These appeared on the full length album Adults Only released in 1995. A second album, Style was released in 1997. In addition to usual vocalist Kim Cooper, he introduced a new singer Suzanne Palmer who had only done a handful of songs at the time. "Drama", "Much Better", "Alright", and "Muscles" were the major hits from the album. After Twisted Records closed, Peter created the Star 69 label to release his own tracks as well as for a number of other artists. Amuka, Lula, Offer Nissim with Maya Simantov, and Suzanne Palmer were some of the label's biggest successes.

In addition to the original productions, Peter remixed almost every major artist including Annie Lennox, Beyonce, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Deborah Cox, Depeche Mode, Donna Summer, Duran Duran, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, k.d. lang, Kristine W, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Nelly Furtado, Pet Shop Boys, P!nk, Rihanna, Seal, Scissor Sisters, Shakira, Toni Braxton, Tori Amos, Whitney Houston, and Yoko Ono. These are just some who he did remixes for. Of the aforementioned artists, he notably remixed Madonna's songs more than any of the others. Peter won a Grammy in 2000, and was nominated again in 2001 and 2004 (for his mix of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful"; the category of Best Remixer used to be for a body of work for a particular year until it was changed in 2002).

In just the past year, Peter had begun to actively remix again completing both official and private mixes of Adele, Alicia Keys, Gossip, Inaya Day, Janet Jackson, Kazaky, Madonna, Miasha, Mika, Offer Nissim, P!nk, Rihanna, Scissor Sisters, Swedish House Mafia, Toni Braxton, Tori Amos, and will.i.am & Britney Spears.

In addition to his many remixes and productions, Peter DJed regularly, often playing his many private collection mixes. For several years, he had a regular residency at the legendary Roxy club until its closure. He also played at Spirit and Stereo at various times too. He notably played at The Saint At Large's Black Party held at Roseland. Peter had his Work party events several times year, often co-headlining with other newer DJs.

Despite the many changes in Dance music both in terms of tastes, styles, and industry shifts, Peter constantly reinvented himself staying relevant and successful more than 2 decades. He leaves behind a tremendous body of work that is almost unparalleled by any of his contemporaries. He will be truly missed.

Condolences, messages, and stories may be posted and shared on his official Facebook page here


Some of Peter's best remixes:

Eurythmics - 17 Again (sorry, it won't let me embed)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIfsXlSMbYw

 

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