With his roots in the heyday of acid house and the UK-festival scene, Toronto-based, English-born DJ Sean Baker brings a wealth of experience and musical storytelling to his sets. These days pushing a blend of music old and new that spans buzzing electro, spacious breakbeats, melodic deeper techno and atmospheric, sensual house, his free-flowing sets focus on mood rather than genre. Mixing vinyl only from his 5000-strong collection, he connects his rich heritage in music with an ever-burning passion to discover the best, most charismatic dance music around—in doing so continuing the lineage of the eclectic sounds of his past.

Growing up in Manchester in the ‘80s, he was perfectly positioned to experience the rapid evolution of the city’s vibrant musical scene. A regular at the legendary Hacienda, he was at the coalface of the acid house explosion, moving into the legendary illegal rave scene as the decade turned and simultaneously moved among the circle of indie bands that were adjacent to and engrained in the dance scene. He also spent time in Toronto in the late ‘80s, partying at the legendary Twilight Zone club which introduced the city to house music by the way of the likes of guests like Frankie Knuckles (yes, he was there that night—a formative, life-changing experience). A better, more open-minded musical upbringing he couldn’t have hoped for.

After setting the foundations of his DJ career in the ‘90s, he was playing legendary London clubs like Turnmills, Ministry of Sound, Heaven, The Egg, The End and The Key by the noughties, as well as festivals including Bestival and tours of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. After running a series of nights in nearby Canterbury called Lounge Originals, he took the bold leap of launching a festival: Lounge On The Farm. Running for several years, the festival drew acclaim from the likes of The Guardian, booking major acts such as Annie Mac, Hercules & Love Affair and The xx—with Sean always closing the festival as part of his ComfyPorn DJ duo.

These days leaning heavily on electro and breakbeat styles with a dash of acid as well as breezy, seductive house music, he continues to pursue new music that embodies some of the spirit of the music he grew up on. Peppering his sets with acapellas and samples that help to elevate the mood or intensity, he embodies the ‘journey’ approach to DJing, taking his audiences on expansive audio trips. After a hiatus, he has been putting the groundwork in across the Toronto scene and can be found playing discerning local clubs and festivals in the area, as he redoubles his efforts to bring his favourite music to appreciative crowds once again.

-	Ben Gomori (Monologues Records)

ComfyPorn djs

ComfyPorn is the wonderfully-named DJ tag-team of Comfy Rob and Sean Porn. Playing eclectic vinyl-only selections on three decks, these guys have also been principally responsible for the rejuvenation of the Canterbury music scene over the past ten years or so.

Comfy Rob grew up in the ghettos of Berkshire(!), raised on a diet of hip-hop, before he found 4/4 music at Reading institution Checkpoint Charlie. Moving to Canterbury in the mid-90s, he embraced the free party scene and began collecting a broad spectrum of vinyl — and DJing wherever he could.

Contrastingly, Sean Porn grew up in Manchester in the 80s, experiencing the northern city’s transformation into baggy central – Madchester – by the turn of the 90s. He hung with the Inspiral Carpets, was a regular at the Hacienda, went to the infamous Blackburn raves with the Hardcore Uproar crew, and generally immersed himself in this new dynamic culture of electronic music.

Hooking up in Canterbury in the late 90s, Rob and Sean started their Lounge Originals night and over the next few years busied themselves with providing the cathedral city with quality music. Installing themselves as resident DJs, they brought in acts such as Crazy P, Big Hair and the Dub Pistols to play at the Lounge.

Sean had a side-project, the Velours Brothers, which produced proto-electro house, releasing the ‘Disco Noir EP’ on Grand Prix Records in 2002, and following this up with a couple of singles on Barry Ashworth and Carl Loben’s Westway Records – ‘White Room’ and ‘Punk Rock’, the latter of which became a favourite of Steve Lamacq on BBC radio.

Sean also DJ’d at London clubs such as Turnmills, Ministry Of Sound, Heaven, The Egg, Electrowerkz and The Key as the noughties progressed, as well as tours of Slovakia and the Czech Republic with DJ Tvyks, while closer to home Rob ran the bass night Mastachefs in Canterbury, bringing people like UK hip-hop legend Rodney P, drum & bass fiend Nicky Blackmarket and scratch turntablist extraordinaire DJ Skitz to town as guests.

In 2006, Sean had the mad idea of expanding the Lounge Originals vibe into a fully-blown festival. Lounge On The Farm was born, a labour of love that has grown into one of the most lauded festivals on the UK circuit. Acts like Super Furry Animals, The Noisettes, the New York Dolls, The xx, Hercules & Love Affair, Toots & the Maytals, The Streets, Katy B, Dexys, Chic, The Charlatans, Annie Mac, Ellie Goulding, DJ Yoda, Beardyman and Echo & The Bunnymen have all played the festival over the years, and ComfyPorn have played the last celebratory DJ set every year since the festival’s inception as a reward to themselves for months of hard work in the festival’s organization.

In 2008, in addition to the festival, Sean opened a venue – The Farmhouse – to bring quality music to Canterbury the whole year round. Mumford & Sons, the James Taylor Quartet and The Bees are just some of the bands who have played the venue, while ComfyPorn again became resident DJs at their new monthly night at the Farmhouse, bringing in guest DJs like Justin Robertson, Adamski, Midfield General and the Inland Knights.

Their latest mix encompasses Italo house, kosmische disco, electro-funk and deep tech, and once again they’re looking to bring their discerning vinyl boxes to clubs far and wide. Every city needs a bit of ComfyPorn in its life!

 

 

Carl Loben
Contributing Editor
DJ Magazine



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