GOOD AS GOLD International superstar Quentin Harris has the Midas touch.

Photograph: Karl Giant

Much has been made of the perceived demise of the superstar spinner, the kind who shows up at a shiny superclub, doles out the same insipid set of superficial music that he’s played for the past year and a half, collects his five-figure fee and heads for the nearest Learjet. We’d say good riddance—except that so many of those guys are still around. Thankfully, there are plenty of other ways to measure success other than monetarily, and TONY caught up with a few key members from the city’s clubland community to discover more about how they view their nocturnal accomplishments.

The local heroes
Anybody who’s been involved in NYC’s house-music scene in the past few years knows that Sleepy & Boo (a.k.a. Mike and Begonia Gwertzman) have put in the legwork for success. The pair’s signature Basic NYC bash just celebrated its fourth birthday; they have also been frequent guests at two of the city’s premier venues, Cielo and Pacha, as of late; and they’re kicking off a second recurring party, called S&B Sessions, in August. Yet despite the ultrabusy after-dark schedule, the deejaying duo still works day jobs. (“But I’m only working 35 hours a week now!” Boo proudly announces.) “Even though we’ve really only been what somebody might call ‘successful’ for a few years,” Sleepy says, “when you think about all the places and DJs that have come and gone, it seems like we’ve actually been able to do this for a long time.” But longevity, or even money, isn’t how the pair measures achievement. “To have these parties,” Boo says, “and to be able to bring all these DJs in that we really like and respect—to us, that feels like success, whatever kind of money stuff is happening. I mean, we’re doing what we’ve always wanted to do. How great is that?”

The long-simmering star
Of course, DJs always want to make a name for themselves in their hometown—it’s certainly good for impressing friends—but deep down, what most spinners crave is international recognition. The deck veteran Edward McKeithen, better known as Jus-Ed, is the Bridgeport, Connecticut–based producer and proprietor of the Underground Quality label who’s on the cusp of that sort of success. Here’s a true story: On a recent visit to London, this writer walked into one of that city’s leading record shops. We asked what the store’s hottest piece of vinyl was, and the clerk immediately pointed to a Jus-Ed white label. Later, we wandered into one of the city’s premier parties, secretsundaze—and there was Jus-Ed spinning in the club’s courtyard to hundreds of up-for-it party people. (And he was about to leave for Berlin’s Panorama, one of the world’s hottest clubs.) It seems as though the globe (especially Europe) has fallen in love with Jus-Ed’s sound, a beautiful hybrid of NYC soulful house, Detroit techno and European deep-tech beats. But McKeithen, who’s been in this game long enough to have already retired once (in 1985!) takes his burgeoning success in stride. “I’m just basically doing the same thing that I’ve been doing for years,” he says, “though I’ve maybe transitioned the sound a bit to make it a little more danceable on floors outside New York. But things have definitely changed lately. Like, I just played a party in Hamburg, and they knew what color my underwear was, they knew what I ate last week…they knew my whole history! This is all very new, and I am definitely having a blast.”

The superjock
That enjoyment factor seems to be a unifying theme, even for those who are at the top of the game. Quentin Harris, the big-timer whose tough-as-hell take on soulful house has made him one of the world’s most in-demand DJs and remixers. “I’d be doing this even if I wasn’t successful,” Harris says when we finally track him down between his visits to the globe’s top niteries, “as long as I’m having fun.” Of course, pretty much every DJ has some variation of that statement ready to go when asked about their career trajectory. But Harris, unlike some others in his position, remains modest. “To tell you the truth, I don’t even know how to measure my success,” he says. “Like, I’m nominated for DJ Times’ America’s Best DJ contest, but I hardly ever get good gigs in America! I’m just thankful that I’m able to travel around the world and do this, so by that measure, I guess I’m doing okay.”

Basic NYC is at Sullivan Room on Sat 26. Jus-Ed’s Underground Quality internet-radio show airs Wednesdays 7–9pm at myhouse-yourhouse.net.