Your early DJ influences?

[dlove]

Met John Peel (RIP) in person before he died, (was at uni with his daughter) best DJ that ever lived if we are being honest, wasn't his record collection donated to the British Library? Says it all really.

Yes.

Before anyone on mainstream radio, Peel played important music.

[dlove]

His douchebag fanbase annoy me, please do not take this as me saying you are one.

there was a fake Andy C twitter account that was pretty funny, but it's been suspended

[DTR]

His constant scratching over everything has always annoyed me, have not heard him play in a very long time so this may not be a fair comment any more.

It annoys me now, as does his selection. Not to mention mixing out of every tune with an echoed spinback. But his Moondance and Jungle Massive CDs were a big influence for me at the time.

His douchebag fanbase annoy me, please do not take this as me saying you are one.

I know what you mean. So many bedroom DJs now rip off his style

[DTR]

there was a fake Andy C twitter account that was pretty funny, but it's been suspended

Yeah that was pretty funny

[Marc S]

i always preferred grooverider and kenny ken back in the 90's for dnb, i was a huge Slipmatt fan too on the oldskool dj scene, seduction also.

in house it was jeremy healey and alistair whitehead from the fantasia days that inspired me most

[Manu]

Goes back to as far as disco from the end of the 70s, then new wave until the EDM kicked in: acid house, Chicago house and Detroit techno.

[DennisBdrmDJ 2.0]

Met John Peel (RIP) in person before he died, (was at uni with his daughter) best DJ that ever lived if we are being honest, wasn't his record collection donated to the British Library?

Wondering if you saw this? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-17139449

[l0ckd0wn]

I bought my first dance music CD before it was dance music, picking up 'Vegas' by The Crystal Method and the single for 'Block Rockin Beats' by the Chemical Brothers, gathering my first real exposure to old school Big Beat. From there I branched out and started listening to Global Underground's mix releases as well as Moonshine while they were still "the bees knees." After hearing Basement Jaxx, Keoki, Micro, Oakenfold, AK1200 and a few others off of Moonshine, my interest was peaked and I began buying the studio releases and mix albums off of theirs, falling madly in love with Basement Jaxx before they ever found "Where's Your Head At?" success.

Around this time I found Deep Dish as well, and immediately feel in love with that deep, techy house sound that they would use in their Global Underground mixes. From Deep Dish it was exposure to Dave Seaman, Nick Warren, James Lavelle and Steve Lawler that really drew me in further with the melodic and almost melancholy breakbeats and darker house sounds. All the while this was going on, I was also getting into trance very heavy listening to a local DJ named Kenneth Thomas who eventually became (and still is) Oakenfold's North American opener. But when I heard Oakenfold's 'Traveling' & 'Tranceport' and Paul Van Dyk's 'Columbia EP,' which I still play tracks off of today, I became totally addicted to their sound. As well as Oakie & PVD, ATB was gaining popularity and after hearing 9PM it was a short time before I grabbed 'Movin' Melodies' and became a 2nd wave trance junkie, falling to the likes of Ferry Corsten, Armin Van Buuren and a few other's until I finally fell off a bit, wanting that darker grittier sound which I am keen to today. Those were the bulk of the recorded artists that bring back specific sparks, but I know there were others that I'm missing.

As for live DJing it was a mixture between Chicago deep house, New York Acid House, Florida Breaks, Euro Trance scene and the ever present Detroit Techno scene that really capped my interest in my rave days of the late 90s. I remember seeing Carl Craig, Terence Parker, Kevin Saunderson, T-1000, Richie Hawtin, Derrick May, Mike "Agent X" Clark, John Acquaviva, Brian Gillespie, Kero & Candyman and a host of other Detroit locals at parties in the late 90s. They were complemented with the other sounds coming out of Chicago like Jonny Fiasco, Ron Carol and the ever present Derrick Carter. Bad Boy Bill was making his way to fame and his 'Banging the Box' series had many rotations, giving way to him and Richard 'Humpty' Vission doing many tag team performances at club events and parties alike. The newer, softer more Jazzy sounds of San Francisco's Mark Farina would mark some rotations. DJ Icey and Baby Anne would also find their place in my CD players. From the edgier and techier New York acid house scene I was getting what was remaining of the good years Frankie Bones, Adam X and Hearther Hart, which really began my venture into tech house, wanting to move further away from the then-too-hard-for-me Detroit Techno scene.

From there it has been a maturing process, falling in and out of some styles more than others, but still loving that dark, moody and almost melocolly sounds that you hear now from the likes of Claude Von Stroke's Dirty Birds, Gui Boratto, Loco Dice or Chris Liebing.

I was quite impulsive with music when I was younger, buying up anything that looked even remotely interesting from the independent and now-defunct "Harmony House" around Metro Detroit as well as my old digging ground; Record Time (Roseville & Ferndale which moved from Rochester) & Melodies & Memories (off Gratiot).

[Dave Daschofsky]

I'm a big fan of DJ P.

[Mixxed]

I may be the only one, but I was influenced by DJs at the local clubs I started going to as a youngster in college. LOL. I used to hit the Paradox in Baltimore faithfully every Friday, so many great DJs, playing Bmore club and Chicago house all night... They definitely had the biggest influence on me with their styles...