Ever since I was young I knew I wanted to be a DJ. I bought (with help from my rents!) a set of 1210’s instead of a cheap set of decks when I was 13! After years of playing ‘Scouse’ house and funky house I went to see Derrick Carter at Circus’s first birthday at the Masque, and everything changed from there.
I got bored with simply mixing popular funky house tune into tune, so I channeled my OCD tendencies into learning how to mix over 3 and 4 decks; how to use acapellas and loops from various styles of music and sourcing tunes new and old that would rock a dance floor. This led to my continuous obsession with finding new acapellas especially from RnB and hip-hop. A lot like Derrick Carter, my style is very quick jackin/jazzy/discoey/boompty/chicagoey and everything in-between, from the latest DLC remix to the oldest Sneak track, to even old Wu Tang Clan songs. I am forever looking for that extra trick, obscure acapella or old gem. I am a full blown ‘DJ geek’.
After years of fierce bedroom practice, little gigs at small bars, police busting house parties at Croxteth Grove, hiring CDJs to events across Liverpool and spending obscene amounts of money at Plastic/Phase Records (Cheers Paddy & Paul!) I got the opportunity to play the early Circus & Chibuku after-parties at the infamous Drezla and later Magnet. Thanks to Lewis Boardman, I stepped up n rocked a packed messy Drezla crowd with my fast relentless style proving perfect for an early hours messy after party. I continued to play numerous after parties including one of the last ones ever at the Drezla, after the Chibuku party with 2 Many DJs @ Nation.
With electo etc becoming more and more popular I found it hard to get as much work but I recently won the fiercely competitive Undercover DJ Competition at the Sara Wiwa bar and playing nights at Undercover, WarehOuse @ Barfly and Bumpty Bumpty in Birmingham. While having been DJing for a long time, I have finally got my arse into gear and will hopefully make the most of my opportunities.
You can now catch me on Undercover Live on Icon Radio (www.iconradio.co.uk) with the rest of the DMS crew every friday night 6-8pm. Ill be providing regular mixes as well as new and old tunes and the usual stupid banter! Check out the facebook group Undercover live for more details.
Background from flickr user
