I’ve been asked to provide information about myself for a radio show, and I hate writing about myself in the third person – it can often come across as a bit pretentious. So, I’ve written a short synopsis on how I arrived where I am today, musically speaking. I’m hoping that Eddie can help me out by editing this down into a more conventional “bio” if he has the time.

Anyway I though it might be cool to share this on the blog as a rarely have time to write anything halfway intelligent, (let alone contribute to the blog), and you might even find it interesting…

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I was born in Newcastle Upon-Tyne and grew up in the rural escapes of the North of England. I come from the standard classical musical background. However, from an early age it was electronic music that really captivated my imagination, and I first stood behind a pair of turntables at the age of 14 – trying to mix 7″ singles from The Prodigy, Art of Noise, The Shamen, Orbitol, as well and other early electronic pioneers.

With Newcastle’s clubland explosion in the early 90′s I found myself (aged 17) at the brand new club night called “Shindig” at the Riverside club every weekend, with Lexicon Avenue as the residents bringing the worlds best underground DJs to play for the North East crowd. These early clubbing experiences were the spark that ignited my life long ambition to be a part of the scene, and so I bought turntables and taught myself to DJ.

I decided to go to university in Glasgow, Scotland. Through my time there I played house parties and got my clubbing fix by becoming a regular at the Slam nights at The Arches. I bought records from the well regarded 23rd Precinct record store, which is still run and owned by Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle (Slam). It was this barrage of Detroit influenced sounds while in Glasgow that really got me hooked on techno, and what it’s meant to be all about – massive subs, dark rooms, sweaty crowds and pounding beats!

After graduating I focussed on working more than pursuing my musical dreams – but never lost sight of that dream for one minute. I was still DJing in my spare time, buying records, clubbing occasionally, and listening to dance music 24/7.

While on a work trip to the States in 2000, I met my wife Carrla. I moved to the States in 2001 to be with her and start a new life in America. When I first arrived I wasn’t allowed to work until my permit came through, so I saw a good opportunity to focus on my dream of getting into the music industry, as I had a lot of time to spare. I started to DJ on a regular basis again, this time around Louisville, and also decided to start a weekly night. Over the next two years me and my partner Tim saw our Thursday night grow into a following of 200-300 people weekly. It was the only weekly night in Louisville (at that time) where you could hear quality underground electronic music, and enjoy a drink in an upscale bar space. It was at one of these nights that I first met my Resonant Vibes business partner, Eddie Babbage.

In 2003 we moved our weekly to a club space in Louisville and continued to attract big crowds for a midweek night. I decided to start to promote some bigger parties with Tim and between us we brought talent into Louisville including Chris Fortier, Thomas Penton, Miss Honey Dijon, Paolo Mojo, and Lance Cashion. In addition we also gave an opportunity to the increasing number of local DJs with a place to come and play on a big system. It was at this club night that I first started to move towards DJing with CDs rather than vinyl, and realized the massive potential for digital music through the internet.

In 2004 I started to work with Eddie on ideas for Resonant Vibes, which was original Eddie’s concept as a site with DJ profiles and mixes, also selling a limited amount of vinyl. It became clear quite quickly that I could bring some new ideas to the table, and help make Resonant Vibes something that it was never going to be; a digital download site with no vinyl sales but still offering DJ profiles and mixes. In addition to selling tracks, mixes and albums, we would also sell samples for producers too. It means a lot to think that we we’re the first electronic music download store to also offer downloads of samples for producers alongside other DJ friendly downloads!

Forwardwind to 2007 and Resonant Vibes is a growing and (hopefully) respected download site. We’re quickly approaching 1000 labels on the site (813 as of today) and part of my role in RV is working in a conventional music buying capacity – trying to keep the music policy true; that all the music we stock must be quality. I know some stuff falls through the cracks but as a DJ I find 99% of my music on the site, and I’m continually impressed by the quality of music that comes out on lesser known imprints.

There is a lot of excellent music out there and too often, too many DJs play the “label” game. The labels of the moment are getting played by everyone, and people forget to go digging through the digital crates. Part of DJing is finding those undiscovered tunes that no one else is playing, and if you look around on RV you will find plenty of them. Our tag line is “connecting you to what’s inside” so when you get some time, go digging on the site and I guarantee you will be surprised.

Tags: Electronic Music, Resonant Vibes, Sam Gracie