Giles’ love affair with all things House and Techno was sparked at the beginning of the 90’s after hearing it on the radio. Before long the voodoo lure of the dancefloor and club life was too much to resist and he fell head long into his obsession.
Despite collecting records from the age of 15, it wasn’t until moving to London in 2000 after completing his degree that Giles began DJing. Within a very short space of time he made his mark, earning a coveted residency for the Junior Boys Own affiliated Faith parties. Here he played alongside UK stalwarts such as X-Press 2 and Terry Farley and international guests such as Doc Martin, Kerri Chandler and Dubtribe.
Soon after, inspired by hedonistic cutting edge clubs both in the UK and Ibiza, Giles and a group of friends launched Secretsundaze in 2001. In a short period of time, secretsundaze became the hottest ticket in town for both guest DJ’s (Ricardo Villalobos, Carl Craig, Steve Bug, Mike Shannon, Luciano, Ame, Losoul and Ivan Smagghe, Jay Haze to name a few); and party people from all over Europe. These colourful summer Sunday daytime parties have also made secretsundaze the darling of the UK media with it being voted “Best Club Night†by readers of Time Out in London in “The Time Out Live Awards 2005†and awarded the accolade “Club of The Year†in the January 2006 edition of Mixmag. secretsundaze also became known for taking risks with bookings, breaking new, fresh talent in the UK, something which Giles was largely responsible for. The buzz about secretsundaze has also spread across Europe with hugely successful parties taking place in Ibiza (2005 / 2006), Sonar Festival In Barcelona (2005 / 2006/ 2007) and Snowbombing in Austria.
During this period, Giles’ reputation has soared with him being named “Best New DJ†in 2003 by Time Out magazine. He has played many of the UK’s most respected parties / venues from smaller more underground venues such as The Key, Plastic People, 93 Feet East to larger venues such as Fabric (room 1), The End (for Cocoon and Superfreq parties), Back To Basics, Neighbourhood, Ministry of Sound and Turnmills. International gig highlights include Panorama Bar (Cadenza night and secretsundaze party), Weekend, Watergate in Berlin; Robert Johnson and Monza in Frankfurt; Weetamix in Geneva; Club 11 in Amsterdam, The Rex in Paris and both Space and The Underground in Ibiza.
Musically his style is focussed around Deep House and Techno with a warm, hypnotic feel. However his sets draw on many styles from Chicago to Detroit to more modern European influences. Most of all though, Giles’ sets are noted for their strong programming, passion and integrity.
In early 2005 Giles was approached to join the reviews team of the internationally renowned magazine DJ, reviewing the “Techno / Minimal†section, something which he still does today.
Starting in February 2007 Giles continues his radio show "The New Funk Theory") on leading underground station Samurai.fm. He was also asked to do a guest mix on John Digweed's "Transitions" show late last year which has a listener ship of over 1 million worldwide.
Production wise Giles’ first experiments were with his friend Dan Berkson (Poker Flat), remixing a track on Spanish label Logical Noise in 2006. Late last year he started working on a new project: “Two Armadillos†with Martin Dawson (aka King Roc). In the last 6 months they have released their first ep “Tunnel Of Light†on Steve Bug’s Dessous imprint to critical acclaim. The duo also have an ep “Butterfly Bee†soon to be released on the UK’s Four: Twenty records home to artists of the ilk of Loco Dice and Martin Buttrich and with a remix from Cadenza’s Andomat 3000 and Jan.
In September 2007 Giles mixed and compiled his first compilation for secretundaze alongside his co-resident James Priestley. A double mix CD simply entitled “secretsundaze volume 1â€. This showcases Giles’ exemplary selection skills and deft mixing. Refusing to go down the well trodden generic ableton route and wanting a raw, natural and 100% real vibe, Giles took the unusual route of mixing this live in his bedroom at home.
2008 is already shaping up to be another strong year for Giles, with follow up releases lined up for Dessous, Four:Twenty and Buzzin Fly. Remixes for Kiki and Dan Berkson and James What are in the pipeline as is a second secretsundaze mix CD, sheduled for late summer. To be continued…..
For bookings please contact Goli at Geist agency.
[email protected] tel: +49 30 44013662
DISCOGRAPHY
Era Calavara – Santiago Posada (Giles Smith & Dan Berkson rmx) (Logical Noise) 2006
Tunnel of Light EP – Giles Smith presents Two Armadillos (Dessous) 2007
Butterfly Bee EP – Giles Smith presents Two Armadillos (Dessous) Sept 2007
Warriors – Giles Smith presents Two Armadillos (secretsundaze music) October 2007
MIX COMPILATIONS
secretsundaze Volume 1 – Mixed by Giles Smith and James Priestley (secretsundaze music) October 2007
secretsundaze Volume 3 – Mixed by Giles Smith and James Priestley (secretsundaze music) scheduled Setember 2008
FORTHCOMING INFO / RELEASES
“Hamlin†– Two Armadillos w/ Sascha Dive remix (Dessous) March / April 2008
“Nostalgia†– Two Armadillos w/Tobias remix (Buzzin Fly) April 2008
“Patience†– Two Armadilllos w/ Will Saul and Tam Cooper remix (Four:Twenty) May 2008
“Belvedere†– Kiki (Two Armadillos remix) (Mood) June / July 2008-03-05
