DJ

Tommy Musto

Tommy Musto is one of the most important names on the international dance music scene. As Co-Owner and Creative Director of NY’s renowned Northcott Productions (a creative collective of independent labels, producers, recording studio and distribution company), Tommy continues to be one of the original pioneers of dance music.

Tommy started DJ’ing in 1978, in the infamous borough of Brooklyn, New York – doing what starting DJ’s do – mobile work. He then went on to do various clubs throughout the tri-state area. In 1981, Musto won the the Tommy Boy Records Mix Contest and got his mix pressed on records using all of the original Tommy Boy masters. The next and most logical step was production work – and lots of it. Editing and
remixing projects for some of the great early indie labels such as Vanguard, Next Plateau, Fourth and Broadway and 25 West Records.

His work being so prevalent in the marketplace caught the ear of a radio giant at the time, Carlos De Jesus at WKTU 92.3 in NYC. Carlos loved Tommy’s mixing and programming skills so much that he was offered a permanent slot on the now infamous Paco’s Supermix show, which aired daily at 4:10 PM. Of the five days a week that the show aired, at least 3 of the 5 days were Tommy’s mixes! Some of Tommy’s co-mixers were The Latin Rascals (Tony Moran & Albert Cabrera), Aldo Marin (Cutting Records) and Jellybean Benitez.

Tommy’s next phase of production, in the late 80’s, was to be an integral part of the sound that made up the labels Fourth Floor, Underworld, Nu Groove and Midnight Sun Records, which helped to culminate the now existing partnership with Silvio Tancredi, forming Northcott Productions. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Tommy teamed up with renowned producer Frankie Bones to do a slew of productions and remixes for various labels internationally, as well as being at the forefront of the rave scene which evolved from the music they were so much a part of. The most successful of the projects was Musto & Bones – “The Future Is Ours” LP – which spawned the hit single “Dangerous On The Dancefloor”. Tommy & Frankie were some of the first American DJ’s to do European tours that are found to be commonplace today.

Since the early ‘90’s, Tommy has been one of the hottest remixers in the business, doing additional production and remix work for artists such as Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, John Secada & Celine Dion to name a few.

Today, Tommy continues to be in demand as a remixer for artists such as Bob Sinclar, Grace Jones, Christian Falk, Jashay, Charles Dockins, Hall and Oates, Kim English, just to name a few.

In 1993, Sub-Urban Records was formed, and now it has a solid place in dance music. Artists and Producers such as Sabrina Johnson, Victor Simonelli, Joi Cardwell, Barbara Tucker, Jazz-N-Groove, Mike Delgado, Benji Candalerio, Matthias Heilbronn, Federal Hill, Lee Genesis, Mousse T., Boris Dlugosch and Michael Lange, Mark Grant, Mike Dunn, Tuff Jam , Key To Life, Mike Dunn, Next Phase, B.O.P. , and The Basement Boys are some who have blessed the Sub-Urban label.

The next important step for Tommy and Northcott Productions was his relationship with Johnny D. and Nicky P. (founders of Henry Street Music). Tommy has taken an active role in cultivating the alliance between Henry Street Music and Northcott Productions, and the results have been obvious. Henry Street currently hold a roster of dance music elite including Kenny Dope, Todd Terry, DJ Sneak and Armand Van Helden. Even though Henry Street is no longer with Northcott, together they have made dance Music history and continue their relationship.

More recently, Tommy has helped to secure the alliances between Soulfuric Recordings, Roy Davis’ Undaground Therapy Music with Northcott Productions, and the results are obvious.

Tommy has worked on over 400 records in his lifetime – from writing, producing, remixing and
engineering – and he shows no sign of slowing down!