About Me
Red D’s Bio
Red D started listening to new beat and Belgian rave anthems around 1989 and slowly discovered the good stuff. Laurent Garnier’s "Shot In The Dark" was the album that truly triggered the quest for knowledge. A quest that has led Red D to Chicago, Detroit, New York and back. An eternal love for the originators of these cities defines the sound of Red D. As the years progress Red Ds record collection and knowledge extend further into both past and future so in any given set you will hear tracks spanning the last 30 years of dance music. It goes without saying that as a dj Red D firmly believes that there are no boundaries in dance music, anything goes. If the time is right to drop a disco classic hell drop it, if a slice of Detroit techno fits the evening that’s what you’ll get, because house is not about playing 120 bpm soulful deep stuff all night, its about creating mad energy on the dance floor, its about surprising people, conjuring up records that make people go: that’s house?.
DJ Marbble and various other people from Chicago, the birthplace of house have compared Red D to the oldskool Chicago dj’s, a raw sound full of energy and funk but with a touch of the New York styled soulfullness and a serious injection of dark Detroit grooves.
As a dj Red D was and is influenced by people like Ron Hardy, Theo Parrish, Derrick Carter and Laurent Garnier when he plays all-nighters at the Parisian hotspot The Rex Club.Heavily featured in Red Ds record collection are Kerri Chandler, Larry Heard, Carl Craig, Blake Baxter, Theo Parrish, Jovonn, Bohannon, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Gangstarr, Moodymann, Mike Dunn, etc.
Over the years Red D has brought his unique blend of music to various places in Belgium and beyond, with guest spots and regular stints in such Belgian clubs and parties as Decadance, Suite16, Rendez-Fou, Culture Club, Dalis Bar, Tijuana and many others, and guest spots abroad including the infamous Café Vaaghuyzen in Amsterdam, China Lounge in Hamburg, Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh and the Construction nights in Birmingham. Residencies at We Play House (Red Ds own night at the crazy Decadance club in Ghent), Nightflight, Rendez-Fou and Clues will continue to bring you more good music in the future.
In 2004 Red D was invited to play the 10 Days Off festival in Ghent alongside Osunlade. And in 2006 he was there again opening the proceedings for Theo Parrish and Carl Craig.Over the years Red D has shared the decks with a variety of artists, including Filippo Naughty Moscatello (Gigolo Records), Fabrice Lig (F Communications), Mike Grant, Charles Webster, DJ Genesis, Osunlade, Needs, Russ Gabriel, Scott Ferguson, Suburban Knight, DJ 3000, Alton Miller, Antal & All Out K (Rush Hour Amsterdam), Reggie Dokes (Psychostasia Detroit), Jori Hulkkonen (F Communications), Jeremy Newall, Theo Parrish (Sound Signature), Tyree Cooper, Boo Williams, Carl Craig, Victor Simonelli, DJ Deep and many more, one of the highlights being when Jori Hulkkonen and Fabrice Lig came to play for his 10 years of djing anniversary.
Recently Red D ventured into new territory when he was invited by art gallery Fortlaan 17 in Ghent to spin tracks at various exhibitions. Creating a background for artists like Jacques Charlier, Lawrence Malstaf and Stief Desmet.
We Play House & Sunday Matinee
We Play House is the name of the night Red D has started a while ago. This night is dedicated to what Red D believes to be good house music and has found a monthly home at Club Decadance in Ghent. Past guests have included DJ Deep, Alton Miller, Charles Webster, Mike Grant, DJ Genesis, Tyree Cooper, Eddie Flashin Fowlkes, Reggie Dokes, Scott Ferguson, Victor Simonelli, Dj Deep, Minx, Jack De Marseille, Boo Williams, Todd Sines and various Belgian top jocks like Fabrice Lig & Tomaz, testament to the variety and quality of Red Ds We Play House.
In 2006 Red D took a new chance and set up a Sunday afternoon / early evening party inspired by Body & Soul and Shelter in New York. The spirit might be that of the big apple but the music is definitely Chicago. The very first edition saw the very first Belgian performance of none other than Larry Heard, who was welcomed by an ecstatic crowd of well over 400 music lovers. November will see the second edition and the guest will appeal to New York lovers and followers of the original disco sounds.
Diesel-U-Music
In 2005 Red D participated in that years edition of Diesel-U-Music, the highly acclaimed and respected below-the-line music competition. He made it to the finals in the category Dance to end up winning it by unanimous decision. Previous winners of that competition include Mylo amongst others, and we all know what happened to him.
Red D featuring Lady Linn
Another project that has been getting a lot of attention is Red D featuring Lady Linn, the singer of Belgian bands Skeemz and Bolchi. Laying live vocals on top of existing tracks or creating new vocals on instrumental tracks, their performance is filled with energy and brings a live element to a dj set with great results. In 2006 Red D & Lady Linn played 10 Days Off and various other festivals, often being the odd couple amongst traditional rock bands.
Mixes & Productions
A move into production had been anticipated by a lot of people over the years, but it wasn’t until a meeting with his Colombian friend and musical prodigy Core that Red D decided it was time to give it a go. And the start looks very promising as early 2006 saw the release of Red D and Cores first 12 on Detroits Ferris Park records. The EP is called Champetu Heritage and features an African-influenced original with a killer Rhodes solo, its kinda like Jovonn and Fela Kuti met up and started doing something with a Theo Parrish beat. Next to the original there’s also an acid dub and two brilliant remixes by Ferris Park label owner Scott Ferguson. The track was used on MTV for a commercial of Belgian party organization Rendez-Fou.
Chicago Boogie
What is Chicago Boogie? To put it plain and simple it is a night of great music. Your hosts Red D and Nathan & Wax’x will be bringing you the best that house, disco, soul &; funk has to offer. And they will do so once a month on Friday @ Make Up. They could do it alone but in the end you trendy people always want to see and hear something new, so we will be presenting you a fresh guest every month, one that is up to your and our expectations.
New release on Morse Records
Morse Records from Antwerp, Belgium is proud to present its third release "Red D presents". Red D is no stranger to those who wander around in Belgian nightlife. As a dj he has been spinning his mixture of raw jacking house and deep grooves for over 15 years now, with residencies and guest appearances in all the clubs that matter. This is his first release after a limited EP he did for Detroit’s Ferris Park label back in 2006. "Red D presents" brings us more quality music that finds its place in that wide area between house and techno.
’Kitchen People’ is a collaboration with Scott Ferguson - label boss of that aforementioned Ferris Park Records. The track is very much in the vain of old Prescription / Balance deep house. Very organic and moody but still maintaining that elusive percussive groove. It’s all there: congas, bongos, dubby keystabs, an organic piano and a string to die for. Chicago legend Tyree Cooper handled the remix duties for this one and as one might expect he jacks it up a little bit while still maintaining the dreamy atmosphere of the original version.
The flipside brings a collaboration with a true legend of the game. Marcos Salon aka Outlander was one of the figureheads of the legendary R&S label. These last years he has teamed up with Sandro Valcke, a well-known member of Ghent’s steaming nightlife. Together they are Telepaticos and they have already created a shitload of tracks screaming to be released. Their collaboration with Red D resulted in ’Space’ , a floating monster of a track that can be best described as Detroit bliss with a little Ghent-based magic thrown in.
’Space’ will do well both on the big sound systems and in your intimate neighbourhood underground spot.
NEXT EVENTS
Friday 11 April - Chicago Boogie with THE DOMINATORS @ Make Up Club
