Set against the backdrop of warm Florida sunshine and Orlando’s Disneyworld, Jimmy Van M began his DJ career in the early ‘90s. Since then, he hasn’t simply emerged as one of the world’s premier DJs, but an instrumental figure in electronic music’s continued growth and popularity in North America.
A child of the acid house movement, Jimmy first drew inspiration from Florida DJ legend Dave Cannalte. Eventually, Jimmy would land guest spots for Cannalte and Kimball Collins at the Beacham Theater in Orlando. By the time the Beacham closed in ’94, Jimmy had already established a solid reputation as a DJ up and down the East Coast. Around that time, Jimmy also forged a relationship with Sasha and John Digweed.
A promoter had booked Sasha and John to play Simons in Orlando, but the duo had nowhere to stay. Jimmy stepped in and invited them to stay at his place. Between backyard sessions on Jimmy’s trampoline and after-parties, the three became fast friends. Beyond getting along personally, Jimmy, John and Sasha also shared a common vision. Sasha and John had already created a stir in England through Sasha’s now-fabled residency at Shelly’s, John’s Bedrock events and their residencies at club nights like Renaissance and Northern Exposure. The three saw the same explosive potential for electronic music in America. More than anything, they just wanted to share their passion for play with a larger audience.
As means toward that goal, Jimmy helped form Eros Euphony (later named Balance Promote Group), which acted as both a promotion agency and a production alias for Jimmy and studio partner Sean Cusick. While Jimmy was creating cuts with Cusick under monikers like Eros Euphony, Freelance Icebreakers and The Escape Artists, he was also helping secure himself, Sasha and John bookings in places like Atlanta and San Francisco
Soon, the Big Apple loomed large. Thanks to hard work and the Northern Exposure Tour in 1996, Sasha and John were invited to hold down a monthly residency at New York City’s Twilo. Jimmy would join them as the opening DJ, but for nearly a year he paid for his own flights from Orlando to New York and played for free. His determination would eventually see Twilo become recognized as electronic music’s equivalent of Graceland and was the focal point for the emergence of DJ and club culture in America.
Also in ’96, Jimmy and partner DJ Chris Fortier founded the Balance Promote Group Record Pool. The pool was set up to promote widely European labels in North America. Mirroring the success of the booking agency, the pool is North America’s best boasting membership from the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and supported by hundreds of labels, including Polydor, Jackpot, Sony, Whoop, Limbo, Platipus, Sperm, Positive, Sim, Loaded and many, many more.
By 1997, Balance was in full-swing and asked to coordinate the Cream USA Tour, which was headlined by DJs like Carl Cox, Dave Seaman, Doc Martin and Nick Warren. Between the successes of Sasha and John’s Northern Exposure Tour, their Twilo residency and the Cream USA Tour, Balance became recognized as one of North America’s leading booking agencies, DJ and otherwise. Since then, Balance’s ranks have expanded to handle exclusive booking rights to top talent like Quivver, Steve Lawler, Sander Kleinenberg, Luis Diaz and, of course, Sasha and John Digweed, amongst others.
Balanced (no pun intended) against Jimmy’s business pursuits is his first love: music. In addition to releasing critically acclaimed singles like "Love Like Sleep" and "Sanctuary", Jimmy has also released best-selling mix compilations like Ultra’s Trance Nation America (with Taylor) and the second instalment in the Bedrock mix series. This year, fans can expect more exemplary production work and a new mix CD. They can also catch Jimmy opening for Sasha and John Digweed on the Delta Heavy Spring 2002 Tour to be released on DVD. The largest DJ tour of its kind to ever hit North America, the Delta Heavy tour remains true to Jimmy’s roots.
