Diva Divo - Dance Magazine

It's been quite a year for Joe Bermudez.

In 2007, Boston DJ Joe Bermudez hit a number of career highs: he ranked #20 in the annual DJ Times poll of America's Best DJ, ahead of heavy hitters like Junior Vasquez, Roger Sanchez, Felix Da Housecat and Josh Wink. He released his first compilation for Nervous Nitelife, cleverly titled Mass Movement as a musical Valentine to his home state of Massachusetts. He continued his remix work for some of the biggest names in pop, proving himself a particular asset to teen queen Hilary Duff's bid for club music credibility. And he represented Boston every Friday night on XM radio's BPM channel, spinning an hour long mix-show for the station's coast-to-coast, club-hopping broadcast.

But somehow, despite the success that comes with increasing recognition, Bermudez has managed to keep his head on straight and his priorities in good order.

"The best part of playing locally is getting to catch up with all of my friends," says Bermudez, taking a break from the decks at his Mass Movement release party. Judging by the turnout, Bermudez sure has a lot of amigos; Revolution Rock Bar, the Boston venue picked for the party, reached capacity by 11pm. " joe bermudez I'm really thankful to have such a great crew of people around me. They've been supportive since Day One," said Bermudez, who spent half the night spinning some of his trademark dance-pop remixes, and the other half mixing and mingling with his nearest and dearest.

When it comes to Bermudez' start in the DJ industry, Day One was quite a day, indeed. "The short story is, I had just been kicked out of my house and had no job," says Bermudez of his early start. At just 18 years old, on his own and without a paycheck, he bravely took it upon himself to jump head first into the music world. "I drove by this radio station and thought it [DJing] might be fun to do. I really had nothing to lose at that point, so I went into the station and demanded that they hire me so I could pay my rent. Luckily for me, they did!"

Lucky for the rest of us, too. Still in his 20s, Bermudez has ascended to the international ranks of marquee club names by remixing dance hits for Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, Pink, Nelly Furtado and other superstars. But this year, he scored a major coup by releasing a compilation with NYC's revered Nervous Nitelife label. The album, Mass Movement, pays tribute to Bermudez' fondness for synthesizing complex club jams with radio-friendly dance.

"I wanted something that captured what I do," says Bermudez of the tracklist. "It has a lot of my big records from the summer… I also went in and did new, exclusive remixes mixes for 'Closer' [Gabriel & Dresden feat Molly Bancroft] and 'The Healing' [Creamer & K, Jordan feat Susana] You can also find my private remix for Hilary Duff's # 1 Billboard smash, 'With Love.'"

By titling the album after his adopted home state (Bermudez grew up in Maine and moved to Boston early in his DJ career), he also wanted to capture the spirit of Boston… a city that is increasingly gaining pop cultural recognition. "People around the world identify the area with our sports teams and are huge fans of the Red Sox and Patriots," says Bermudez. "They are starting to know us as the 'New Hollywood' with great movies like The Departed and Gone Baby Gone being filmed here." But Bermudez says the music scene is just as thriving as the sports and film industry: "There is a lot of great local talent that DJ around Boston. If I can help kick open the door and make more people aware of what we have to offer in the EDM [electronic dance music] scene, why not?"