GETTING MY DECKS

The next step for me was to get my own set of Technics. My mum bought me my first deck one Christmas and the second one the following year. I now had what I wanted more than anything else – my own set of 1210’s! Now the late 80's, Hip Hop was coming to the forefront of musical culture in a big way. Artists like Public Enemy, Run DMC, KRS 1, Ice T, and the Beastie Boys were all making some really fresh music. Regular visits to record stores in both Edinburgh and Glasgow helped me pick up on some of what are now my all time favourite Hip-Hop tunes. Radio continued to be a big influence for me, in particular John Peel, who I listened to on a regular basis. Peel always stuck his neck out when playing music, and it was on his show that I heard him playing tunes from the like's of Coldcut 'Beat's N Pieces 'Bomb the Bass 'Beat Dis' and M/A/R/R/S 'Pump Up The Volume'. All three of these British producers were the first to apply the cut and paste innovations of Hip Hop to the world of post Acid House. A few months before the sad death of John Peel in 2004 he played both sides of the first release on my Drum & Bass label Restless Natives Records.

Around 15 years old and full of enthusiasm, I remember telling people at school I was going to be a DJ to the cys of yeah right!. It was around this time I came up with my DJ name - DJ Kid. My final days of school gave me the opportunity to begin promoting myself by selling mix tapes, which I used the cash to buy more vinyl. I started with a series called Kid In The Mix Volumes 1-5 which consisted of a mixture of dance tracks and Hip Hop records I had started to get sent from mailing lists I had blagged my way onto as well as records I had been buying. After this series I did Teknology 1-3 then Evolution 1-3, New Realities 1-5 and finally Total Kaos. If you take your time to go through these mixes in the audio section you will hear the steady progression I've made musically over the years. I will be posting up all these mixes in time. To be notified of when any new audio is up, just fill in your e mail address into the Get DJ Kid Updates box on the left handside.
<Tape Cover Kid In The Mix> <Download Mixes>

I did go through a stage of wanting to become a breakdancer after seeing the film Breakdance, but nobody else seemed interested in the slightest at spinning on their heads in my home town and I couldn't go breaking myself, so I continued to practice on my decks at every available moment, often into the early hours of the morning, much to my mum’s delight - not! I did teach myself some breakdance moves in the privacy of my own home and performed once in front of a wedding reception but only because I was promised £20 and the DJ promised me Chaka Khan 'I Feel For You' 12 Inch which was the record I breakdanced to.

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