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"People in DC come out to dance - that's the focus of almost any night out, in any kind of club. This isn't the case everywhere else. So not only am I playing for a crowd that's into the tracks, at Buzz or one-off, you've got ridiculous breakers out working the floor, plus the rest of the crowd is on it from start to finish. This is DC."

Analog in San Francisco got a taste of that local flavor as Wes Smith's set provoked more than a hour of continuous breakin' antics that consumed half the floor and pretty much got the whole place hyped up. Halfway through his set, Wes dropped FreQ Nasty's "Fresh" and followed it with "FreQ-A-Zoid", and the crowd greeted this saucy gesture with much arm-pumping and exuberant chants of "Freak Freak!" If this is what a DC party is like, bring it on.

Juice is working hard to elevate the presence of U.S. breaks artists. MTV recently licensed 12 of their tracks for "Making the Video" and "Living the Dream", guaranteed to give viewers a reason to get off their couch-loving asses and dance this summer.

"This all came about really fast," Wes explains, "and I think the mainstream is going to really love the sound even if they don't understand what it is! DJ Moon's full-length album, with unreleased material, is also headed for MTV. His exclusive remix of Groove Armada's "I See You Baby" is due out in June or July, which should be huge. If MTV picks up my latest track, then I'll know for sure it's a raver making the choices!"

The direction of Juice Recordings will be exciting to follow over the next few years. Kicking off on the funky side of things in 1996, Juice continues to put out breaks and funky house representing a spectrum of artists, but with an open mind to the harder side of things developing in DC.

"As far as CDs go, we've got the Breakbeat Bunch Volume III coming out this year, which is really more Florida style funky breaks. Volume II was with Chris Gallagher and the one before that I did with Debbie D from Florida. DJ Moon is coming out with a remix of Groove Armada's "I See you Baby", which should be fantastic. Juice has 5 vinyl releases planned this year. For an independent label, putting out one every two months or so is on the mark. We're just really enjoying all the different styles of breaks. It's been a long time, especially in the States, that breaks have been strictly funky stuff. Here in DC, all the nuskool and 2-step have been gaining popularity in the last few years. It's widening the playing field - suddenly we have all different sounds domestically that are all breaks!"

URB Magazine has named DC's Buzz the nation's best party for 4 years running. Recently Wes Smith gained Buzz Booth status, alongside many broken beat heavyweights.

"It's great to be in the Buzz Booth! I knew Lieven and Scott Henry when I was just listening to music, and then when I moved up to the area from Florida, Buzz was the first place I ever played. I've had almost 20 visits but it's never routine! If you play there every few months, Buzz has always changed - they move the booth around, the crowd is changing. They pull in very cutting edge lineups. The best lineup I've played with has to be the Honeydew party - John Acquaviva , Richie Hawtin, Zed Bias - that was the first time I got to play on a lineup with recognized UK artists."

DC is known for its relentless house scene, but breakbeat artists establish a space in the place through consistent production and a core group of fans, promoters, and DJs that demand track selection ahead of the curve, along with maximum dance floor impact.

"Most of what goes on in DC are one-offs, or Buzz. I admit that there aren't many regular breaks parties, but we get into an extraordinary number of house events. We've been really pounding away in DC for years to make sure breaks has a presence. I think one of my biggest supporters have been the D-Tribe Production guys. They throw the biggest funky breaks or breaks house events, anything along those lines. I'm a resident with them, which winds up being 5 or 6 parties a year, with a couple thousand people out there, which is nice.

"Because it's DC, with almost any kind of electronic music, you will get a good crowd. But as far as breaks, the fans are really loyal, and whenever I play there's this core group that turns out to support and have a really good time, and that's what I love about the scene there. It's not just a party. People that dance still really like the funky breaks worked into the break-core sound, or mixed up with the dark drum 'n' bass turned breaks style."

To meet this demand, Juice Recordings doesn't hesitate to represent the funky side of things. In terms of getting dark and dirty, Wes Smith (along with other local artists) feels like his DJ style can be heavier than his flip-side remixes due out his summer, while still staying true to what fans.

"I like the Florida stuff too and I play some of that. We have some really good consistent artists who are into that coastal sound and they're enjoying what they're doing, and running their own labels. I'm pushing the harder breaks, along with locals like producer Adegen and some other great artists coming up. The artists from DC [and] the Northeast have always has had a harder feel - it's darker. I don't see us doing electro but we definitely have some darker tunes in the works. We're able to produce and DJ at different levels because the DC breaks scene is so hungry and willing to branch out.

"The latest Juice tracks are mostly funky breaks - one has a remix of mine on it that isn't Florida style, more like Swamp DJish, big beat almost. But we do have a few artists coming up in DC, including myself, focusing on harder material. In terms of influences, I'm big on the Zinc remixes right now, I'm not even sure what they call that style [laughs]. The choppy heavy bass lines and tracks that aren't so big on the trancey side. And of course T-Power tracks are amazing. All in all, we're in a fantastic position to grow with what's here and influences from all over."

Check out Wes Smith's touch on the flip side of 2 funkier tracks on each 12" to be released one-a-month, all summer long! Spontaneous dance parties highly encouraged…

All photos were taken at Analog in San Franciso. For more info visit and to listen to tracks and mixes, visit:
http://www.djwessmith.com
http://www.juicerecordings.com