Ariel

Ariel Belloso (born September 14, 1967) is an Argentine, UK-based DJ and record producer. He began his career playing new wave and disco music at clubs in the city of Rosario during the early 1980s, later moving to Buenos Aires. In 1991, after spending eight months in Ibiza, he relocated to London, where he was influenced by the early house and acid house sounds.

During the 1990s, he combined the sounds of hard house and trance. He was the first Argentine artist to enter the UK Singles Chart's top 40 with his single, "A9".

In 2001, his musical style shifted to a Latin-influenced house and techno sound, which he produced and performed through his 7-year weekly residency at London's Fabric nightclub.

History

Early years (1983–1996)

During his childhood, Ariel's family owned a nightclub named Katanga in Rosario, Argentina. Inspired by his older brother, he took up his first residency at Dimension Nightclub in Rosario. More residencies followed, including Mengano, Metro, Lager and Damasco. On New Year's Eve, 1985, Ariel ended his residency at the Dimension nightclub with the performance of a set lasting 17 hours.

After completing secondary education, Ariel attended Rosario University of Economics, studying for 2 years before deciding to leave. Ariel was arriving in Ibiza, in the spring of 1991, when he met DJ Alfredo; a fellow DJ from Rosario, who held a residency at the nightclub Pacha.

Soon after Ariel played his first European set at Pacha followed by guest performances in Lola, Es Paradis, including one gig at the recently launched terrace at Space. While performing in Ibiza, Ariel was photographed by art designer 'Trademark'.

1996–2010 In 1996, Ariel opened a weekly residency in London. He was offered a ten-hour-long set in the second room of Bagley's Studios in Kings Cross (now renamed Canvas) for the weekly Saturday night event, Freedom. Three months later, he moved to the main room, where he performed for 8 hours. On 21 August 1998, The Evening Standard newspaper in London ran a 2-page article citing Ariel's "Techno set at Bagley’s" as the main cause of Class A drug consumption in the King's Cross area of London.thumb

Ariel has been a resident DJ at London's Fabric since its opening in 1999. Ariel left Fabric on 8 October, 2006 after a 7-year-long residency (approximately 400 gigs). His party "Latinaires" took place once a month, along with the weekly event "The Gallery" for 2 years (2002–2004). In 2004, Ariel launched "Manteca", a weekly Latin music club, at Freedom bar in London's Soho.

In May 2000, "A9" was featured as Mixmag’s Big Tune of the Month. In 2005, Ariel began a partnership with young producers Alex Celler and X Green to co-produce further music projects, and in March 2007, he officially launched his digital record label MyDust. Ariel toured Australia in 2008, playing venues in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. In 2009, Ariel released his album, "Camará".

2010–present

In 2016, the Ministry of Sound website published an article titled "Stars of VHS". Video footage of DJ Ariel's performance at Bunker nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 9 October 1994 has been included in the 2023 documentary Comandante Fort.

Music Ariel's early musical influences include early new wave music and the disco sounds of Talking Heads, Blondie, Kat Mandu, The Clash, The B-52's, Flash and the Pan, and Gino Soccio, as well as Latin American rumba.

Ariel's debut single, "Deep", released in 1997, was a hardhouse and trance record, released on Wonderboy Records and entered the number 1 spot on the UK Official Dance Chart. Ariel had multiple commissions for remixes.

Some of these remixes include Marmion's "Schöneberg", Vincent De Moor's "Flowtation", Dj Sandy Vs Housetrap's "Overdrive", Storm's "Time to Burn", Lil Louis Vs Josh Wink's "French Kiss" and Darude's "Sandstorm". Meanwhile, Ariel also released a series of more underground records, including The End EP and "Icebreaker/Time". In 2000, Ariel released "A9", which went on to become a UK Top 30.

In March 2007, Ariel started releasing his tracks on MyDust. Some of those tracks were made but never released.

Club residences Residencies Year Club Location Schedule 1982–1986 Dimension Rosario, Argentina Weekly 1986–1987 El Almacén de Fulano / La Ventana / Mengano Rosario, Argentina Weekly 1988 Lager Rosario, Argentina Weekly 1989–1990 Palá Rosario, Argentina Weekly 1990 Metro Rosario, Argentina Weekly 1991 Lunes Locos Pacha / Thursdays Es Paradis / Catwalk Bar / Lola / Angels Ibiza, Spain Monthly 1992–1994 Village Youth Limelight / The Playground, Iceni / Browns London, UK Weekly 1992–1993 Basement, Sundays Kudos / Attitude Legends London, UK Weekly 1993 Fuct Crews London, UK Weekly 1994–1995 Lovezoo Neuchatel, Switzerland Monthly 1994–1995 Ritual Xenon Madrid, Spain Monthly 1995 Zap Brighton, UK Monthly 1995 Ritual Velvet Underground London, UK Weekly 1995–1996 Prism Underneath Bagleys London, UK Weekly 1996–2001 8 Hour Sets Dancehall, Freedom Bagleys London, UK Weekly 1999–2006 DTPM, Room 2 Fabric London, UK Weekly 2002–2004 Latinaires Turnmills London, UK Monthly 2004–2005 Manteca Freedom Bar London, UK Weekly 2005–2007 Home Of La Troya Renaissance Rooms / Ministry Of Sound London, UK Quarterly 2006–2007 Discotec (Lounge Mondiale) The End London, UK Bi-monthly 2006–2008 Matinee Area / Fabric London, UK Monthly 2007 Gorgeous Space Ibiza, Spain Weekly 2007–2008 Smartie Partie Turnmills London, UK Quarterly 2007–2009 Heaven London, UK Weekly 2009–2011 Onyx, Area London, UK Weekly 2010–2015 Room Service London, UK Monthly

Personal life

Ariel has been on hiatus since 2008. During this time he has written and self-published several books on nutrition and naturopathy.

Selected discography Some selected discography:

Albums 1999: The Sound of Freedom (Automatic Records) 2000: Freedom – 4 Ultimate Years of Clubbing (Wax Records) 2003: Nu Latin Live (Red and Blue) 2005: DTPM – Sydney vs London (DTPM Recordings) 2006: Mandarin (MyDust) 2009: Camará (MyDust)

Singles/EPs 1996: "Deep" (Pilot Recordings) 1997: "Deep (I'm Falling Deeper)" (A&M) – UK #47 1997: The End EP (Pilot) 1997: "Get On Down" (White Label) 1999: "PsychoKiller" (White Label) 1999: "Icebreaker/Time" (Pneumatiq) 2000: "A9" (Automatic Records) – UK #28 2000: "A9" (London) 2000: Ariel Presents: Tools Volume One (A7 Records) 2000: Sampler One – Out Here (A7) 2003: "Central" (Phoenix G) 2005: "Hambre" (Demo) 2007: "Se Miro" (MyDust) 2008: "Vandula" (MyDust) 2008: "Santiago" (MyDust) 2010: "Chevere" (MyDust) 2011: "D'ese" (MyDust)

Remixes 1996: Vincent De Moor – "Flowtation" (XL Recordings) 1997: Kool World – "In-Vader" (Kool World Records) 1997: The Vinyl Frontier – "Vibe to the 7" (Sound Design) 1998: Marmion – "Schöneberg" (FFRR) 2000: Josh Wink & Lil' Louis – "French Kiss" (FFRR) 2000: Angelic – "It's My Turn" (Serious Records) 2000: DJ Sandy vs. Housetrap – "Overdrive" (Positiva) 2000: Darude – "Sandstorm" (Neo Records) 2000: Storm – "Time to Burn" (Data) 2000: DJ Jean – "The Launch" (AM:PM) 2001: Warp Brothers – "Phatt Bass" (Nu Life) 2001: Nigel Gee – "Hootin' Harry" (Neo Records) 2001: Joshua Ryan – "Pistolwhip" (Nu Life)