dj steve thorpe

I am probably the longest serving breaks resident in the country, having played every Saturday night at Tangled Breaks for over ten years. My love of vinyl first came about at the age of 14 with my first purchase - David Bowie's – Lets Dance. From that first seed, my collection started to grow. It was in the late 80s and "Madchester" which saw me develop a fascination with djing. Being able to mix and blend my record collection together on two turntables was a revelation! Once i had been bitten i started to promote and dj at college parties I began to create my own style using my eclectic record collection. Not committed to playing just one style of music i would reach into my influences of rock, indie, electro and reggae. All these influences created my passion for the broken beat. it was the rhythm and bassline that got my feet dancing. So i would search the record shops looking through all genres of music to find those records which moulded my style. There are elements of breakbeat in all aspects of electronic music. It was my break from the norm that gained the attention of Generation X (cool Manchester bar) where i was to have a residency for 4 years. It was also my unique style and eclectic tracklist which caught the ear of the Tangled promoters, and so began Tangled Breaks. Myself and fellow resident Herbie Saccani built up their own following upstairs at Tangled in the late nineties through people coming to the club and hearing music they had never heard before. I then started to invite the djs/producers whose records we were playing to come and guest. Acts such as Hybrid, Rennie Pilgrem, Lee Coombs, Adam Freeland, Hyper and Koma & Bones all guested (and still do) at Tangled Breaks long before the breaks scene took off. Since then all but a few of the breaks fraternity have graced the turntables of Tangled Breaks. Tangled Breaks has become legendary amongst breakbeat worshippers. Ask why tangled breaks has been rocking for so long and the answer off all the big guests and punters will be - "its a combination of Steves excellent eclectic warm up sets through to his funk driven peak-time sets fused with the amazing atmosphere that Steve has created over the years." I am now an integral part of the Manchester scene, promoting other events and parties alongside other established nights. I have guested and played in nearly every single club/bar in Manchester (now that’s a lot!) as well as numerous guest slots around the country , for example - urban gorilla, Sheffield) , Dpercussion (an outdoor Manchester festival). the plug, sheffield (alongside Koma & Bones and Drumattic Twins). My biggest highlight so far has to be playing at Glade festival 2006, where i had the honour of dj-ing to a packed marquee on the first day of what was an amazing festival!!