MySpace a place for friends

Raised in London, he spent his teenage years in Cambridgeshire and in 1992 the purchase of a pair of decks led to him cutting his teeth on the local free party circuit. Three years later, John moved back to London to attend University and he immediately embraced the city’s underground electronic music scene. Already a big fan of Detroit pioneers such as Derrick May and Juan Atkins and as someone who had developed an early taste for electro listening to hip hop as a kid, John soon tapped into the new breed of electronic music which was pushing boundaries in the mid '90s. These discoveries were thanks in no small part to the regulars at IQ Records, situated right in the centre of Soho; within the four walls of this sadly defunct record store, John met people who shared the same DIY attitude as folks he’d met during his free party days. Alliances and friendships were quickly forged as DJs on both sides of the counter helped familiarise him with music from the likes of LA Synthesis, John Tejada, Soul Oddity, Plaid, Stasis, In Sync, Larry Heard and Carl Finlow - Artists who would each influence his own studio efforts, which came about following the purchase of a computer, Akai sampler and a couple of synths.

Regular visits to IQ also led to a firm friendship with the shop’s manager, Andy Jaggers (ADJ). In the summer of ‘97, the Outside Recordings crew offered them both the opportunity to DJ in America. Naturally, they accepted and during their month-long stay, an artistic alliance was forged, both between John and Andy, and their generous American hosts. Returning to the UK, the pair vowed to maintain this artistic link across the pond and soon after began combining studio gear and collaborating on tracks.

By the end of the ‘90s the duo had become disheartened with the lack of quality electronic music emerging out of London, compared to the wealth of material available a few years earlier. They decided to do something about it and stumped up enough cash to release the very first Pyramid Transmissions EP. Hitting the shops early in the summer of 2000, the EP sold out within weeks, earning high praise from aficionados such as Andy Weatherall, Andrea Parker and Billy Nasty. Spurred on by their success, the pair decided to pursue the endeavour a little bit more seriously and over the following years have maintained a solid output of top quality electro and electronica, from both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to releasing their own compositions, they’ve expanded the PT roster to include such talented folk as Lone Shark, Psi Spy, Ossacip, 214, Ben Millstein and Phase Mojo - And with numerous vinyl and digital releases in the back catalogue, the label shows no sign of relenting.

Since 2003 Pathic has taken his musical endeavours into the live arena with performances at clubs across the UK, USA and mainland Europe and festival slots at Bestival and Bloc Weekend. Pathic’s last release on Pyramid Transmissions earned 4 star reviews in both DJ Magazine and Mixmag and his productions have also found their way on to other innovative labels, such as Ai Records, Cultivated Electronics and Minimalsoul.

If that wasn’t enough audio antics, John has been paying the bills for the past decade by working as a radio producer for the BBC and London based production companies.