Lee Woodvine aka DJ Woody is one of Britains most respected hip hop dj’s and arguably one of the most innovative and musical turntablists of his generation.Responsible for the invention of a host of groundbreaking scratches and turntablist techniques including his famous signature
'Woodpecker' scratch, not many DJ's can lay claim to having had US legend DJ Qbert on the telephone asking for tips. Not surprising then that turntable giants
Vestax were quick to take up some of Woody's ideas for their new revolutionary
'Controller One' turntable, the worlds first ever turntable to play full musical scales.
Woody's background doesn't quite fit in with media driven stereotypes of a hip hop artist, hailing from the grimey northern industrial town of Burnley in England it is perhaps this unlikely setting that aided Woody's maverick style.
His love affair with hip hop culture began back in 1985 when Casio was king and along with thousands of other broke young hip-hopers he invented the 'pause-tape' looping method. A rapper by default for many years due to a lack of equipment, Woody's DJ career started in 1992 when a part-time job helped him acquire the tools for the trade. The rest of the 90's were spent perfecting his DJ skills with his crew the
Handroids,making mixtapes and tracks with his boy
MC Tigger and building his reputation on the Manchester club scene.
In 1999 Woody entered his first dj competition and
by 2001 Woody had become the worlds most successful scratch dj by gaining more major championship titles than any of his contemparies. On taking a trip to the mecca of the scratch dj, San Francisco, Woody made history by becoming the first ever European dj to win the coveted
World ITF title (International Turntablist Federation), following in the footsteps of such legendary dj's Babu (Dilated Peoples) and A-Trak (World DMC champion, Kanye West DJ). The following year saw Woody become
2 times World Champion when he stormed the
Vestax Extravaganza World finals taking out competition from 14 countries.
Unlike many scratch happy turntablists Woody's roots lay firmly as an allround DJ and in the true hip hop tradition of Kool Herc and Bambaata, he draws from a broad musical palette to rock the worlds dancefloors as effectively as he's murdered dj's in battle. Over the years Woody has shared the stage alongside many of musics biggest names including Eminem, Black Eyed Peas, Cypress Hill, De La Soul and DJ Shadow.Â
In the last 5 years Woody has toured the world relentlessly in various incarnations taking in over 35 countries along the way. Spotted by an American agent in 2001 whilst performing in Hollywood at the World Vestax Finals, Woody was asked to join the US
'Superrappin Tour' as the only Brit alongside US hip hop major players including
Madlib aka Quasimoto, Wildchild and Declaime (Stones Throw), providing American audiences with a rare glimpse of the cream of UK turntablism.
The following year he joined UK hip hop's most accomplished tour the
'Russian Percussian' alongside UK super producer
DJ Vadim and vocalists Blu Rum 13 and Yarah Bravo. This touring outfit was later to form
Ninjatunes' hip hop phenomenon
'One Self'.
Woody recorded the perfect musical scratchscape to compliment Vadims production on their 2005 debut LP 'Children Of Possiblity' and the One Self band had their premier performance to a sold out crowd at London's famous Jazz Cafe. They have since performed to crowds of up to 30 000 at many of Europes biggest festivals and most prestigious venues, from the main stage at
The Big Chill,
Sonar or the epic Monegro festival to Fabric in London or the The Red Club in St.Petersburg. The group were described by the Times as
"best newcomers of 2005" and were Channel 4's
Slashmusic Showcase champions.
In April 2006 Woody released
'A Country Practice' on his Woodwurk imprint, it received a unanimous 'thumbs up' from the music press, described as
"Jaw-droppingly awesome" by DMC Update, Lodown Magazine said
"Honestly, I think we finally found an album by a turntablist that is absolutely worth listening to 'til the very last second!", it was also recently listed in Blues & Soul magazines' best releases of 2006.
Aside from collaborations with DJ Vadim and One Self, Woody's cuts have graced tracks from artists ranging from UK Hip Hop vets
Krispy, Evil Ed (Jamoni), The Planets, electronica supremo
Sirconical (Twisted Nerve), UK rockers
i-DEF-i and even a remix for the legendary
Gangstarr.
So what's happening in 2007? For starters Woody is now the official DJ for latin hip hop superstar and
2007 Grammy Nominee Mala Rodriguez (Universal Records) once again taking his skills to new audiences across the world. Playing some of Europes biggest festivals and taking in tours of North and South America. Already this year sharing the stage with artists such as the Beastie Boys and Snoop Doggy Dog.
On the recordings front there have been releases from
Aquasky, DJ Vadim and Zebra Traffic's
Dirty Diggers all to have received the Woody treatment and Woody has been working with seminal UK dance producer
Tim Simenon (Seal, Depeche Mode) on tracks for a whole new
Bomb The Bass LP. 2007 will also see the fruition of Woody's longtime collaboration with musical cohort, drummer
Carl Sharrocks (808 State, Tool Shed, Twisted Nerve), a studio album and live show are in the works.
Quotes:
"Woody is without doubt one of the most creative forces in djing the UK scene has ever produced. The man has a roll call of world titles and deservedly so..... I'm personally very interested in what the man has to offer in the form of recorded work, if it's half as forward thinking as his battle routines we are all in for a real treat!!" Prime Cuts (Scratch Perverts)
"Dj Woody is one of the most outstandingly creative Djs I've had the pleasure of working with. As a Dj, Woody has pushed the boundries of turntablism into the future. He is one of the funkiest and most talented Dj's the UK has ever produced. DJ Biznizz - (THA EN4CERS / TY - Big Dada)
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