I'm one half of Soulphonic Soundsystem, (www.myspace.com/soulphonicsound) which is a bi-coastal production duo consisting of myself and DJ Santo. We specialize in nu-jazz, brokenbeats, afro-funk, blunted hiphop-infused downtempo, and deep house with a love for all things Brazillian. I'm a founding member of DC's Aubergine 3 and am the creator and music programmer of Groove Place Internet Radio, (www.groovepalace.com) and occasional club DJ (aka DJ Fraud /DJ Tiny Bill) and have never been seen in the same room with renegade underground bootleg remixer Double-Q, who I'm told looks a lot like me.
How it all started: It's been basically music music music from the get-go. I started playing piano by ear from just before my 4th birthday, about the time it was discovered that I had perfect pitch. I did the heavy duty classical training and performance thing for nine years, then switched gears and learned the jazz standards canon throughout my teens and early twenties where I also picked up bass and some guitar. Listened to lots of off-the-beaten path stuff all along the way and amassed a sizeable collection of jazz, rock, bossa, funk, soul, britpop, alt-rock, electronic, dance, nu-wave, and classical. I jumped headlong into production around the time that computer-based studios were finally becoming feasible. Much as I loved jazz, I felt like there wasn't really much being done that wasn't just retreads of the great players of the past. The electronica / downtempo / post acid-jazz stuff really grabbed me and I decided that fusing dub, dancefloor and chunky hiphop beats with some of the traditional instrumentation and improvisational playing styles of jazz and soul was a way to breathe new life into my favorite artform, and I became a avid beat junkie. Since then, I've had the pleasure of working with and/or performing alongside some of my favorite artists on a similar wavelength, including Mark Farina, Diplo, Thunderball, Fort Knox Five, various Thievery Corp. alumni, Bugz in the Attic, Supreme Beings of Leisure. Some of my/our varied music projects have appeared on television, video and film.
Groove Palace Radio has given me a chance to give back to the world. After absorbing so much great music, I absolutely love having the chance to turn on others to what's out there. Listeners from every nook and cranny of this planet on all continents are tuning in on a regular basis. Fellow producers send me music, and music fans write to turn me on to new things. We're nearing our 200,000th stream since the station started.
I currently live in DC with my lovely wife and daughter just a few blocks from the US Capitol. Soulphonic Soundsystem's debut full-length release comes out in late 2005.
