I see music as a painting in my head. In many ways music is like a painting, they both consist of colours.. and both have emotions.
Let me tell you a little bit about me. I was born in Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK. I grew up in very musical family. My Uncles formed a band in the early 90's and were very big on the UK Bhangra scene, and eventually became one of the most recognized bands in the UK, they called themselves "The Sahotas". Watching them perform on stage at gigs enthralled me and played a big part in my love for music today.
I grew up listening to artists from different musical genre's. I was never interested in just one genre. I loved the smooth sounds of Prince, Ginuwine and Usher. The rough street vibes of Dr Dre, Timbaland and Jay Z. The heavy sound of Red hot chili Peppers, Nirvana and Guns & Roses. They all contributed to my growing musical flare.
Although... I didn’t start getting involved with music until I was 16. Before the music, from a young age. I loved to draw and paint. I would paint anything that came into my head or anything that I saw. I loved to sketch landscapes to the most vivid image in my mind. I felt it was a way of expressing different emotions through colours and shapes.
My first instrument, which I don’t think actually is, was the turntable. I remember watching a show on MTV in which Kid Capri was starring. There was a bit in that show where they had break dancers doing there thing while Kid Capri was mixing the music. He was scratching on Ja Rules track "Holla Holla", which was a big hit at the time. The things I saw him doing with his turntables was amazing, he took Ja Rule's track and broke it down to random beats, which sounded really cool and looked crazy with the break dancers in front of him. I was amazed. After that I was bugging my dad to get me some turntables. He eventually got me a two used Technics turntables and a mixer. The mixer switch had broken off and instead I used a wire substitute. I tried to grasp the art of turntabalism by watching dj's at work. I would pick up new things from live shows and gigs.
I got to test my skills when I signed up for my first gig while I was in college, when I was 17 years old. At first I was nervous, but it came to me quite easily. I kept the crowds moving to Bhangra and hip hop beats, mixing the two together to provide a fresh new sound. I wanted to make sure I stood out from other DJ’s. I felt that Bhangra and Hip Hop beats shared closeness in arrangement and beat speeds which made them combine very well. The crowds seemed to love it, and from then on, I stuck with that style. I loved to DJ, to see people moving to music that you’re providing; it made me thrive for more.
I felt that producing my own music would be the way forward. I thought that it would give me a newer and bigger platform to work on. In college, I descided to study how to play the piano, to give me a feel for the instrument and music in general, what good is music if you dont know what your playing. Soon after that I got hold of my first piece of musically oriented software.
The influence of doing art in my early years plays a big role in the way i see music. Instead of just a kick and a snare, i see the colours and shapes that construct these two instruments. The image is complete when i know i can see what i want to hear. I consider computer based music software a very powerful tool. Its my "blank canvas". It allows me to take the image in my mind and paint it into reality.
In 2005 i begun a new project with local rapper Double R (check his myspace- Double R, bellow). I consider him to be the UK equivelant to Common, Talib Kweli, Nas rolled into one musical Hip Hop force. Together we formed JC Records, and produced the album "Maybe One Day".
Starshop Music
Get at me via myspace mail or my email:
[email protected] .
Peace Out.
