beats about the bush

Bitten by the dance bug early on, at tender age of 13, i went to my first 'rave'. About 200 of us crammed in to a dingy Manchester hole aptly named The Limit - probably referring to its fire capacity! It was a monday night - called 'Mr Monday'. Smoke, poppers and Vicks vaporub providing the backdrop to many a happy hardcore riff. The place was shut down not soon after, probably for underage admission! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -A few years later, the diet had changed to chunkier house sounds pumped out by the likes of Graham Park, Tom Wainwright, Allister Whitehead - THE HEADY DAYS OF HOUSE HAD ARRIVED. LONG LIVE HACIENDA, LEADMILL, CREAM, ETC. But hey, lets try and forget about all those shiny shirts. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -I moved on to work in club promotion at two of the best clubs in the world - the legendary Hacienda, and Privilege in ibiza. Even put on a few nights of my own (some good, some not so good!) - djs including Seb Fontaine and Jon Pleased Wimmin.These were good times but i soon became disenthused (is that a word?) as the scene's freshness disappeared up DJs' arses- each seeking out their own brand of 2-hour monotony - IT'S ABOUT TUNES, NOT DJs. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Fed up with what was on offer, i locked myself away, to stare inanely at a small screen for hours on end (this is called music production). I started on a house vibe. A tune could take months to complete, and end up sounding err... never as good as you originally thought - we've all been there! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Couple of years on sees a change in my musical direction, probably inspired by the new club on the block - Fabric. The good times were back. Awesome venue, wicked crowd and THAT soundsystem! The perfect setting for the fat array of Beats n Breaks churned out by the likes of James Lavelle, Evil 9, Adam Freeland and the Plumps. Class A entertainment. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Current work in progress is more breaks orientated, but with a few cheeky 4/4's still sat in the G5 (bust that jargon!). Fabric still rocks. Even its more unconventional nights are winners - such as Von Sudenfedt live. Seeing Mark E Smith kicking trannies about the stage! priceless. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Production-wise, several different collaborations in the pipeline, due for completion as soon as the new imac turns up! as well as a couple of interesting remixes i've put together of some big tracks, which are sounding better by the day. So... Watch (and of course, listen) to this space. . .- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -