I'm not really a band, more a dj. I have been trying to perfect my mixing skills since around 1993 and have the honour of being the first ever guest to be asked on Coldcut/Ninja Tune's Solid Steel radio show after they heard one of my tapes way back in 1998 and since then have been lucky enough to have a number of mixes broadcast on the show. I have also been a frequent guest on Marcus Maack's excellent Back To The Basics radio show. Aside from that I have been djing in clubs in Edinburgh since 1997/98 years and for the last 9 years have been resident at a night called Headspin which takes place at The Bongo Club in Edinburgh, Scotland playing a mix of funk, hip hop, rock, breaks, house, jazz, .... , well anything good really. I have also djed at Edinburgh's premier (i.e. only) breakdance session, Style Trial and as a result of meeting likeminded people there have been lucky enough to help with sound design for a few shows, details of which can be found further down this page.
I will also be djing at a new club night called Mumbo Jumbo that launches on Saturday 20th September 2008 at The Bongo Club in Edinburgh. The night will feaure a mix of musical styles from funk and hip hop to house and electronica with resident djs Trendy Wendy (Tackno), Steve Austin ( Headspin ) and Colin Millar ( Headspin / Hero No7 ) playing the biggest tunes to get your party started alongside special guest djs and live acts in the main room plus some special hand-picked musical treats in the upstairs bar area. Doors will be open from 11pm until 3am and early arrivals can expect cheap entry and special giveaways. Check the myspace page here for more details.
Here's the list of "djs and bands I've played with (but who are considerably more famous than me)" that all djs have to put on their page by law - The Abdominal Showmen ( Breakin' Bread ), Aim ( Atic ), Alex Reece, Andy Smith , Bamboo Soul , Barry Ashworth , Black Grass ( Catskills ), The Boogaloo Investigators, Bushy & Professor ( Catskills ), Chubby Grooves, DJ Cam , DJ Caramac , DJ Fingers (The Sindecut / Binary Labyrinth), DJ Format , DJ Fresh (Bad Company), DJ Pogo ( Tha En4orcers ), DJ Sheep , DJ Signify , DJ Touche ( The Wiseguys ), DJ Yoda , David Holmes , Derek Dahlarge , Diggs and Woosh (DIY), The Dub Pistols , Dynamo Productions , Fletch , Fly T ( Capital 1212 ), Fred Deakin ( Lemon Jelly ), The Heliocentrics ( Now Again / Stones Throw ), The Herbaliser , J-Walk , Jay-P , Jimpster , Keb Darge, Kidda ( Skint ), Koaste , Krash Slaughta ( II Tone Committee ), Lewis Parker , Marc Mac ( 4 Hero ), Mark Rae ( Grand Central ), Martin Brew ( J-Walk / Fat City ), Matt Black ( Coldcut ) & Zen TV, Mr Scruff , Mr Thing , The Nextmen , Ollie Teeba , Only Child ( Grand Central ), Paul Mogg ( Mogg and Naudascher / DFA / Supersoul ), Pro Vinylist Karim , Pyscho Pab, The Psychonauts (Mo Wax), Qool DJ Marv , Richard Fearless ( Death In Vegas ), Richard Sen (Bronx Dogs), Riton, Sneaky ( Fingathing ), Soul Of Man ( Finger Lickin' ), Supercharger, Tom Middleton ( Global Communication / Jedi Knights ), Treva Whateva , The Unabombers ( Electric Chair ), Vibra (7 Hills), Wreckage (Wall of Sound), Yush 2K and lots more I've forgotten.
As well as djing by myself I also used to dj on 4 turntables alongside Dava from 2x10 under the name The Resonance and together we have been described as "the toast of Edinburgh's DJing community" by those kind people at Trouble .
Mixes available for download
You can listen to a few mixes of mine by clicking on the following links -
* Headspin's 8th Birthday mix : a mix of old club favourites, new tunes, re-edits and some of my own productions that I put together a while back courtesy of Cscot.com .
* Podcast of me on Ninja Tune's Solid Steel radio show from January 2007.
* Headspin 10th Birthday Mix done alongside Steve Austin and Allan Dunbar courtesy of NachoPancho .
My Music Player
You can check out a few bits and pieces I have done in the player above which include a remix of 'Preservation' by Sanna that I did with Manzo from Hero No 7 , a rough, as yet unfinished, b-boy, or more correctly b-girl, break called 'Shelltoe' and a couple of tracks from Hero No 7 's EP 'Right Side Of The Tracks' called 'Roots of a Hero' (as played by Tom Robinson on his BBC Radio 6 'Introducing' show here and on his 'Best of Introducing 2007' show here and Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 1 here and here ) and 'The Seventh Sense' featuring Dave Bernard from 2 Times 10 . Download any of these while you can as I'll be updating tracks as often as possible.
Sanna
At the moment I'm am working on some new music with Sanna who were previously a 3-piece consisting of Martin O'Donnell, Richard Kelley and Graham Clarke but have since added myself on beats and samples and fellow Headspin dj Allan Dunbar on bass. We've had a few gigs at the world-famous Club Welto that continues to promotes new live bands as well as electronica and spoken word acts. We have also received radio plays from Vic Galloway on Radio 1 (tracklistinga here and here ) and BBC Radio Scotland's Blackstreet radio show (tracklisting here ).
To date I have played alongside the following people with Sanna : CB Radio , Chico Mendez, DJ Format , Duality Bytes, Ex-Lion Tamer , Gand-Eye , Gray Fox , HMS Ginafore ( Fence Records ), The Heliocentrics ( Now Again / Stones Throw ), Iona Marshall , Nick E. Melville , Randan Discotheque , Rodney Relax , The Shellsuit Massacre , Teak Veneer, Wounded Knee ( Benbecula Records ), Zorras
Also on April 20th 2008 Sanna played the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh as part of the fifth Spectrum Festival .
Music for B-Boys and B-Girls
The first show I was involved with sound design for was 'A B-Bairn's Story' by Glasgow's Indie B Jewels and Flyin' Jalapenos . This dance-based theatre piece tells the story of 2 young neds redemption through hip hop and was premiered on March 11 2007 at Edinburgh Festival Theatre as part of Jonzi D 's Breakin' Convention .
I have also helped Edinburgh B-Girls crew Eklektic Sheek put together the music for a dance piece that they premiered in Liverpool on Friday April 4 2008. More details on this when I have them.
..... and even though I was not involved in the event, Ireland's Bad Taste Cru featured the track Keeping It Real?' by Hero No 7 as part of the music in their show when they won the UK heat of Battle of the Year on Saturday April 5 2008 at the Islington Carling Academy in London.
Hero No7
On a production front I have released a few records as part of Hero No 7 some of which you can hear at the Hero No 7 MySpace Page . As well as getting a 5/5 review in DMC Update our records have had the honour of being played by the likes of John Peel (RIP), Steve Lamacq , Andy Smith ( Dynamo Productions ), Coldcut and one of our tunes was used by Ollie Teeba from The Herbaliser on his FabricLive 26 mix CD.
Discography
Hero No 7 'There Ain't No Party Like A Hero Party' (Hero No 7 Records 12" H7002T) 2000
Hero No 7 'Keeping It Real?' b/w 'Besomebody' (7 Hills Records 7" 7HLS002) 2002
Hero No 7 'The Right Side Of The Tracks' EP (Hero Records 12" HR001T) 2006
If you would like to purchase any of these records then please visit the Hero No 7 website and email the address given on the contacts page.
Tracks appear on the following mix CDs
The Herbaliser 'FabricLive 26' [Fabric UK] (Hero No 7 'Keeping It Real?')
DJ Jumbo 'Funky Code' [Flatrock USA] (Hero No 7 '101 Bonus Beats')
Ulticut Ups! 'Dig-A-Dig-A-Doo' [Flatrock USA] (Hero No 7 'Keeping it Real?')
Masanori Ikeda 'Spinout 3' [V2 Japan] (Hero No 7 'Cut Up Party Record 101')
DJ Masuda 'Labstract Anthology Vol. 7' [Peace Maker Orchestra Japan] (Hero No 7 'Roots Of A Hero')
Circus DJS 'Live Show Mix (2003-2005)' [Mary Joy Japan] (Hero No 7 'Besomebody')