James Weston

Things started with a Walkman, the Top 40, some prog rock, and an unrelenting enthusiasm for early rave circa ʼ92/3 (and maybe some happy hardcore).

The course was set after The Prodigy Experience dropped, followed by a wide-eyed adventure to an ‘under-age rave’ at The Sanctuary in Milton Keynes, and chancing upon a live Sasha Essential Mix in ʼ95. Mind blown. The following year turntables arrived. Clubbing and house party mixtapes aplenty, James was amassing vinyl in crate quantities (yep, done a pun) and ready for Leicester University, which saw his first ‘stage’ performance in front of strangers (it was a pool table in a common room – no-one danced).

Thinking about a pathway to ‘success’, James participated in several competitions, one of which landed him a personal call from Yousef and an opportunity to play a set at Circus in Liverpool (tick!). Reality check – nightlife in home-town Aylesbury was… uninspiring. Further afield, by 2003/4 James had discovered the vibrant Cowley Road in Oxford, a fledgling night called Simple at The Bullingdon, and the established Slide at The Zodiac. Feeling like heʼd found home, he wasted no time handing in a mix to Simpleʼs Nick Gladwin and soon found himself behind the decks – bedroom DJʼs dream come true.

Although, with no following to bring to the party it was through love and dedication (starting the dancing, loitering, helping in and out of the club), along with the odd radio show and festival, that James became an integral part of the Simple family. Itʼs where he got his fix, in the mix, supporting a diverse roster of dance music figureheads.

Today, James continues a relentless search for new music with the help of his own custom-built app, and versatilely plays the spectrum of house to techno, with a distinctive chunky, funky, jackinʼ flavour for good measure – “Itʼs a body thing,” as Eddie Amador reliably informs us.

Source: dj.jamesweston.uk