Rick Preston - Trancelated Reality - 1997 - Part 1

Biography of Rick Preston

Take a moment and picture a beautiful Sunday afternoon in San Francisco. Didn't that make you feel like smiling and a little more relaxed? Good. Now close your eyes and imagine a lustrous soundscape of strings, congos, and percussion. Let that ride in your head for a minute. Now think of some sweet, heart touching vocals and for some flair, some frisky latin horns. It's making you want to move right? Now imagine the feel of a stack of bassbins moving the air around you in a frequency that makes your whole body tingle in excitement. What you've just seen in your mind and brought your body to feel is what Santa Cruz's Rick Preston has been doing to crowds for over two decades with his Dj sets and musical productions.

Whether you experience Rick Preston's Dj sets in a packed club with half naked bodies pulsating and gyrating around you in the thick vibe, or if its at a huge rave with lasers and thousands of heads jumping and screaming, or at a park on that sunny afternoon with kids and families all getting down to the funky rhythms together in unison, its always guaranteed that you will have the biggest smile of your face after dancing to his music.

Although he started off his career playing disco and funk in the early 80's, Rick used his experience in the booming 80's alternative scene to hone his DJing skills. Rick would be part of various nighttime gatherings for friends in bars and night clubs, leading their nights with swooning tunes and industrial beats. And as the music progressed, so would Rick's attraction to what would lead to an even bigger movement, Electronic Music.

In the early 90's, Rick became involved with promotion alongside his frequent Dj gigs. Amongst some of the Bay Area greats, such as Jeno, Garth, Mark Farina, Spun, and Julius Papp, Rick was helping put on club nights and raves in their beginning stages, when the underground at its strongest.

While his DJ sets are mostly considered deep house, they are not limited to just the deep sound. Rick has a special flair for bringing together a multitude of genres which can include tribal rhythms, some tech-house, some latin textures, a classic track or two, or even a mind awakening spoken word.

As a producer, Preston's motto of quality not quantity has stood him in good stead with some superb labels, notably Glasgow Undergound, home to Mateo & Matos, Romanthony, and Neon Heights. He also has releases on AfterHours, Viva! Recordings, Freeze Records, Big Big Trax, and BCE. 'The Glasgow Underground records were actually made with them in mind. I had always enjoyed the records they had released and I actually thought it would be an honor to be on their label. I was so psyched when they signed the first one!' The Altruism EP was also made for Viva. 'Jon Lemmon runs the label and he's a great friend as well. When he approached me to do something for him I didn't give it a second thought. It's extremely gratifying do records for people that you trust.'

'Spring Fling' from Viva's Altruism EP made it onto Mark Farina's San Francisco Sessions CD, and 'Body Move' was picked by Jeno for his By The People mix CD entitled Rising To The Top. More recently, top UK DJ Yousef included, Rick's latin gem 'Borracho Cha!', another Viva! track, on his 'The Mix' CD for DMC.