Everything good and nothing bad but in particular -
Early UK hip hop (Hijack, Demon Boyz, Gutter Snypes, Hardnoise, Son Of Noise, The Brotherhood, etc.), cut'n'paste tracks (early Coldcut, Steinski, etc.) and all other good hip hop, funk, jazz, electro, folk, drum'n'bass, house, rock, indie, psyche,...... Like a lot of people I grew up on a diet of John Peel, Mike Allen's National Fresh and Streetsounds Electro albums (on cassette of course) but I'm a fan of anything created from the heart.
I'm also inspired by Edinburgh's underground music makers and club scene past all present - Blacka'nized/Yush 2K (big respect to AJ!), 2x10, Joseph Malik, Coco & The Bean, Suga Bullit, Eh? Wun!, The Penpushers, The Magnificents, The Remedies, The Squalor Show, The Dynamic Duo, Scotland Yard, Grand Unified, Wreckage, Abdominal Showmen, Trouble, Four Corners, Boogie Mo Dynamo, Ultragroove, Chocolate City, Manga, Big Beat, Lizard Lounge, .... everyone here that's doing or has done their bit to keep things interesting for the people who like to go out and try something a bit different rather than the same style bars and corporate clubs that now dominate the Edinburgh scene.
Sounds Like
Everyone who's records I play and sample.
Why not find out for yourself here? :
This fabulous video is by Julie Davidson and the music is a wee tune I did for Club Welto featuring Graham and Martin from Sanna and a special surprise guest!
The tune on this is 'Keeping It Real?' by Hero No7. More details can be found on my biog over to the right of this.
This is me on the decks many moons ago alongside Dope Matrix at the original Bongo Club on New Street in Edinburgh.
DJing 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.
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.
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).
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.
FRIDAY 17TH JULY Downstairs guest will be TEKAMINE B2B THE PHYSICIST and also ZUNI B2B MORPHOS for proper techno shizniz. Entry - £4 THE BONGO CLUB, MORAY HOUSE, EDINBURGH
With cosmic gay disco, burning acid house and all sorts of nonsense from HONEY SWEETCHEEKS (Black Jesus Records) and HOUSE OF TRAPS (Firecracker Records).
@the Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place £5/£4 concessions, 11am-3pm
Hiyo grandwizard of the beats.in the words of ll i need a beat cool j.doing a track with tesco and you know how we flow so would be good 2 have u on board. Going 2 try and get thru 2 headspin sat so will give u a buzz.peace.mel
Hoy Colin! Here is a chance to get an exclusive peak at my remix of Fujiya & Miyagi's 'Dishwasher' which is the b-side to their next single released in April.
Horace Andy & Ashely Beedle Inspiration Information Live show at Voodoo Rooms (Edinburgh) as part of Trouble's 7th Birthday Weekend. Tickets on sale now through Ticketweb. co. uk
"Unpretentious and filled with glee... Do yourself a favour and head along for some joyful mayhem." - The Skinny
Featuring:
*** Live computer robo-pop from TOKYO KNIFE ATTACK! *** Californian space beats from TYLER PARKS! *** Adrenaline rushes and heartbreak crushes from DR LOVE!
£5/£4 at the Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh College of Art. 11pm-3am
