It all started for me in 1993 with a double deck tape player and copies of the top 40 recorded from Radio 1. Connecting pop hits into one another with the aid of high speed dubbing and a swift pause finger was my first introduction into the world of mixing. It quickly progressed to vinyl in the form of my parents hi-fi system and borrowed copies of classic Breakbeat Hardcore records, again with the aid of blank tapes, rewinding the records, hitting pause and so on and so on.

Sometime in 1994 I was introduced to second hand audio shops which is where I found my first pair of Technics. Not 1200’s or 1210’s but two very different record decks with wheel style pitch control which looked like they were made in the second World War. Pitch wasn’t an issue though at the time, I don’t think I actually discovered what the pitch control was used for until comparing my ripped off mix from a DJ Randall set – it was then clear that pitch control was made to get the records in synch with each other…

I set up Section 23 in 1994 with a group of local lads from School and as cliché as it may sound, the rest is pretty much history – and many, many great memories that will stay will me for the rest of my days.

Switching from Breakbeat Hardcore (some may know this style as Old School) into Jungle, following the crossover to Happy Hardcore for a good number of years, then back over to Drum and Bass around 1996 was pretty much the path I followed.

I was known around Cambridgeshire for many years as the DJ that played ‘the stuff Mickey Finn used to play’ also now known as Jump Up Drum and Bass. This isn’t a bad thing, looking back to the golden era of Jump Up you could see then that the divide between styles that Finn and Darren Jay favoured to those that Rider and Doc Scott played was pretty wide. I remained loyal to the upbeat styles of drum and bass, perhaps it was due to my previous addiction to Happy Hardcore or just that this kind of flavour was, to me, more about the vibes, anthems, reloads and air horns.

I stopped buying most new music around 2007, mainly because I wanted to concentrate on filling in the blanks in my collection and because the new sound of Drum and Bass wasn’t where my heart was. Not to say that I stopped playing out, the last 4 years especially have been jammed packed with bookings and dance floors across the East have, once again, been reunited with the real Jump Up sound.

The tag I mention earlier about being the DJ around Cambridgeshire that plays ‘the stuff Mickey Finn used to play’ pretty much sums up what I am all about as a DJ – I play dance floor music for the dance floor. I don’t stand behind the decks in the shadows, for me its about creating a vibe, creating the atmosphere of 1996 and most importantly keeping the dance moving.

So that’s my DJ life over the last 15 years in a few paragraphs, now where’s the lighters, whistles and horns?

Taken Root are long time friends and DJ partners Tom & James. Having both been taken by the healthy UK Drum and Bass scene in the early part of this millennium, it was the quickly emerging, more soulful side of the genre that really inspired and bought them together as Taken Root at the start of 2006. The likes of Hospital records and the Soul:R sound really grabbed their attentions and inspired a move towards their current style.

The period between these two pivotal points in time saw the two further their musical, as well as academic educations separately. Influences come from all angles of the musical spectrum from Jazz to IDM and everything in between. It is this inherent love for music as a whole that drives the Taken Root sound where preconceptions of genre are ignored and the quality, depth and innovation of music governs what is and isn’t considered worthy of a place in the record box.

Having hooked up with Jamie through his open deck nights back in 2007 their involvement with Section 23 has become the foundation of everything that has followed and the guys can be found proping up the sounds at all Section 23 events.

It started out as two mates mixing together through a mutual appreciation of the same type of music, now the love of all things around 170bpm has grown into an obsession and they’ve gradually become immersed into the culture of Drum and Bass. A typical set will take you on journey filled with soul, funk and deep grooves, all tied together with that ever important dance floor vibe.

DJ Triple H got his first taste for music at an early age, listening to his parents old vinyls and gaining a wide exposure to music of all genres including such greats as The Beatles and Bob Marley. It wasn’t long before Triple H decided that he himself wanted to be involved in music and at the tender age of 7 he began his first piano lessons, little did he know that this basis of music theory and knowledge would later sculpt his DJ career. After 7 years of mastering his skills as a pianist Triple H decided that he wanted to adapt the way in which he manipulated music. Unsure of his next move he began searching for a way to keep hispassion for music going. Whilst attending a local house party a friend introduced him to the art of DJ’ing. Triple H was instantly hooked on the art form and was fascinated by the ways in which to manipulate sounds and make seamless mixes. Once home he then began to save for what seemed like forever for his first set of turntables. Once acquired the movement began.

DJ Triple H started out playing UK Garage a very popular UK based music phenomenon at the time. Hooked by the 2-step beats, bouncing basslines and melodic vocals Triple H began to learn his craft by learning the basics of beatmatching and scratching with the only guidance of his own trial and error. Realising that there should be no limits to a DJ’s talents he then began to move into different genres including his now favoured style Hip hop and R&B. The diverse genres played during this early stage
has helped him to mould his skills and combine all of the arts of DJ’ing including long mixes usually associated with dance music to cutting, scratching and drop mixing associated with Hip hop and R&B. It wasn’t long before Triple H began taking his DJ’ing to private parties and local clubs. After building up a buzz around his name by winning
various local DJ competitions Triple H then moved further afield playing at numerous venues at different cities in the East of England and London

After a couple of years on the local club scene Triple H learned the importance of not only being able to execute air tight mixing and scratching but to also be an entertainer giving club goers a full package whilst on stage. This then lead him to new avenues in his DJ career. He therefore began hosting two very popular internet radio shows a southern rap show based in the USA on www.thugzone.com achieving an average of 7,000 listeners a week and an urban music show covering all types of urban music on a UK based station radio-nation.co.uk. Not content with the exposure he was gaining through club gigs and online radio Triple H then moved into local community radio acquiring a show on Cambridge’s 209 FM where he hosted a monthly “urban” music show going out to the Cambridge area of the UK. With the buzz gathering and demand for Triple H’s work increasing he decided to start producing mixtapes for both the streets and the internet followers he had gained from his online radio shows. His mixtapes soon became a huge success receiving thousands of downloads per release and covering countries across the globe including Germany, USA, Italy, Africa and Japan. This exposure then lead to numerous appearances in various US magazines and also a guest appearance on the Italian TV channel RTL TV with Italy’s number one urban DJ, DJ Mesta.

Over the past 4 years Triple H has covered the UK and various venues in Europe, Australia and Africa including the World renowned Ministry Of Sound, playing alongside some of the UK’s finest artists and DJ’s including N-Dubz, DJ Sassy, DJ @War (Def Jam UK), DJ Cable (UK DMC champion) and DJ Shortee Blitz (Kiss FM).
With increased international interest DJ Triple H is definitely putting his mark down on the industry.

Joe Dance original introduction to Drum & Bass was while studying Music Technology at College. Exposure to the music gave him the inspiration to explore the scene and at seventeen he started DJ’ing at local house parties which helped him to develop his skills and abilities.

Joe took the natural progression into producing at the age of 18, turning his hand to various styles of Drum & Bass. He teamed up with Section 23 in September 2008 after playing at one of their local nights and has been a resident ever since.

His influences span across all styles of electronic music from house to down-tempo but his passion lies with Drum & Bass.

Lazy G started DJ’ing back in 1995, mixing up anything he could find lying around - Jungle, Drum & Bass, Hardcore..you name it! He started to develop a taste for Techno and Trance and soon was playing banging Trance sets to crowds of 400-500 party people.

After successfully headlining a number of big room nights in and around Ely (remember the Ambassadors Reception?) he started developing his DJ skills by playing Hip Hop, Reggae, Funk, Soul sets in & around Cambridge.

Lazy G successfully co-ran one of Cambridge's biggest Sunday nights for a period of 3 years (Sunday Salvation). On the back of the success of this he was booked as DJ for part of Snow Patrols UK tour and also hosted Just Jack’s first album launch party.

After a few years out, Lazy G is back and playing a hard edged Electro sound, with all his skills in the bag, you don't want to miss it.