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In 1984 Hani back home in Kuwait was a bedroom DJ recording mixed cassette tapes. By 1988 during his college years in Denver Hani became a professional DJ at several major clubs. Saved enough money to purchase used Synthesizers, Drum Machines and 4 track tape from pawn shops. Hani learned on his own the art of making Electronic Dance Music and was able to release few underground records. In 1993 Hani got his start doing underground Acid House tracks for Carl Craig's Label Planet-e & Deep Dish's label Yoshitoshi. Soon after Hani decided to go to New York to study audio engineering.
By 1994 Hani was enrolled in the Institute of Audio Research in New York City. There he gained knowledge of the fundamentals of audio acoustics, electronic circuitry, engineering and mixing. While attending the institute Hani applied at Bass Hit Studios for an intern job. It was at Bass Hit Studios that Hani acquired a deeper sense of Electronic Dance Music by working for such House music luminaries as Masters at Work (Little Louie Vega & Kenny Dope), Roger Sanchez and Danny Tenaglia. Hani cleaned the studio after them, picked up the garbage and delivered food however, he also learned the basics of House arrangements and mixing. While doing so Hani started his remix career working on projects for Artists such as Deee-Lite, Repercussions & Urban Soul.
The competition in New York City was very high and Hani had to quickly make a name for himself therefore, he did not follow the rules. He did not wait for record labels to give him a chance at remixing songs he liked. He chose songs he gravitated to and went on to produce his remixes in his studio without being commissioned. His 1995 unauthorized remix of Sade's "I Never Thought I'd See the Day" under the alias Musk Men got him the exposure he'd been waiting for. It was bootlegged by several labels in the US and Europe and gave Hani a Jump-start. Sade, however, was not into remixes so never got an official release. Then came Hani's unauthorized remix of Sting's "Sister Moon", which was also bootlegged. Due to its success, this remix got official approval and was released by A&M.
Hani's passion for creating music became a steadfast career in the summer of 1996 with the release of his first No:1 Billboard production "Soul To Bare" with house diva Joi Cardwell. Moreover, Hani went on to produce another international hit "That Look" by Delacy. Both where featured by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1.
Hani kept on working & releasing several official remixes for various independent dance labels until in 1996 Hani decide to work on an unauthorized remix of Michael Jackson's "Earth Song". Frankie Knuckles played Hani's remix on both radios and in clubs. One afternoon Hani recalls " I got contacted by a big Sony executive to inform me of how much MJ and the label loves the remix and how excited they are to release it worldwide. "Earth Song" went on to become No:1 for six weeks on the UK singles chart. 3 months later Hani got commissioned to remix MJ's "Stranger in Moscow".
One of the great rewards of Hani's newfound recognition was an invitation to collaborate with the Frankie Knuckles on a remix project. "He's one person who impressed me because there's a certain sound in what he does that I think is interesting. I like the touch that he has", Frankie acknowledges.
1997 saw the birth of hit remixes like Jay-Z's "Can't Knock The Hustle" and the unauthorized mix of "Rocket Man" by Elton John. Remix and production offers from major artists and labels started pouring down from all directions, Hani was a very busy man working from his basement studio. His remixes for Amber "One More Night" and Deborah Cox "I Never Knew" were major radio hits on heavy rotation across the US. True to Hani's style, Arista records had no plans for Deborah's song until Hani decided on his own to transform the slow balled/album filler track into a major dance hit. In 1999 Hani decided to remind his early fans of his love for underground club music by producing the hit "Baby Wants To Ride" which went on to become Number 1 on the Billboard Club chart.
Hani's steady attention and effort toward his remix projects had earned him a reputation among the dance music ranks and that year witnessed the creation of such hits as "Drugs Are Bad" Hani vs. South Park, "Share the Love" by Andrea Martin and "Tuva Groove" by Ondar was an Essential tune on Pete Tongs Show.
By the year 2000 success of remixes such as "There You Go" by Pink and "Glorious"Andreas Johnson cemented Hani's position as one of the top remixers in the US. Although he is increasingly well known by record labels with each project, Hani insists on transforming tracks on his initiative.
By 2003, Hani became one of the top electronic music producers. He went on to officially remix some of today's top international artists.
The next year, Hani produced his third track to reach Number 1 on a Billboard chart, "Foolish Mind Games" with vocalist Jason Walker. By 2005 Hani completed and released over 167 remixes.
After ten years of producing & remixing for various labels, Hani decided to start his record label to claim 100% of copyright ownership and publishing. He established Soterios Records in 2006 during a time when downloading music from the Internet caused most major record companies to take a nose-dive in sales.
Soterios features his collaborative efforts with singers such as Grammy Nominated Singer Song Writer Andrea Martin, Roland Clark, Alex Moulton, GRAMMAR, & Virgin Killer. Hani writes, produces & programs almost 100% of his label's releases under names such as Antigen, Disconffect, Jack Shaft, Miles BlackLove, Magnetic Fields Forever, Extra Sauce & Ridikulous Kool. Soterios Records is currently on various online platforms including Beatport, Traxsource, Spotify and iTunes.
Remixography
Deee-Lite – "Picnic in The Summertime" Elektra 1994
