Colette Shines

February 1, 2006 4:27 PM
by

In an industry dominated by male DJ/Producers, members of the opposite sex oftentimes must “impress” that much more in order to get noticed in the business. Is it fair? Not really. Nevertheless, there have been a select few of talented women that have overcome the hurdles placed before them and risen to the top of the dance music hierarchy.

Sandra Collins (Progressive), Mistress Barbara (techno) and DJ Heather (House), have all dominated in their respective genres of dance music for years.

But….there is another!

Emerging from the House music capital of the world in Chicago, a beautiful blonde meticulously studied the craft inspired by such talents as Mark Farina and Derrick Carter. But what set this woman apart from the pack were not just her impeccable skills as a DJ, but the mezzo-soprano sounds that came from within her soul.

On January 21st 2006, the “Chicago Invasion “at Shine continued as none other than DJ Colette took center stage!

Opening up the night was Shine resident Chris Bourne (Tarantella). Delivering an energetic progressive/tech house set, I wondered how well his transition to the more funky and vocals driven style of Colette would be.

I was not disappointed!

As Colette’s set drew near, Chris Bourne slowly shifted toward some hip hop with Pussycat Dolls “Don’t cha,” eliciting a positive response from those on the dancefloor.

During Chris Bourne’s opening set duties, the crowd at Shine slowly filed in. While some took to the dancefloor, most were strategically aligned with the bars getting their “drink on.” Among those at the bar closest to the DJ Booth, were none other than Jon Cowan and DJ Colette.

Approaching Colette, I happily realized that her personality corroborated with everything that I had heard about her… Genuine and “down to earth.”

After setting up some extra equipment in the booth for her microphone, Colette took to the decks around 12:45 a.m.

Growing up in Chicago, Colette Marino was inundated by quality House music thanks in large part to the healthy Chicago house music scene in the early 90’s. Her passion for music and the craft of DJing eventually lead her to teach herself how to spin inspired by such greats as Derrick Carter and Mark Farina.

A music aficionado through and through, Colette received formal operatic training for close to a decade as a youngster. All her hard work finally paid off when she began her DJ career as she would showcase her incredible singing talent to the world whenever she took to the decks.

Equally impressive was the fact that Colette wrote her own lyrics as well. Currently her mega-hit song “ Feelin’ Hypnotized,” off of her highly successful artist album Hypnotized, has ensured her place among the female DJ elite.

“Feelin’ Hypnotized” has not only been featured as part of Motorola’s ad campaign in corroboration with Felix Da House Cat and Paul Van Dyk, but chosen as “Best Song in a Commercial” at the 2004 DanceStar Awards!

Notwithstanding her tremendous commercial success, DJ Colette remains true to her fans and most importantly herself as she champions a variety of women’s causes. For instance, many of the proceeds of her shows are raised to benefit breast cancer organizations and even battered women’s shelters.

Currently, DJ Colette is signed to OM Records and part of the SuperJane collective alongside Dayhota, Lady D and DJ Heather.

The crowd on the dance floor slowly inched forward as Colette delicately placed the microphone near her mouth. Many die hard “househeads” stood as close as they could to the booth hollering and pumping their arms in the air as Colette’s voice echoed throughout the venue.

Singing “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On,” off of her latest album, Colette proudly demonstrated what makes her sets so unique…Her mesmerizing voice!

Though Colette did not play as much “jackin” house as I had thought she would, she played copious amounts of Latin House replete with the obligatory percussive elements. One such Latin track was the classic “Wa Wa.”

By 1 a.m., Colette began to drop a bit of funky house with a tinge of soulfulness. At this point she sang my favorite song in “What Will She Do For Love.”

Shortly thereafter, the tempo of her set accelerated somewhat as she started to bang it out with some straight up house music. The highlight of this portion of her set? Moloko’s “Sing It Back.”

Reverting back to some more high energy Latin house, Colette quickly shifted gears and sang her trademark song “Feelin’ Hypnotized.”

Though the crowd seemed to diminish somewhat as her set progressed, Colette continued to satiate the palettes of those within earshot of her sounds!

As 2 a.m. rapidly approached, she dropped my favorite track of the night in Stevie Wonder’s “Signed Sealed Delivered” (Go Home remix).
As I made my way back and forth into the booth, I noticed that Colette played a great deal of vinyl. I would gather to say at least 75-80% of her set was strictly records. News that would make any old school house music enthusiast grin!

Ending her set around 3 a.m., the proprietor of Shine Mr. Jon Cowan took to the decks.

Not having heard Jon spin since the days of Nerve, I was curious to hear how his style had progressed. Playing a mostly progressive/tech set, Jon Cowan closed out the room proper with lots of energy and ‘bangin’ tracks!

From Tiefschwartz’s’ “Red Dress” to Nic Fanciulli’s “Squirelled” and a wicked track in guy got Gerald – “voodoo ray,” he ended the night in style.

DJ Colette is truly a standout performer. Going above and beyond the norm, Colette’s presence demands attention. From her angelic looks to her pristine voice, Colette is the total package.

Jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald said it best: “The only thing better than singing is more singing.” In the case of Colette, the more the better!