Serendipity can really be the start of some beautiful things… For John Debo, his
first UK tour in 1992 (albeit a couch tour) developed into much more. Crashing
on the couch of one Dave Seaman, one half of Brothers in Rhythm and A&R
Director for the then highly profiled Stress Records, John sat back and enjoyed
the latest tunes from Dave and his label. As John happened to have a cassette
of his new production work, he left it with Dave to enjoy. Days later John was
offered a record deal for his Mindwarp project on Stress.
Not a bad way to break into the somewhat mafia-esque world of the UK
dominated world of progressive tunes - not at all. This rapid acceptance reflects
the pattern that John has brought to his work as a DJ, promoter and producer.
His vision boils down to something fairly simple – music.
Founding two of Boston’s pioneering club nights – Chrome & Avaland were
conceived as conduits to bring forward thinking DJs and upfront dance music
from around the world to Boston. His vision is global - not provincial. Chrome
quickly garnered a reputation of being one of THE club nights in the US and
Avaland was selected by Mixer Magazine as the 1 club in America for 2002.
Of course, what is most important to this DJ is the music. He cringes at the
common practice of genre based labeling of music. His musical focus, as John
likes to put it, is on quality tunes – tunes which withstand the test of time.
The spell he casts over dance floors has been felt worldwide with seminal gigs at
Avalon in Boston, New York & LA, The Church in Denver, Spundae in San
Francisco & Chicago, Space in Miami, Aria & Stereo in Montreal, Koolhaus in
Toronto as well as Bedrock & Renaissance in the UK and Space in Ibiza, just to
name a few. His sound has been captured on two mix CDs: Chrome 01 on Bliss
and Logic Trance 5 on Logic 3000.
Given the success of his debut material on Stress, it should be no surprise that
Debo has found a home for his other work. His remix work and original
production has been featured on highly respected labels like Bedrock and
Yoshitoshi. He has managed to bring his signature touch to a vast array or
quirky tunes. Highlights include work for an eclectic range of artists from cutting
edge 80’s bands Modern English and Frankie Goes To Hollywood, to pioneering
90’s bands Blur and The Charlatans UK as well as groundbreaking artists
Everything But The Girl.
2004 sees John leaving frigid Boston for sunny Orlando Florida to focus on his
true passion – the music. The move allows him to fully explore his artistic mind
and immerse himself in writing and production.
The future for John has never
been more clear – become a breathing component to his studio and share his
music with the world.
