Twenty-five years is a fair chunk of time by anyone’s estimation but for Doug Masters, he remembers his first ever DJ gig at The Depot in Bristol like it was yesterday. “I was so nervous I thought I’d never do it again,” he says. “Little did I know that I’d end up playing thousands of times more and at some of the best clubs and festivals all over the world.” 

Marking 25 years that has seen Doug release on labels including Sunday Best, Bombstrikes and Westway with his D-Funk alias, become one of the architects of the funky breaks sound with his mid-2000s night Break Da House and play everywhere from Ibiza to the US, Canada, Europe and his adopted home of Australia, Doug has embarked on two mixes to celebrate his two and a half decades in the game. 

“I’m lucky to have been through so many scenes,” says Doug. “I caught the tail-end of the rave scene in the UK, zipping around to find parties in fields and in disused railway tunnels and then moved through progressive house to trance to UK garage and breaks and then on to my own production journey in the 2000s. I wanted to put together some mixes that reflected all of that.”

The first mix of the two-part series is a collection of tunes that have influenced Doug over the years, touching on everything from disco & house to UK garage & breaks to jungle, while the second collects together 25 of Doug’s personal favourites from his illustrious career as a producer. 

“I was lucky enough to spread a style of music I loved and helped create around the globe,” says Doug. “I want to celebrate that and everything that influenced me along the way with these two mixes.”

Track listing:
Fort Knox Five - The Brazilian Hipster
Krafty Kuts feat TC Izlam - Ill Type Sound
Featurecast - Sniper
Mongobonix -Mas Pito
Pete Hellar - Big Love (The Dronez Mix)
Diana Ross - Love Hangover (Joey Negro Club Mix)
Lovestation - Teardrops (Flava Mix)
MJ Cole feat Elizabeth Troy - Crazy Love
Azzido Da Bass - Dooms Night (Timo Maas Mix)
Chicken Lips - He's Not In (Stanton Warriors Mix)
Dogtown Clash - West London's Burning
Sono - Keep Control (Hydrogen Rockers Vocal Mix)
Yothu Yindi - Treaty (Peace Division Mix)
Gaberial Anadna - Dopplewhipper
Delerium - Silence (Original Fade Sanctury Mix)
Hand's Burn - Good Shot
Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar (Three In One Mix)
Sonique - Feels So Good (Break Beat Mix)
Love 4 Sale - Feel So Right
The Brothers Grimm - Exodus (The Lion Awakes)
Artemesia - Bits & Pieces
Pendulum & The Freestylers - Fasten Your Seatbelts
Natural Born Chillers - Rock The Funky Beats
Aldo Vanucci - When I See You Smile
Ian Brown - F.E.A.R
Plus lots of samples & acapellas from other amazing tunes. 

Website: www.dfunk.co.uk 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dfunkbreaks 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dfunkbreaks 
Bandcamp: d-funk.bandcamp.com/music
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/6ZUH9yUJI74EASFVjviNVg

D-Funk thanks…. 
My Mum & Dad for buying me my first set of decks. The Calne bedroom crew for putting up with hours of shoddy mixing in the early days. Alex Blackburn for helping my get my first ever gig. Pedro, Davey, Dai, Big Dave & the Wolves uni crew for the mad nights. Matt for first introducing me to hip hop. ‘Honest’ Lloyd. Jit at Canal Club. Nick Stevenson. Howard & all in the early days of Rotation. Charlie Lang. Naz, Doris & Ben Logue. Garry White. Tim Lyall. Mark Berry. James Bronson. Everyone at 176 over the years. The Turk. Josh at 2020. Shab & Dan. Wille Drum kit & his insatiable love of funk. Uncle Barry Ashworth, Carl Loben & Billy at Westway. Sang, Devastating Dave & all at Adicts. Phil Berrick. Paul Master. Evan Slynk. Tomas & everyone at Danio. Nicc Johnson. Scott Pullen. Shamozzle & Stacey Butler. And last but not least my wife for constantly backing me up but mostly listening to me whinge.

More D-Funk!

D-Funk 25 (Part 1)

Sydney-based, British born DJ, D-Funk has amassed a fair few achievements in his 25-years on the decks. Making his club debut at The Depot in Bristol in 1995, he’s gone on to DJ all over the world, playing notable sets at Space Ibiza and Ministry Of Sound and released on labels including Sunday Best and Bombstrikes. 

Getting his first set of decks at 14, Doug initially fell for the sounds of jungle and techno before a night dancing to house icon Tony De Vit in 1997 turned him towards the slinkier sounds of house music. 

His DJ career began to take off during his time at university in Wolverhampton where he started to pick up gigs at the Canal Club and Mezzanine, playing alongside DJs including Joey Negro, Mr Fingers, Scott Bond and Lisa Lashes, before a move to the South-Coast town of Bournemouth led him to eventually start his own night ‘Break Da House’ in 2004. 

The night took off, attracting big names including The Stanton Warriors and Plump DJs and eventually led to D-Funk’s first release, the ‘Electrotek’ EP after Dub Pistols headlined one night and Barry Ashworth from the band decided to release Doug’s music on his Westway label. The track found its way onto a TV ad in Portugal, as well as becoming a mainstay on Kiss FM’s breakbeat chart and gave Doug the confidence to pursue a career as a producer as well as a DJ, eventually leading to releases on Adapted Records and Ghetto Funk among countless other labels over the next 15 years. 

Moving to Sydney Australia in 2009, Doug started his label Upstart Music, releasing his own productions alongside tracks from the likes of Crackerz & Jam, Niko & Lyall and Rogue Robot and later started the funk label Grits N Gravy alongside friend and funk producer Philly Blunt, with the label winning the ‘Best Label’ award at Perth Dance Music Awards in 2010. 

Since living in Sydney, Doug has held down residencies at The World Bar and The Standard/Middlebar for the best part of a decade, as well as regular slots at Sash, Ivy, Goros, Hugos and many others. He’s played events for high profile companies such as Blackberry, Telstra, Jagermeister,  Sydney Cricket Ground & Saatchi & Saatchi. But there was still demand for him back on the side of the world and he regularly returned to Europe to play at Space Ibiza (including a set at the penultimate night of Carl Cox’s Revolution party) as well as touring in the UK, Europe, Asia and Canada. 

Now 25 years into his career, Doug is about to mark the 10th anniversary of his label Grits ‘N’ Gravy, with a compilation due this year mixed by himself and Philly Blunt, and has been busy producing house, hip hop and nu-disco with his current production partner Mr Doris.

Website: http://www.dfunk.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dfunkbreaks
Insta: https://www.instagram/dfunkbreaks
Bandcamp: https://d-funk.bandcamp.com/music
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/6ZUH9yUJI74EASFVjviNVg