We kicked off our 2014 programme with a visit to the Chinwag settee from a man who has been defining, and re-defining, his own unique area of music for over twenty years, the inimitable Justin Robertson.
For those of you who were aware of Justin’s emergence as a maverick, diverse and genre defying DJ, he will need no introduction. For those unfamiliar, it could be said that his tireless need to keep pushing forward musically has kept him one of the most relevant and exciting DJ/Producers around. If you really need convincing, simply check out the phenomenal list of artists (and fellow DJs) who he has re-worked; Erasure, Bjork, Happy Mondays, New Order, Talk Talk, Stereo MCs, Gary Clail, Fini Tribe, Felix da Housecat and Chicken lips to name but a few in a terrifyingly huge catalogue.
Justin began his journey as a student in Manchester, attracted by the flourishing musical heritage of the town, he soon fell in love with the emerging alien machine funk that would become the Acid House scene. Working at the legendary Eastern Bloc records, it wasn’t long before began to make his mark as a DJ creating and curating two of the UK’s seminal Balearic House clubs in Spice [with Greg Fenton] and Most Excellent, where the young Chemical Brothers found inspiration. His apprenticeship in remixing developed both his production sound and gave birth to his band Lionrock, with which he had several top 40′s and an appearance on Top of The Pops. Touring with the likes of The Chemical Brothers, the Cocteau Twins and Death In Vegas, Lionrock became one of the bands that defined the growing confidence of dance music and its potential to flourish and mutate into so many fascinating hybrids.
For the last twenty years, Justin Robertson has not stopped! Releasing numerous singles with Bugged Out, working with Tim Burgess (The Charlatans) and the legendary Ernest Ranglin, writing for Fat Boy Slim, as well as a slew of remixes for Erol Alkan, Paul Weller, The Asphodells and Steve mason (to name but a handful!), and a long standing production partnership with Daniel Avery sees him constantly at the forefront
His current project, The Deadstock 33s, has gained him lavish praise for both the debut album and killer headline sets at Bestival, Unknown, Festival No 6, and Electric Elephant to acclaimed sessions from the Warehouse Project in Manchester to Crobar in Argentina. As an artist continues to enthral , painting from a rich psychedelic pallet, taking in everything from wigged out disco to stripped down visceral Acid House. Justin Robertson- still as sharp as his rakishly appointed hat.
