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PAUL BARKWORTH

About Me


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Born at a time when the Bay City Rollers were Top of the Pops, I grew up in a musically diverse household filled with sounds from the likes of the Zombies, Tamla Motown greats like Mary Wells and The Marvelettes, through to more disco classics. Not one member of my family could string a note together but we all appreciated the great sounds that we had around us. It all added to the journey that I was to embark on.
In my teens I discovered the funk and hip hop activists the Soulsonic Force, Grandmaster Melle Mel, and the Bronx movie titled 'Beat Street'. It wasn't long before our crew lifted our mates’ mums¹ kitchen lino from her ongoing renovated house, with a dodgy two hour tape to tape mix and embarked on Hull's newly paved town centre for some break dancing and body popping action on your less-informed locals. Then came acid house and some great, great parties across the north. My appreciation of the local DJs and the complexities of sound and production that went into the music we were all listening to contributed to me becoming a DJ myself. .
My family moved to Hastings and it was here where it really started to happen. I warmed up for John Digweed at his early Bedrock nights and played alongside Danny Howells and Darren Emerson both at Bedrock and at Love Ranch. I eventually started up several of my own nights around the south to make my mark and this led to some wonderful opportunities along the way. .
This included playing gigs such as Barcelona at the official Olympics party where I played to 4000 mad Catalans, a few years later I was on the same bill as Jazzy Jeff and the Black Eyed Peas on one stage, and then playing between Tiefschwarz and Laurent Garnier on the second stage to 15,000 people at a concert for the Isle of MTV. All these experiences opened my eyes to playing to a more universal audience and bought about some amazing turning points in my life. .
My big break came when Darren Hughes (WE LOVE SPACE) and Nicole Tur asked me to host a room at Home in Leicester Square. My night Smokey Beats had started up over in the East End of London and was a great success, and he wanted more of the same for his club. I couldn't believe it really. Three months from starting the Beats, I was on the same bill as Danny Tenaglia, Paul Oakenfold, Felix Da Housecat, Steve Lawler, and once again with Danny Howells. I eventually became weekly resident warming up for Jacques Le Cont at High Rise. Smokey Beats then became the longest serving 'outside promotion' within the whole programming of Home. A shake up at the club saw my role change and I became the Promotions Manager.
Not only was I blessed with playing at such a venue, I was now booking all the DJ's, acts and promoters! .
Unfortunately this was short lived as the club was forced to close and I moved Smokey Beats back east to 93 Feet East on Brick Lane programming three rooms of sound spanning across genres including Live Indie Rock, Deep House, Nu Disco. Before Smokey Beats slowly turned in to a label I also running it at 333, Turnmills, Key and the Cross for the mighty Renaissance. .
I wanted to develop my main sound both as a DJ and as a producer and have now established my own digital download label. The label came around to promote myself and the music that I believed in. And now I have also started to release new material from other artists who seemed to be getting missed by big labels. The music produced and played from myself is deep tech acid house based but with that twist of funk that was recreated from what I had learned from the early Acid House days.
I co produced an 11 track album with Robin 'Faze Action' Lee for Jay Z’s clothing imprint 'Artful Dodger' to coincide with a fashion show which was held in New York. I have had releases on Toolroom Recs, Hairy Claw, and now ISM Recordings with remixes for Yamwho? and Ron Basejams from the “DEEP & MEANINGLESS” remix album forthcoming on ISM.
I help the label along with a monthly event and in 2009 joined forces with ISM recordings at London eastend venue’s Horse and Groom and Star Of Bethnal Green playing a smooth mix of Disco / Chicago, Deep Tech Acid House by splitting to sound into two alongside Yamwho? to keep people dancing all night long.
SB White Label is exclusively signed to Juno and Kudos distribution and is now available through most digital outlets.
My alias DJ / Production outfit which takes care of my disco and electro funk beats titled NEO DISCO PUNK is currently held at all new super Kings Cross Social Club
My recent gigs which have taken my around the world include Estonia, Poland and Belarus to which I received great response to my sound with Podcasts of live shows available from Poland, Belarus, Russia, South, North and East Africa SE Asia and Australia.
I do love music. Life is senseless without music. We are all made up of it which thrills me and I can't wait to develop in the studio, to play and to make new sounds. My whole thing about creating is that when I do, it fills a big hole in my life. Showing off is what I do best and being on the decks allows me to do just that.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 16/01/2007
Band Website: www.smokeybeats.co.uk
Band Members:
Influences: My late mum, Claude VonStroke, John Digweed, Dolphins, Adonis, Acid house, Mr C, The End, All the Chicago producers who made me dance and get me into playing myself, Music and Film, Felix Da House Cat, Funk D Void, Ibiza, Hull City football club, The world, Nice people and the list goes on and on and on and....on...x
Sounds Like:

Record Label: Toolroom Records and SB White
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

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Posted by on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:21:00 GMT

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Posted by on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:13:00 GMT