A pioneer, an innovator, an ambassador for dance music, a truly globally respected DJ, a house music stalwart, a musical perfectionist, an accomplished remixer and producer, a passionate radio presenter? Danny Rampling has been cited all these in the dance music press over the years and he is proud of what he has achieved and the millions he has entertained over the years.
It all started off at the very tender age of nine, when he started his record collection which amounts... Read more
A pioneer, an innovator, an ambassador for dance music, a truly globally respected DJ, a house music stalwart, a musical perfectionist, an accomplished remixer and producer, a passionate radio presenter? Danny Rampling has been cited all these in the dance music press over the years and he is proud of what he has achieved and the millions he has entertained over the years.
It all started off at the very tender age of nine, when he started his record collection which amounts close to 40,000 now!
In his teens, he started off carrying record boxes and playing hip-hop, funk and soul at bars and clubs in Bermondsey and other areas around London, often helping out Nicky Holloway with his nights. Often Danny was playing alongside Gordon Mac, Kiss FM?s founder. ?"I was starting to get a reputation for my uplifting, feel-good party tunes and it wasn?t long before I had a weekly show on Kiss FM",? explains Danny.
Then in 1987, Danny and his young DJ friends; Paul Oakenfold, Nicky Holloway and Johnny Walker went on a lad?s holiday to Ibiza. They checked out Alfredo at Amnesia who was mixing up early Chicago tracks from Marshall Jefferson, Frankie Knuckles and Larry Heard, soul, reggae and pop. They were gobsmacked and hooked by the intoxicating Balearic sound of the energising Spanish island and were determined to bring that vibe back to grey London.
Spiritually inspired by this music, Danny launched Shoom at the gym of the Fitness Centre in Southwark in 1987. Those parties, which heralded the start of UK club culture, are now legendary and spurned the global dance culture as he introduced many of the imported Phuture tracks from Chicago. It also started the innovative lifestyle that was to follow: the rest is history.
After breaking acid house at Shoom until 1990, and spreading the vibe on Kiss FM, as other clubs jumped on the bandwagon, Rampling then launched a more glamorous night: Pure Sexy at Nicky Holloway?s Milk Bar in Soho from 1990 until 1992.
The early 1990?s saw Danny embark on his prolific remix career (which amounts to over 40!) and some of his favourites include Timmy Thomas Why Can?t We Live Together, The Beloved The Sun Rising, Hypnotone Dream Beam and Love Corporation Palatial. He remixed for the B-52?s, Erasure and the James Taylor Quartet to name but a few. Rampling also produced for the first time under the guise Sound of Shoom - I Hate Hate, which was a cover Razzy Bailey?s obscure 70?s soul ballad featuring Steven Eusabe.
Danny was then signed to Deconstruction in 1993 and launched a band called the Millionaire Hippies and released a few singles including the anthem I am the Music, Feel Me which crossed over into the mainstream. It featured the vocals of Gwen Dupree and Das Strachen and was given the remix treatment from Farley and Heller.
In November 1996, Danny got poached from Kiss to join Radio 1 and launched the Lovegroove Dance Party that continued weekly for almost six years until March 2002. His show was always reflective of the long journey he has travelled and was a vehicle for him to spread the word of the deep vocal house, US garage sound and tribal grooves that are his passion. 1998 saw him sign to Distance in France with Community of the Spirit.
Rampling has also mixed many successful albums, including the third volume of Journeys By DJ in 1992, then a series of Love Groove Party compilations on Universal, UK/USA with David Morales on React and this year'?s Turntable Symphony also on React.
In 2001, Danny started his monthly column in International DJ Magazine which continues to this day and launched his monthly residency Metrogroove at Turnmills. Metrogroove is now in its second year and is touring the UK in 2003. He also got back in the studio and produced his song How Good the Love Is as Il Padrinos with Dave Lee (aka Joey Negro) and featured the legendary diva Jocelyn Brown. The record was released in 2002 to universal aplomb. He is currently working on a follow-up.
2002 saw the start of his new residencies at Milk in Belfast, Rome and Milan. Danny also embarked on a series of tours which has always eluded him in the past because of his commitment to his weekly Radio 1 show. Already Rampling has been spreading the vibe in South America, Asia the Far East and most countries in Europe! His music has always been an extension of his character and personality and an extension of his spirit that goes out to the people creating an elevated vibe on the dance floor.
Energising and spiritual, the music is a party soundtrack.
Danny concludes, "?As dance music and club culture continues to mutate, develop reinvent itself, we have to embrace this change in order to herald another renaissance and to keep the music that we all love underground? see you on the dancefloor.?" Show less
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