DaveAngel

Dave Angel is one of life’s true gents, he is one of dance music’s most respected ambassadors, his name is synonymous with the Techno genre. Since the scene’s inception, Dave has been one of its main contributors and remains at the forefront of the genre. Through both DJ’ng and production the key to Dave’s success is that he continues to push the boundaries, attract new admirers along the way whilst retaining dance music’s faithful!

Born in Chelsea, the son of a Jazz musician; Dave’s first musical instrument (appropriately) was a drum at the noisy age of eight. Not one for conforming, Angel spent little time in school, preferring truancy to chemistry and the music room to the classroom.

Back in the day!…1988 to be precise, and the backdrop of the acid house explosion in the UK, the scene was set to provide the major breakthrough for Dave, whom at the time was championing a fresh electronic sound on the radio ‘Phaze One’ (A well known pirate radio station in the capital which also featured the burgeoning talents of Fabio & Grooverider). As an early adopter Dave had the fortune of being proclaimed as “One of the major techno talents in Britain”.

DJ’ng provided the natural progression into the recording process and despite the limited resources initially available to him, namely: two basic turntables, two tape decks and a Casio keyboard (aherm…a child’s one!). Nevertheless, Dave’s natural talent and perseverance shone through with his first experimentation…a remix of The Eurhythmics seminal “Sweet Dreams” track. His version of the track created such a buzz in the clubs that RCA were forced to officially release the track and surprisingly it climbed to No 23 in the UK National Charts.

Dave’s critically acclaimed production work has commanded a worldwide respect, and he continues to produce some of the bravest and most influential dance music available. Dave’s style is borne through a spectrum of influences from Jazz; Funk through to Detroit Techno sounds. His work has been internationally released by the likes of Polydor/Love, OuterRythum, Fnac, Island, R+S , Outrage, Jericho and Apollo imprints. Dave was also solely responsible for the Classic “Sea’s Of Tranquillity EP” which was hailed as a landmark release by the ‘Techno intelligence’ label. Dave’s in-demand production abilities have been called upon to remix such luminaries as Orbital, Sun Electric, Carl Cox, Robert Armani, Juan Atkins, Spooky, James, Fourhero, Roni Size, and Underworld to name but a few from the impressive list.

Island Records were quick to acknowledge the hype surrounding Dave’s records and his rising profile by signing him and subsequently releasing his “In flight Entertainment” and “handle with Care” EPs. In 1995 Dave’s debut album “Tales of the Unexpected” was released and went on to reach No 5 in the national album chart. Dave’s second album ‘Globetrotting’ on Island also proved a huge success, the album also contained tracks ‘Tokyo Stealth Fighter’ and the highly successful ‘Funk Music’ which remain to be timeless classics and can still be found in DJ’s boxes today.

After three years Dave parted company with Island Records to focus his efforts on his own label ‘Rotation Records’. The Rotation label has been one of the most influential techno labels in the past decade and has provided the opportunity to bring quality music not only as a vehicle for Dave himself but from respected producers such as ‘Vince Watson’, ‘Samuel Session’, and ‘Sharpside’. Since its inception, Rotation has remained one of the most discerning labels in dance music and its releases have continued to find flavour with both critics and Djs alike.

1998 saw the release of “39 flavours of Tech Funk” a mix compilation on React Records (Mix album of the month ~ Muzik Mag), which received rave reviews from across the globe as well as being voted as one of the best mix CDs of the year. This year also saw Dave being nominated for The Essential mix of the year at the now sadly defunct Muzik awards.

Into the new millennium, and Dave released the second instalment in the Knockout series ‘The Knockout, The Rematch’ this time featuring a collaboration with Jamie Anderson, the EP was highly acclaimed and also featured as NME’s ‘single of the week’. In 2001 Internet based trust the dj.com was launched, and Dave was asked to join their ranks in an exclusive Internet deal. This new venture saw Dave commence the proceedings by releasing his ‘DA01’ mix compilation, which unsurprisingly (you can see the pattern developing!) generated rave reviews such as Time Out’s review ‘Pure joy from start to finish’.

The success of this release prompted the DA02 to be released in 2002. This represented a collection of remixes and reworks that Dave had completed over a 10 year period, ranging from his own ventures and experimentation to the likes of James, Kenishi , Baz and Dj Krust / Roni Size. The demand continued and Dave later released the follow up mix compilation (and yes you guessed it!) DA03.

The past twelve months have seen Dave complete his third album, which will be released this year through the ELP label in Germany, the album features tracks with Jazz legends such as Roy Ayers and George Clinton. Dave is also in the process of completing a Rotation classics album, and dedicating his studio skills to a host of new tracks and remixes. As has always been the case with Dave, Dj’ng has always been at the heart of the passion for Dave, just as well due to the busy international Dj schedule that lies ahead!