Anthony Culverwell aka DJ Switch is one of the UK’s most promising and upcoming talents. As a 2 times national champion, an artist keen to explore undiscovered gems of music and share them, as well as displaying his technical prowess, he already represents the way forward in the art of the DJ.Switch has stayed in the shadows of the Birmingham DJ scene for some time. Having begun at the tender age of 11, he remained self-taught for two years until entering the DJ Academy. He has since worked with Walsall-based graffiti artist Chu, Brum circuit-regulars Munchbreak, has been featured on MTV, BBC Breakfast, Blue Peter and within various other articles.
The year 2005 saw him get his first major breaks. He entered the Youth Music mixtape competition to play an opening slot at the Homelands festival and won, despite making and sending in the mix at the last minute. Subsequently he spun to a crowd in excess of 10,000, warming the stage for such turntable luminaries as the Scratch Perverts, Grandmaster Flash & DJ Kentaro. The very same week saw him win the Derby heat of the DMC battle, beating off 25 other competitors for a place in the national final. The win subsequently led to his appearance and performance on Ras Kwame’s Radio 1 show.Eager for victory, next year did not disappoint as Switch finally claimed his first title, the DMC UK Battle for Supremacy – the youngest winner Britain has seen in any category – and gained a very respectable 3rd place at the world finals. Keen to do better for himself and his country, he defended and successfully retained his accolade the subsequent year (another first) and intends to do so for a third time.But Anthony does not just confine himself to battling; he regularly gets involved in community work and youth education. The ‘Soundshifter’ project saw him working with DJ Moyma and a number of multi-instrumentalists to help music students create their own experimental compositions; he has aided in the running of temporary broadcast stations Kic FM and Smethwick Sound FM for young people; ‘Start Local’ saw him aiding Birmingham-based bands and vocalists in improving their performing talents, and he has also helped in various peoples' DJ tuition.In his live performances, Switch's eclecticism doesn't stop his shows being technically adept, entertaining, and showcasing the gemstones of music you don't get to hear everyday. Everything is “cut, pasted and mixed to make a tasty lasagneâ€. An approach which few are either technically able to take, or prepared to do, Switch represents where the art of the DJ can be taken.“You never know what he’s gonna play next!†- DJ Feva, MunchbreakBATTLE STATISTICS: 2002 -- West Midlands DJ Champion
2003 -- 'Itchy' Runner-up @ Medicine Bar, Birmingham
2005 -- IDJ Turntablist Of The Month (April)
-------- Youth Music/Homelands Mixtape Champion
-------- DMC Derby Champion
-------- DMC UK Battle For Supremacy Runner-up
-------- ITF Nottingham Champion
2006 -- DMC UK Battle For Supremacy Champion
-------- DMC UK Team Battle, Runner-up
-------- DMC World Supremacy Semi Finalist
2007 -- DMC UK Battle For Supremacy (Defending) Champion
2008 -- ...???
BOOKINGS/GENERAL CONTACT: [email protected] A bit about me as well; I'm a science fiction buff & music enthusiast, having dabbled in sound engineering as well. I'm variously known as Tony, Anthony, AJ, Ant, DJ, Switch, DJ Switch and Light Bulb. I'm now primarily based at Nottingham, flirting back to Birmingham from time to time. I apologise for the amount of time you may have had to spend reading my biography. It's in official third person, because it's standard practise and I don't want my English A-level going to waste :)I also apologise for how long it normally takes me to reply to messages and stuff. It's not you, it's me.I don't like the fact that MySpace has a tendency to reduce people to numbers. I intend never to go into music production, partly because I wouldn't be as good at it as I am in live DJing, and also because I prefer to find the best stuff than trying to make it myself. If I did go into singing, I would inherit my dad's tone-defness. I wonder whether people are into 'popular' music because they can't be bothered to look for things they may like, without it being presented to them.I hope to write a book at some point in the future, a kind of DJ tutorial/battle-scene-documentary/autobiography, if not at least just to get it all out of my system, but also because it's interesting stuff. And I may get round to doing an album. I'm in a band, Glow Manhattan - lovely bunch of chaps - and I'm the DJ in the group. And we are getting round to doing an EP.Carpe diem, and all that jazz.
