hip hop, funk, nu jazz, house, broken beat, afrobeat, latin, salsa, brazilian, disco, techno, jazz, soul, dub, reggae.
Movies
George Lucas, Kevin Smith, Tarrantino, Ridley Scott...
Television
My Name is Earl and Scrubs are great.
Books
Dan Brown is probably my favourite author. Karen Travis is very good and Timothy Zahn is also the man.
Heroes
Gilles Peterson, Domu, Quantic, Jay Dee, Flying Lotus, Theo Parrish, Moodymann, Carl Craig, Fela Kuti, Marc Mac, Orin 'Afronaught' Walters, Seji, Bugz in the attic, Daz-I-Kue, Soil and Pimp Sessions, Kenny Larkin, Kevin Saunderson, George Lucas, Eyes Down, Electric Chair, J-Live, Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, Jose James, DJ Muro, Trailer Trash crew, Beat-Herder Festival, Mr Scruff and so many more...
My intro to proper
music
I fell in love with acid house and hip hop at the young age of 13, when a girl in the seniors at high school gave me a mixtape from a Blackburn Warehouse party. I have been collecting records since 1987 and have been playing them to people for fun since 1992. I went through countless genres before finding my own true style (which still has a little wobble from time to time, as I frequently get bored and want to hear something new).
I've been around...
I've DJ'd in every decent venue in Preston, and a few of the dodgy ones too! Resident DJ at The Departure Lounge since it started in 2000, one of the itch ring leaders since 2003, and a key player in the Slam The Breaks On parties in Lancaster. I have also played gigs in Manchester, Birmingham, London, Blackburn and Bradford over the last 10 years...
My favourite gig of 2002 was playing a 6 hour set at London's Off-Centre, going head to head with Fatcity's Beatphreak Jason Holmes, using 4 decks, 2 mixers and a laptop. We ripped it up, throwing all sorts of styles at the crowd and they kept coming back for more!
2007 was the year of the guesty - love to Circus Circus, Trauma, Plug, For No Reason, The Blackhorse and Trailer Trash.
The highlight of 07 had to be spending the weekend with the Trailer Trash crew and DJing for them at the Beat-herder Festival - lovely people, a great vibe and a top crowd!
2008 was a fine year - it saw the return of itch to Preston in Sept 08 and the launch of the Phreak private parties (more on itch/Phreak below). The first Trailer Trash got us into full flow in February 08 at The Mill, Bradford. Occasional lends of the Blackhorse's right deck from fortnightly resident Chris Holt (Two Mellow) gave both us, and the Horse's faithfuls, some fun Friday nights out.
Glaston-Ferret 08 was great - bands in the pub whilst Paul Adams, James Deane and myself played everything from funk, soul and jazz, to disco, post-punk and house on the Mad Ferret's terrace (and it didn't rain). Check mypics for photo's from the event.
4th July - 6th July 08 saw the return of the mighty Beat-Herder festival and it was another superb weekend! I spent my time djing and generally hanging about in the Trailer Trash Country Club checking out the other DJ's. The music was great, the crowd was excellent and it was good to see plenty of friendly faces had turned out to have some fun on the dance floor. Pictures coming soon. Check www.beatherder.co.uk for the 2009 line up...
Trailer Trash's 5th birthday in October 08 was a top night, with Sean P (Disco Not Disco / BBE), Fraser & Peaches (TT residents) and myself unearthing the gems in the loft. Annie, Kim, Sean, Lindsey & co rocked the Lounge leftfield / nu disco style, whilst James & Martin Deane and their guests treated the basement crew to some proper house and breaks.
Phreak
Phreak 003 Massive thanks to everyone that came down to party with us and let in 2009. Keep an eye on the Phreak Facebook Group for news of when Phreak 004 is going to drop.
Phreak 002 was another special night for Preston, taking over the intimate Forum bar for a Halloween mash up with selectors Darren Laws (Fat City), Beatphreak (Jack to Phono), Paul Watson (Fatcity) and myself taking to the decks...
The first Phreak private party made Bank Holiday Sunday 08 a very special one in Preston. A great night was had by all as DJ's Darren Laws (Fat City), Beatphreak (Jack to Phono), Martin Brew (J-Walk / Fat City), Craig Harrop (Yomofo) and myself being given the mandate to 'pull out the tunes that will move you and real music heads'... ace!
The news that Preston FM has now got a full time license is very exciting! See below for links to my previous Dig Deep Radio shows.
I presented shows on Preston's first community radio station (Unity FM - RIP) and I now present the Dig Deep Radio Show on Preston FM – Thursday’s 19.00 - 21.00. Going alternate weeks with Chris Holt's (Two Mellow) 'Four Corners' show.
itch club
Since it's launch in March 2003, itch (Preston's sporadic and nomadic hip hop funk soul jazz disco house and broken beat
flavoured club night) has gone from strength to strength.
Over the last few years, the always up for it crowd, has seen sets from guest dj's and bands such as Domu (Co-Op), Diesler (Tru Thoughts), RSL (Players), Jon K (Eyes Down), Treva Whateva (Ninja Tune), Chris Holt / Two Mellow (Curli-que Records), Gordon & Boney (Twisted Nerve), Posh & Billy (Jazzin the park), Stan Lee (C'Mon Feet/Ginglik), Paul Cottam (Action Records) and Beatphreak (Fat City / Jack to phono).
After doing events at The Student Union's 53 Degrees, Hush, Adelphi, Blowing Wild and the Caribbean Club, the search for a place to call home continues...
With Volume 16 of the itch mix series under our belt it's safe to let the caper continue...
the itchy bugle
The bugle started off as a webpage to put itch flyers on, but over the years it has grown into an online music magazine that covers Reviews, Event Listings, Charts and DJ mixes.
Stop by and post a comment or plug your event or new release on our Guestbook.
Eej Paul, Thanks!! I..ll put half an hour together for your show, no problem1! When do you need it, what format and where to send? Happy to hear, Cheers Solo
Danny Massure's latest release 'Put It On Me' brings the sounds of acid jazz to the club. The fresh sound is due in part to the featured Seattle funk masters Tracy Ferrara on sax, Jeff Conlin on keys, Jason Graczyk on guitar and Matt Reid on trumpet. The funk gets flipped by remixers BadboE, Jayl Funk, The Breakbeat Junkie and Omegaman.
FINALLY!!! The live video of Mr. Confuse & The Confusers playing at the Mephisto Club in Hannover Germany on 27th September 2008 is ready. It was the album release concert of the Mr. Confuse album “Feel The Fire” released on Légère Recordings as DLP, CD and digital in September 2008.
PRESTON MADHATTERS SOUNDSYSTEMS FIRST PARTY OF THE YEAR. THE MADHATTERS TECHNO PRISONERS PARTY, IN PRESTON SATURDAY 11TH APRIL, 9 TILL 4 AM. WE HAVE TWO ROOMS, MAIN ROOM: LIVE MUSIC PLUS YOUR MADHATTERS RESIDENTS, DJ'S CLUMSY, MARRA AND SLICE. 2ND ROOM, CHILLOUT ROOM: MADHATTERS CHILLOUT DJ'S
SPREAD THE WORD The Preston Madhatters Soundsystem are inviting you indoors for a change, TECHNO PRISONERS. It's been a while! We are trying a new venue, so come and have a nosey, we like the function room and staff, we hope you enjoy them too. We will be giving you all the Madhatters madness in heaps so come and see what fun you can have. As it is indoors we will ask you for a fiver so be warned. There is a bar with a reasonably priced tariff, its sorted so dont bring your own. Bring your mates and mates mates. You can get more info by e-mail.
We are always looking for DJ's, bands, jugglers and fire poi artists for these events. So tell your mates and get in touch.
info@preston-madhatters.co.uk See pictures of the last one we did in our gallery.
"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
Online Now!
