Substance

Chris began his djing career in 1993 and by 1995 had settled in the UK's second city, Birmingham, where he joined the Substance collective as resident dj. Within a year, Substance was growing fast, and Chris was landing guest spots and residencies in venues across Birmingham and London including an appearance London's then infamous Blue Note club aged just 18. Twelve years on, Chris, now based back in London, is an established DJ on the London club circuit whilst retaining a reputation as a prominent DJ in the Midlands. His work promoting Substance continues with the night, although now less regular, playing host to some of the largest international acts and attracting crowds of up to 1700 people.

Although happy to be involved in radio and studio work (see below), Chris feels most at home playing to the dancefloor and has appeared as guest at hundreds of clubs in addition to holding down residencies in the UK ’s two largest cities and abroad. Aside from Substance, Chris’s most notable residencies past and present include MINISTRY OF SOUND,  London’s CARGO, HERBAL and 333,, SOFTLY in UK & Barcelona and HEADSHELL in UK & Amsterdam, RAW & NU TONIK, the Midlands' two most highly regarded eclectic sessions (guests include Mix Master Mike, Afrika Bambaataa, Schooly D and Gwen McCrae) and UK FRESH,  the UK’s longest running hip hop festival.

The relationship between DJs and live musicians has always been an integral part of Chris’ Substance nights.  In 2000, a number of the musicians who appeared regularly at the night joined with Chris and DJ partner Roc 1 to form the night’s house band, the Substance Hip Hop Orchestra. The band went on to perform a live session on Radio 1’s One World Show in 2002.  The members of the band are all highly regarded in their own right and include Ed Lawes (Planet Mu), Mad Flow (Big Dada / Son Records) and master percussionist Magoo (Overproof / Different Drummer Sound System).

In addition to appearances on numerous mix shows on regional stations, Chris performed live on Radio 1’s One World Show in November 2001 and again in March 2002.  Chris also appeared on DJ Food ’s ‘Solid Steel’ BBC Radio show in July 2002 and again in 2005, the show being syndicated to 18 countries worldwide.  Chris joined the BBC’s ‘new black music’ station, 1 Xtra, as one of the station’s 2 hip hop mix DJs in summer 2002 and was a regular feature of the station’s Saturday night mix show throughout 2004.

Over the years Chris’ DJ performances and interviews have appeared on various TV shows on stations including MTV Bass, BBC2, Rapture and Live TV.

Chris’ first studio project, which included collaborations with Mad Flow (Big Dada) and others, was released on the different drummer label, for whom he compiled the Substance L.P, in late 2001. Chris has in recent years been involved in various remix projects, albeit largely unreleased, for the likes of mercury award nominated TY & Aphletik (Above the Clouds Recordings), Chords (Jazz Fudge / Warner Bros Europe) and various artists on Barcelona based Softly Recordings.  Chris hopes to start work on his own material again during the coming year.

“consistently high quality” 4/5 (MUZIK)

“a solid series of jazz inflected cuts” (MINISTRY)

“a highly creative project” (STRAIGHT NO CHASER)

“concious, abstract, jazzy, different and a joy to hear … if you like music, you’ll love this” (BIG SMOKE)

“real live sounding instrumentation that will fill any enclosed space with jazz club presence” (BREAKIN POINT)

“one of the best of the bunch … shows a lot of talent” 4/5 (BIG DADDY)

“a mix of philosophical rap and simple crafted beatery” (INTERNATIONAL DJ)

“a great mix of hip hop, jazz, funk and spoken word” (FUSED)

“what I call ‘music with soul’ … the best UK hip-hop compilation of the year so far” (BRIT-ISH)

“proof that Brits can put together quality albums” (HIP HOP DOMAIN)

“this is a great hip hop compilation!” (SELECTAH)

“doesn’t dissapoint … believe” (SUSPECT PACKAGES)

“a diverse collection of ill emcees” (ALT RAP)

“amazing jazzed up hiphop!” (ATOMIC ATTACK)

“hardbop elegance mixed with splinters from old funk, soul, rock, jazz and folk” (SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG - GERMANY)

“admire the diverse groups and styles … a total concept to be recognised” (M.D.Z.W.O – GERMANY)

Chris and Substance djs have enjoyed product arrangements / sponsorship from the likes of Diesel, Levis, Carhartt, THTC, Two&Eight and others.  Chris (and his record collection!) recently appeared in a billboard campaign for Lee Jeans Japan.