Assessing Harry Romero and DJ Sneak's House Gangster Credentials

DJ Sneak and Harry Romero are certified house gangsters. Or so they say. Being wusses here at THUMP we haven't actually tried to verify just how gangster the pair of house heads are, but they seem pretty convincing, so we'll take their word for it.

So sure are they of their gangster status, the pair tour the world under the I'm a House Gangster banner. IAHG, for short, is Sneak's empire of sort. Rather than being an organised crime gangster type, he's decided to take on the world with big, chunky house records. Think of him as a kind of Alexander the Great (Fan of Big, Chunky House Records) if you will.

Next weekend sees the House Gangster experience roll into London at Ceremony Festival. Held in Finsbury Park, and run by the same team behind Found, Sneak and Romero will be joined by the likes of Armand Van Helden, Lee Foss, Todd Edwards, and Todd Terry for a "360 degree celebration of dance music," whatever that is. Whatever it is, we're sure it'll be great fun. Ahead of the I'm a House Gangster takeover — which also involves Jesse Perez, Ramon Tapia and Doc Martin — we decided to get DJ Sneak to interview his mate Harry Romero and vice-versa. Harry also sent over a 30 minute mix taken from a recent IAHG night to get you in the mood for a weekend of booty shakin' house madness. Read and listen below.

Harry Romero: How's it going? Where are you at right now?
DJ Sneak: I'm on the beautiful island of Ibiza chillin' and grillin'.

How's your summer going? Any stand-out moments?
The summer has been bangin' as we say back home. Great festival season, lots of great gigs in Europe and Ibiza as well. The Stand out gig would have to be Sunwaves 18 in Romania. I played a 12 hour set with my man Doc Martin — what a marathon!

Have you ever had a good meal on a plane and if so what was it?
Never. It's not even been close. Good food requires fresh food not frozen-then-over-cooked-by-the-toxic-microwaves stuff they use. Eating on the plane is usually a bad idea unless there is nothing else and you're starving like Marvin.

Ok then, what's a good airport to eat at?
Anything good in my book is freshly cooked with fresh food, and that's not possible at airports especially with all the restrictions. Did you know bubble making guns are a threat to carry on board, along with hot coffee? Stupid!

What's the one house record you never wanna hear again ever?
A good house record always has a time and place. No matter how many times you have heard it. If you're in the right place you can definitely appreciate it. If it's a shit track or record it's probably EDM which I hate.

What's the essential item of clothing for you while touring?
Clean t-shirts, socks and undies, the rest you can deal without. Oh and a comfy pair of Jordans. Essential.

I'm looking forward IAHG at Ceremony next week…do you have anything exciting up your sleeve?
Anything and everything we do is special to us. We at IAHG take pride in our events and even when things are not perfect we do our best to come across the way we want to. That is, always fresh, real and gangster! I'm excited to be showcasing our show in London with some of the brand ambassadors from all over. We'll surely create an unforgettable show for everybody and we are all loaded with great vibes and tunes. We welcome everybody to come get down with a real great line up. No half steppin, always Gangster Reppin'.

DJ Sneak: How's your summer going? Wanna shout out any stand-out moments?
Harry Romero: My summer's been real busy. I played in Bosnia a few weeks back at some festival which was wild. I'm still amazed by watching 15,000 people raving at the same time.

What's the best meal you have had on the road?
At this place in Palma de Mallorca called Casa Jacinto. They had the best seafood and ox filets.

Was it better than anything you've had at my place?
They pale in comparison to you. They don't have that SOFRITO!

What's the one house record you never want to hear again ever?
Robin S, "Show Me Love". Can't stand it.

What's one house record you can't ever get enough of?
"Can You Feel It" by Mr Fingers. That's the one that gets me every time.

Can you tell us about the mix you did for the IAHG stage at Ceremony Festival?
Well it's basically what will be pumping on that stage that night. Bumpy chunky beats.

Where were you when you recorded it?
This was taken from a set I did at a party in Brooklyn where I played a run of IAHG tracks

What vibe were you going for?
I was going for that GANGSTER sound. Booty shakin'.

Are you looking forward to next week at the IAHG Stage at Ceremony? Anything exciting up your sleeve?
Oh man. Nothing's beats these UK festivals. The energy is going to be through the roof. I have tons of my new music I will be debuting on that stage. You've been warned!

Harry Romero Mix Tracklist

DJ Sneak - Just Shake
Harry Romero - Greens
Tripmastaz - 37th Chamber
Joeski and AuDio KoDe - Show Your Love
Sidney Charles - Most Wanted
HR & Ski - Ghetto Bounce

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