Mehdi Nassiri,[2] is a renowned DJ and producer originally from Casablanca, Morocco. He has established himself as a prominent figure in the electronic dance music scene. Mednas currently holds his residency at LIV, an iconic nightclub located at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, FL. His illustrious career has been marked by notable achievements and recognition within the electronic dance music industry. One of Mednas' standout tracks, “Ill Behavior,” produced in collaboration with CID, achieved an impressive feat by landing on the Beatport Top Ten chart. Furthermore, his musical prowess has garnered the support of influential electronic dance music artists, including Tiësto, Avicii, Erick Morillo, Calvin Harris, Diplo, Marco Carola, and Loco Dice.[2] His remix of Parker Ighile's "So Beautiful" with Henrix was supported by Nicki Minaj.[3] Mednas possesses a diverse repertoire within the electronic dance music genre, specializing in tech house, house, and anything house, showcasing his versatility as an artist.
Mednas | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mehdi Nassiri |
| Also known as | Mednas |
| Born | June 25th 1978 Casablanca, Morocco[1] |
| Genres | Tech house, house |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, DJ, Record Producer |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Size Records Axtone Spinnin' Armada |
| Website | www www |
Life and musical career
editEarly life and career
editMednas, who derives his moniker from a mix-up of his given name, Mehdi Nassiri, was born in Casablanca and raised in Marrakesh and Tangier, Morocco.[1]
Mednas always had an innate sense of music. He went to the conservatory at an early age to learn piano, but decided to teach it to himself, along with guitar. He replayed all of his favorite songs by ear. From that time on, he fell in love with music and started to learn about many musical genres, including Disco/Funk. His uncle was a big fan of 70's music, which inspired Mednas to take an interest in these two genres. Year after year, Mednas discovered more and more bands, artists and music styles, which helped him acquire a diverse musical background.
Mednas became exposed to the world of recording through his mother, who at that time was a sound engineer for the Moroccan Radio. He was known by his friends to always have the latest music, so they came to his house on a regular basis just to listen to it. That is where Mednas discovered the art of DJing. In 1996, he started DJing for fun and for his friends.[4] Little by little, people started asking him to play at parties. Then, the word spread and clubs started to request him. Mednas ventured to Madrid, Spain at age 20 to pursue his studies, and spent seven years there.[1] He was enrolled at Saint Louis University (Madrid Campus).[1]
Mednas was an avid body boarder and almost went pro in the sport. He won many interschool championships, regional championships, and was a quarterfinalist in the Moroccan Championship. He was part of the Moroccan team in 2001, in which he represented Morocco in the ETB (European Tour of Body Boarding) in Portugal along with Adnane Benslimane. Mednas eventually stopped competing due to a triple fracture of his metatarsus while surfing in 2005, in addition to his studies and DJ career. However, he still surfs for fun on occasions.
To complete his degree in international business, Mednas transferred to Saint Louis University Main Campus in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] In 2008, he moved to Miami, Florida to pursue his career in music.[1]
Musical influences
editMednas has always enjoyed listening to different genres of music. He incorporates these various music styles into his DJ sets. When he DJ's, he adapts his song choices to the crowd's energy and preferences.[4]
"With electronic [dance music], I can finally combine all kinds of music into one."
— Mednas
Mednas lists his influences as Depeche Mode, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, New Order, and Pearl Jam, among others.[5]
Performances
editThroughout his world travels, Mednas has held residencies and spun at various venues. Living in Spain exposed Mednas to the professional side of DJing, where he spun at the most renowned clubs, such as Pacha, Arena, Cool Ballroom and more.[2] In Morocco, he spun at Pacha, Nikki Beach and Morocco's International Festival of Essaouira, which gathered more than 30,000 people.[2]
A couple years after moving to Miami, Mednas received a call from Erick Morillo asking him play at Arkadia for his Subliminal Sessions parties.[4] Morillo was on the look out for a fresh new DJ, and Mednas fit the bill. He readily accepted the offer.[4] These Subliminal Sessions soon moved to LIV, where Mednas is currently resident DJ. In Miami, Mednas has also played at venues such as Hed Kandi, Set, Mokai, Mansion, Story, and Wall.[2]
Mednas’ performances have been shared with artists such as Tiësto, David Guetta, Dirty South, Swedish House Mafia, Paul Oakenfold, Fatboy Slim, Kaskade, Afrojack, Benny Benassi, Chuckie, Nicky Romero, Avicii, Erick Morillo, Dennis Ferrer, Moguai, Sander Kleinenberg, Felix Da Housecat, Luciano, Max Vangeli, Sander Van Doorn, Swanky Tunes, Alesso, Laidback Luke, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, and more.[2]
Radio shows
editIn addition to being solicited for club gigs, Mednas has participated in international radio shows, such as the Radio FG USA monthly residency,[6] and Loca FM (Spain). A weekly show every Thursday on Revolution 93.5, is called "Mednas Madness".
Discography
edit- Singles
- 2013: Carlos Cid and Mednas – "Argan"
- 2013: Dean Cohen & Mednas – "Apex"
- 2014: CID & Mednas – "iLL Behavior", Size Records
- Remixes
- 2014: Cedric Gervais featuring Coco – "Through the Night", Robbins Entertainment LLC[7]
- 2017: Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano featuring Clara Mae – "The One That Got Away", SONO Music
- 2017: Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano featuring KEPLER – "Nobody Told Me", SONO Music
- 2017: CID featuring CeeLo Green – "Believer", Atlantic Records / Big Beat
- 2018: Moquai & AKA AKA – "Home" (Mednas & Nikola Remix), Axtone
- 2018: Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano featuring KEPLER – "Coffee Shop" (Mednas & Nikola Remix), SONO Music
- 2020: Mednas – "All I need", Heldeep[8]
- 2022: Öwnboss, Sevek - Move Your Body (Mednas Remix), Musical Freedom[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Head Spins: DJ Mednas, Miami's internationalist house man". Miami New Times. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mednas". Djmednas.com. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c d "Mednas: Miami's Golden Child Talks House, Vinyl, and His Biggest Critics". Joonbug.com. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ "Mednas". Facebook.com. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "Félicitations ! Votre domaine a bien été créé chez OVH !". Radiofgusa.com. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "Through the Night (feat. Coco) - EP by Cedric Gervais on Apple Music". iTunes. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ "All I need - HELDEEP DJ TOOLS, PT. 11 - EP". Spinninrecords. Apr 17, 2020. Retrieved Apr 17, 2020.
- ^ "Öwnboss, Sevek - Move Your Body (Mednas Remix)". Musical Freedom. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.