jAMeS fIErCE bIOgRapHy...
wHen I dIe, jUSt KEeP pLAyInG tHE REcoRds... JiMI heNdRIxBorn in central England and having lived on a staple diet of punk rock and the Beastie Boys for so many years, he easily became a child of the new emerging UK house scene of the late 80's at an early age. Partying came easy for him and his new set of club friends hitting Birmingham's breaking house music clubs such as 'Eden' (one of Sasha's first ever residencies), 'Chuff Chuff' boat parties and 'Decadence', as well as 'The Engine House' every Sunday for 'Full Of Beans' and a pre-trance 'Gatecrasher'. As well as these they found themselves also venturing further north on a regular basis in search of their weekly house fix where they found it, at the legendary 'Hacienda' in Manchester and 'Shelley's' in Stoke, living for the weekend.From these times he was forever hooked, regularly visiting record stores 'Global Grooves' & 'Pure Records' in Birmingham to quench his thirst for all things house. And after a few years of bedroom djing, James began to get requests to DJ around Birmingham, spinning regularly at the legendary glam fest, 'Miss Moneypenny's' with the likes of Jim Shaft Ryan, David Morales and Frankie Knuckles, and well known clubs like 'The Steering Wheel Club', 'Splosh' and 'Marco Polo's'. But his entire concept of music changed after a chance night out having headed down to London after spinning at 'Moneypenny's' with the late, great Tony DeVit, to Tony's residency at the legendary 'Trade'. The music and energy had a huge effect on James and one particular sound grabbed him and changed his concept of music for good. Listening to 'Trade' resident Malcolm Duffy spinning his deep, Chicago and New York based underground grooves, influenced him for life and he realised that this was the style he had been looking for, for so long.Listening to this music, he began to be exposed to DJ/producers like Derrick Carter, DJ Sneak & Cajmere and his music style changed over night. With dance music becoming the mainstream in the UK in the mid 90's, and playing the underground style it became hard to find places in the UK where he could spin or get inspiration. Only places like 'Trade', 'Wobble' in Birmingham and 'Back To Basics' in Leeds were bringing the artistes like Derrick Carter, Armand Van Helden, Sneak, Danny Tenaglia and a then little known DJ duo called Daft Punk from Paris to spin and James drew his inspiration from seeing these artistes & DJ'sDuring this time James found that he could not spin the sound he wanted in the UK. Only in small underground parties around the country could he play what he wanted and these were including dates at infamous UK clubs like 'Mostly Harmless' and 'Spank', as well as guesting in the backrooms at 'Trade' in London (this is where James got his DJ moniker after being regularly described by Lawrence Malice (Trade Promoter) as James the Fierce DJ) and 'S.L.A.G' in Birmingham. So, James decided he wanted to launch himself on the international scene to spin at the clubs around the world that these DJ's and producers he followed were playing at.From here on in James started to live the original euro-trash existence, travelling around the world, djing at the world's best underground and exclusive parties. James doesn't spin much in the UK anymore but over the last few years has still managed to spin at 'Ministry Of Sound', 'Pushca' & 'Crash' in London as well as playing at 'Retroforward' and 'Godskitchen' in Birmingham, still drawing large crowds in his home town! During the early 2000 years James found himself as resident at one of the UK's best ever club's, sadly no longer open, 'Peruvia' in both Manchester and Birmingham, which built him much respect for his underground vibe in a predominantly funky house venue and cities in the grips of the hardhouse generation.Although James plays a distinct Chicago style with influences from the London underground, he prides himself on his own unique style all of his own, described as Dark Disco by 'DJ Magazine' editor Jim Byers in 1999. 'Always underground but always funky' is how he describes it taking influences from the deepest Chicago beats to funky looped Grooves. Present day musical influences are drawn from artistes such as Mark Farina, Music for Freaks, Justin Long, DJ Heather, Miles Maeda and Derrick Carter to just name a few. 'Being a DJ is all about breaking new music, whilst still being able to move the crowd as an entertainer, dropping a well known tune next to an unknown one is a skill, its the difference between just being able to mix, and being a DJ. Any one with rhythm can mix, but to move a crowd is an art. But after all, its just about playing records and having a party'.Djing around the world, he has made many weird friends and acquaintances ranging from pop stars to fashion designers, club kids, deviants and international models to stars of the glamour and fashion world. Having played at many exclusive parties for the world elite clubbers he takes pride in playing underground house to predominantly funky house crowds. He can boast having played to clientele such as the Spice Girls, Marilyn Manson, Robbie Williams, Harrison Ford, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jamiroquai and Shakira as well as numerous stars of film/tv and sport. 'Believe me the sight of Marilyn Manson and Harrison Ford getting their groove on is something ill never forget'. Other parties have included parties in Transylvania, desert parties in the Siani, a party in a Russian submarine base in Monte Negro as well as the Scandinavian erotic festivals.Over the last few years, James has been spinning his sound in diverse places, from Mermansk to Moscow, Bangkok to Bogota and San Francisco to Sao Paulo, as well as undertaking tours of Asia, Australia and South America to name a few. In 2005 & 2006 James also span at events representing Ibiza's No.1 Sunset venue, 'Cafe Mambo' as resident on their world tours. Bringing the pure house sound of the party island to venues world-wide. Past Cafe Mambo tours include tours of Asia, Europe and US.2006 also saw the release of his first mix CD for Seamless Recordings for the Bargrooves series called BARGROOVES MAGENTA. Check out more information on www.seamlessrecordings.com. Includes tracks from Mark Farina, Iz N Diz, Slum Science & Olivier Desmet etc.Present day sees James being represented globally by well-known New York City music Management Company and DJ agency, 'Media Services NYC & The Joint', home of many U.S DJ/producer legends.With many years of experience behind him James Fierce has become one of the UKs best underground house music exports and someone who defines quality house music, musical diversity and solid skills in the world of electronic dance music.After taking a well deserved break in 2006 James Fierce is now back in 2007 with a new deep jackin' house sound, check out the mixes for more!
