About Me
DAVID PICCIONI / AZULI
It is fair to say that the names of Azuli and David Piccioni have become synonymous with the birth and evolution of house music in the UK. When it comes to house music, Piccioni and Azuli have pioneered where others have followed. From literally selling 12s out of the back of a van and his own Black Market Records shop (itself London's spiritual home of house and dance vinyl) (started 1990) to having worldwide chart hits and putting together some of the most sought after mix and compilation series in what can now be loosely termed 'dance' music, Azuli has become the longest running independent dance label in the Europe having started the in 1991.
From frequenting Punk and New Wave clubs in his native Huddersfield in the late 1970s to DJing at his own parties at MacMillans in Liverpool through the mid 80s, playing residencies during New York's legendary house explosion from 1986 to establishing the UK's longest running independent house label in 1991, Dave Piccioni and Azuli's joint journeys from the very beginnings of 'house' music are as entwined as The Paradise Garage is to Larry Levan or as mirror ball sparkle is to disco. In other words whilst others were jumping on the bandwagon, Dave Piccioni had already lived
it.
After moving to New York in 1986 and encountering early house music at Spanish Harlem street parties and being a member and regular at the legendary Paradise Garage, David started DJing at Black Market..s house club on 21st St with Maurice Watson in 1987. After the massive success of the club, he was asked to introduce house music to a new audience of New Yorkers in the 2,000 capacity 'The World' club on the Lower East Side of New York. The mixed crowd of straight/gay/black and Latino crowd previously groomed on a combination of hip hop, freestyle and general modern commercial club sounds were quickly converted to the underground house sound. David’s popular Saturday house night, which ran from 1986 - 1990 was quickly joined by Frankie Knuckles on a Friday night and a combination of David Morales and Larry Levan on a Thursday, all of whom were far from the notorious names they are today. David then continued in New York with residencies at Red Zone and MARS.
Not wanting to become a 'career DJ' David moved to the UK where the dance music business soon took priority over the DJ life. The world famous record store Black Market Records was taken over by Piccioni and his American knowledge and experience was used to the full when starting his Azuli record label. "At the time there was a lot of house coming out in London from the acid scene but also a lot of stuff that was more American sounding which we wanted to put out," recalls Piccioni. Thus with their shrink-wrapped, very deliberately US looking 12"s, Azuli's debut release, Chocolate Fudge's 'Inner Fantasy' flew off the shelves and into the world's DJ crates.
Being a DJ who had lived in New York's formative house community had meant that Piccioni had forged many a long friendship with DJs and producers who were soon to become global stars. By the time they started getting hits like 'Needing You' by David Morales, which hit no.9 in the UK national chart, Afro Medusa's 'Pasilda' and other crossover hits such as 'The Face', 'Eclipse' and 'Makes Me Love You' Azuli had become one of the largest and strongest independent labels in the UK. Now with over 250 singles and various albums including compilations by Frankie Knuckles, Joey Negro, Francois K and Danny Tenaglia there seems to be no stopping Azuli's meteoric rise.
But as many fans of the label will already know, there is more to Azuli than just quality house music. Azuli is about good music full stop. With this in mind Azuli have now established several superlative compilation series, helmed by some of the biggest names inside and outside of dance music. The Azuli 'Choice' compilation series are carefully and painstakingly put together retrospective albums selected by the world's biggest DJs. From the DJs own liner notes on their musical selections, highlighting their personal musical journey, to the rare and forgotten gems that only such avid music freaks could pick out, it has become a benchmark series with big name DJs queuing up to put their name to the next installment. From Danny Tenaglia, Tony Humphries, Francois K and Derrick L. Carter to more recent offerings from X-Press 2, Jeff Mills, Roger Sanchez and John Digweed the 'Choice' series has constantly surprised fans and given their DJing heroes a much needed chance to show their often overlooked musical diversity.
Then we have Azuli's musical guide to clubland's 'after hours' with their eclectic 'Late Night Tales' series. Put together with Azuli's microscopic eye for detail this diverse musical selection is aimed much more for home listening and the post clubbing experience. From Hull's finest, Fila Brazillia to Rae and Christian, Four Tet, Groove Armada, Howie B, Nightmares on Wax, Jamiroquai and most recently The Flaming Lips, the Late Night Tales have also included stories read by Patrick Moore, sonic 'bits and bobs' from artist David Shrigley and one-off cover versions by the artists themselves which has seen Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) tackle Jimi Hendrix and The Flaming Lips take on The White Stripes classic 'Seven Nation Army'. Featuring an eclectic and diverse musical track selection, with exclusive additions and extra input from the compilers themselves, the Late Night Tales are now established as one of the most essential compilation series of the new millennium.
Then of course, Dave Piccioni has developed an immense following for his annual Miami CDs that collect the finest tunes of the Winter Music Conference. David also mixes and compiles the CD for the legendary SPACE in IBIZA, having done so for the last 5 years. David also produces annual mixes for one of his international DJ residencies at Cavo Paradiso in Mykonos.
David has also maintained his status as a truly international DJ, combining his London gigs with frequent visits to Italy, Portugal Switzerland and Ibiza. The Black Market record shop has been run for 15 years now by Piccioni and maintains its status as dance music's most notorious ground breaking shop.
David Piccioni is one of worlds most travelled DJ’s with his Azuli residencies at The Cross in London and International residencies at Alter Ego in Verona (Italy) Space (Ibiza Summer) Echoes in Riccione (Italy). Year 2007 saw a Far East tour taking in Shanghai/Singapore/Dubai/ Jakarta.
May 2008 Mix
