Submitted By: dico

Genre: Techno

Date of Set: Oct 24th, 2007

Filesize: 45.65 MB

Total Downloads: 11

Born

'I was born in 1966 in Bournemouth.'

Family

'I grew up in a small village in the New Forest with my Mother, Father and Sister. I went to a Catholic grammar school run by De La Salle Brothers; the education I received was formal, academic and uncreative. I left school with few qualifications. For the next few years I slipped in and out of employment. I was a Rockabilly barber and played records at parties, though I saw myself as neither a hairdresser nor a DJ. In 1986, I studied at Bournemouth Art School and in 1987 I moved to London to study a Central St. Martin's School of Art. In 1990, I spent two further years of study at the Royal College of Art. After leaving college I accepted various design, photography and painting commissions but found working commercially to be incredibly restrictive.'

Roots

'My very first experience of music was through my dad's record collection. Some of it was appalling and to this day I find the sound of Al Jolson's voice incredibly disturbing. My father is a collector of books and music and whilst his taste in music is not mine, what I did learn from his enthusiasm was the art of discovery and how to search feverishly for new material. As a teenager, exposure to pop music came from my best friend's older brother. Dark, angry pop made by white kids, street funk made by black kids. I'm eternally grateful for such an introduction to music. He was a little older than us and was in a band. He had his own car and his own keys and was our hero. Initially, we learnt through him. Bournemouth is a conservative little town on the south coast of England. There was a small alternative scene made up of soul boys, punks, mods, rockabillies, new romantics and people that had been to King's Road. It was a small yet fascinating group and although identities existed within, we all trod the same stage. It was all about clothes and music. The dramatic contrast in appearances were echoed in the eclectic selection of music. Week- in, week-out we would squash into a tiny little club called The Third Side where a strange queen called Tweedy would play whatever he fancied. I don't really think he saw himself as a DJ, DJs were, after all, wankers who talked to the dancefloor through a microphone and played chart music. '

Projects

'In 1993, somewhat disillusioned with life after art school, I began organising one-off parties in interesting spaces and then subsequently promoting nights in clubs.'

Labels

'My label is Tyrant. I produce under the name scumdolly. Apparently, 2004 will see the beginnings of a 'real' label. I keep getting sidetracked; too much travelling and too many parties; too much thinking, not enough doing. Every so often I turn out a remix but never a body of work. I need to apply myself a little more. I'm making drawings now with record covers in mind and I have a few pieces of music ready.'

Djing

'I've been playing records at parties since I was eighteen which, annoyingly, is nearly twenty years ago. In those days owning a large quantity of records was enough to secure a gig. Technical skills were not a requirement, one simply had to get from one tune to another. DJing was merely an extension of one's record collecting and an excuse for you to wear an old suit and a kipper tie. Occasionally one had a professional engagement, but the purse for my services would normally be an 'all you can drink' arrangement and a lift home with one of the glass collectors. There was no money to speak of and certainly no real status. DJ booths were almost always tiny and in a dank, unappealing corner of the club. Record boxes were cardboard boxes. It certainly wasn't much to aspire to unless you were wildly keen on the music. At the time I was overwhelmed by the extraordinary dynamic created by music played loud on a soundsystem. Lights turned off and everything, that was enough for me. My style was random and eclectic and without any sense of reason but it didn't really matter to me because I wasn't a real DJ. In fact, it was much later that I purchased another deck and a mixer that I began to replace my random and clumsy delivery with a more considered and tidy approach to programming music and subsequently beat mixing it. Nowadays I take pride in my technical ability but I take it for granted. It's all about juxta position - sequence and selection.'

http://www.myspace.com/iamcraigrichards
http://www.orsonrecords.co.uk/

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