DJ LUBI – THE BEST IN LATIN MUSIC SINCE 1982! (FULL BIOGRAPHY)

DJ Lubi (Lubi Jovanovic) is one of the UK's best known salsa and latin music DJs both at home and abroad. His career spans over 25 years working in all aspects of the business - top class DJ, live music promoter, radio work, record label PR and CD compiler. He  began in 1982 spinning Charlie Palmieri and Tito Puente vinyls for jazzdancers in Northern England but by 1986, he was running his first salsa clubnight in Leeds, Club Afro Latina. The early 1990s saw his reputation as a kicking salsa DJ spread UK wide with gigs at clubs and festivals from London and the South right up to Scotland in the North! By 1999, he was beginning to travel as a guest DJ outside the UK, and since then he has played salsa clubs and congresses many times in the following places : Los Angeles (USA), Gran Canaria, Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, San Sebastian), Portugal, Ireland (Dublin, Belfast), Holland (Amsterdam, Haarlem), Denmark (Copenhagen), Berlin, Riga (Latvia), Prague (Czech Republic), Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Sad), Montenegro, Greece (Athens), Turkey and Singapore! He is the UK’s top international salsa DJ and has lifetime achievement awards for DJing from both the West Coast Salsa Congress (USA) and the UK Salsa Congress! His DJ mixes have been featured on radio on BBC Radio One and 1Xtra s well as B92 Radio in Serbia.

At the same time as his DJ work, he was instrumental in bringing live latin music to the North of England, both as a promoter and also as a musician. He played bass and led latin jazz and salsa bands such as Conjunto Fuego and Grupo Pa'lante! In early 1995 he co-founded Casa Latina in Leeds, a clubnight that shaped the face of the UK salsa scene forever by giving people a weekly combination of live bands, salsa dance classes, shows and top class DJs! Many major salsa and Cuban artist touched down there first in the UK from 1995 until 2002 - Eddie Palmieri, Jimmy Bosch, Charanga Habanera, DJ Henry Knowles, Issac Delgado, Manolito y su Trabuco, Wayne Gorbea, Eddie Torres Dancers, Tito Allen, Alfredo de la Fe, Ricardo Lemvo, Grupo Klimax, Candido Fabre, Frankie Martinez, Maraca Valle, Son 14 - the list is endless! Since 2002, he has promoted major concerts by Orishas (Cuba), Johnny Polanco (USA), Salsa Celtica (Scotland), La-33 (Colombia), Alex Wilson (UK/Switzerland) and Seu Jorge (Brasil).

Since his first release in 2003, he has become probably the most prolific CD compiler in the salsa world today - 35 titles in 5 years for various labels with total sales exceeding 150,000! He is currently the only European salsa DJ compiling titles for the legendary Fania Records. His extensive knowledge about latin music has seen him co-produce radio shows for the BBC and work as a freelance promotional plugger for a variety of record labels (EMI, Universal, Rykodisc, V2, Palm Pictures etc) on their latin music releases. One of the UK salsa pioneers of the early 1980s, he is still in the business today at the top level due to an understanding and ability to always keep moving forwards.

Respect the past but never fear change! Whether its playing to 3,000 people at an international salsa Congress or doing a latin mix for BBC Radio 1, his passion and love for salsa and Cuban music is still as strong today as it was 25 years ago when he was dropping descargas and mambos for jazz dancers in a tiny bar in his hometown of Bradford! As the old saying goes, "Que Viva La Musica!"

www.myspace.com/djlubi for full up-to-date information on gigs, clubs, compilations and blog

DJ LUBI – SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Lubi Jovanovic aka DJ Lubi, is probably the best known UK salsa DJ on the international scene, both from his performances at festivals and congresses across the world to his CD compilation work. He first spun mambos and descargas in jazz clubs in the North of England in 1982 before progressing to full-time salsa DJ in 1985. Since then he has played in clubs, festivals and congresses across the globe, including Los Angeles, Gran Canaria, Holland, Spain, Portugual, Ireland, Prague, Serbia, Germany, Montenegro, Denmark, Latvia, Turkey, Greece and Singapore! His musical taste stretches from classic 1960s guaguancos to 1970s salsa dura, instrumental mambo/latin jazz to Cuban timba. He also likes reggaeton and Cuban hiphop but if asked to choose a favourite genre, it would have to be Puerto Rican salsa from the 1970s to the present day – a kicking campana with smooth tumbao, tight brass and strong soneros! Its all about the swing!

A second career which has him recognised across the globe is CD compiler. He has produced over 35 titles since 2003 for the following labels : Fania – Nascente – World Music Network – Freestyle – V2 Music – Protel/Emusica – V2 TV. These include “Beginners Guide To Salsa” (Nascente 2003), the biggest selling UK salsa compilation CD of all time with over 60,000 sales, and also the highly rates “NYC Salsa” series for Fania Records, with all 3 volumes popular with dancers, djs and critics worldwide!

With over 25 years in the latin music business, you know you get quality and dedication from DJ Lubi, be it as a guest DJ or CD compiler. Its all about the love of music and good taste.