“Pure emotional ecstasy.”
That’s how DJ Billy Steele describes his intoxicating mix of beats.
You may not have heard of the 27-year-old yet, but he’s hardly wet behind the ears. The Manhattan-based DJ is one of the hottest (both figuratively and literally!) new DJs on the circuit.
Steele arrived in Manhattan at age 20, and, being delicious eye candy, was swiftly recruited into New York’s high-fashion modelling industry. Behind the camera, he was all business. But when off the shoot and out of the lens, Steele was all about the party.
At 22 years old the rising model decided to leave fashion to pursue a career behind the turntables.
“I am a music fanatic,” says Steele. “Music has been a huge part of my life since I was nine years old. It’s about sharing music to lift the collective energy of everyone on the dance floor.”
With his residencies at HK Lounge and Club Cielo, both considered ‘it’ spots for New York City boy clubbers, it may have come as a surprise to Steele’s gay following that he is an ‘out’ straight boy. What? With that taste in music? Apparently it’s true. Steele has no qualms about the issue.
“I’m very lucky to have a lot of new opportunities creating music and travelling to different cities to play in the best clubs and on the best sound systems. I’ve been asked many times recently about being a straight DJ playing most often in gay clubs. I honestly resist categorizing people. It’s just in my nature. True, gay clubs are often where I play best, but it’s a myth that gay clubs are different than straight clubs across the board. Every city has a different energy and I don’t play gay sets vs. straight sets. It’s not that simple.”
Still, Steele has found a niche and his “it’s just about the music” attitude is refreshing to most. As a result, he has a mixed and diverse crowd with one big thing in common — they love to dance.
“I always try to get at least one dance in. But it’s not always possible now that I’m playing on bigger systems in bigger clubs. My spirit is right there on the floor all night long though.”
Having enjoyed the intense experience of playing NYC’s and Chicago’s Pride celebrations, Steele will be making the trek north to close the Ottawa Pride Week Aug 26 with a raging dance party.
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