Dick Johnson (Magik J)


As a teenager Dick Johnson landed a residency at Manchester’s legendary Hacienda Club where he honed his house sound until it’s closure in 1997. Before long he was producing tracks for Cream’s Olympic label, New Order’s Pleasure Recordings and Manchester’s Paper Recordings collective, and had set up his own record label Shaboom records which went on to do over 100 releases from the likes of Joeski, Fred Everything, Doc Martin and DJ Sneak.

Prolific in the studio, he went on to do albums for Darren Emerson’s Underwater Label and Bristol house imprint NRK, as well as releases for Jesse Rose’s Made To Play/Play It Down, Southern Fried, Nic Fanciulli’s Saved Records, Lazy Days, Soundway, MOS & Vicious.

As well as his own productions, Dick has remixed the likes of Crookers, Claude Von Stroke, DJ Sneak, Ian Pooley, Worthy, Crazy P, Bassnectar, Fred Everything and has recently set up two new acts. The first is eight-piece band Weird Together with its own twist on world music and two EP’s signed to UK label Soundway and Jillionaire of Major Lazer’s Feel Up Records. The second is MEDZ, a slower, more futuristic electronic project with the first release due out on Vicious Btch.

Now based in Auckland, New Zealand and with a weekly show on local radio station George Fm, Dick continues a busy DJ schedule and it’s a rare weekend indeed that he is not behind the decks electrifying a crowd of dedicated followers and testing his tunes on dance floors from Russia to Argentina and most points in between. He has EP’s due to drop in mid 2015 for Play It Down and  Vicious Records, and a 10 year anniversary release of his classic ‘Feel Alright’ on Oliver Dollars ‘ new label Industry Standard.

Dick Johnson/Magik J
https://soundcloud.com/magikj
https://www.facebook.com/DJMagikJohnson

Weird Together
https://soundcloud.com/weird-together
https://www.facebook.com/WeirdTogether

MEDZ
https://soundcloud.com/medsmusic-1
https://www.facebook.com/MEDZbook

Discogs:
http://www.discogs.com/artist/81210-Magik-Johnson


Well it all started back around 2005 when Jenna discovered her love for dance music... starting from funky house she worked her way up the filth ladder until she found her niche and passion for hard, filthy electro and breaks. 

Jenna was cranking up the front at a big dance party watching some guy play when she decided... I can do this... Girls can bang as hard as boys... So she did... Towards the end of 2007 she started playing vinyl and spinning some housey stuff.. as you do when you 1st start out. She then came to the reality that FUCK vinyl is expensive. So she decided to take the plunge sussed out a HP and went out and bought her babies.. 2 x 1000 Mk 3s and a DJM 400... 

That was it once she had my decks she was off! Starting out a open decks night, it wasn't long before Jenna got her first bookings and residency on a Wednesday night in Parnell. Over the past couple of years Jenna has established herself in the dance scene and is one of the most in demand female DJ's in Auckland and also around New Zealand. With her energy behind the decks Jenna isn't just a DJ but an entertainer, this combined with her dirty, driving bass lines has the dance floor cranking hard and wanting more!


Over the past 3 Jenna has played at events such as Ministry of Sound, Slinky, Stereodays, Big Club Night Out and has even DJ'd at Industry Night Club HollyWood for a VIP Twilight charity event!

She has supported international acts such as:
Dirty Loud, Lisa Lashes, Lazy Rich, Kill the Noise, Steve Hill, Andy Farley, Hook N Sling, Act Yo Age, Keli Hart, Potbellies, John Course, Good Will, Ashton Shuffle, Shadow Dancer, Tydi, Stonebridge, Warp Brothers, Soul Seekers and DJ Technikal just to name a few.

Sam has dedicated his career to playing dance music and he has performed at the most prestigious events, and infamous clubs in the history of New Zealand club culture. He has earned himself a loyal following and much respect among his peers. 

Sam began listening to the SugarHill Gang, Afrika Bambaataa and Parliament, then having spent a handful of formative, pre-house years, soaking up the rhythms of hip-hop funk and electro in the mid 80s , moved onto the the ever evolving electronic music scene. 

Sam was already a committed DJ when house music exploded in the UK in the late eighties. Before long he was playing at warehouse parties and began to see the potential for electronic music to become part of New Zealand Youth culture. 

At the beginning of 1990, Sam took up his first residency at The Siren alongside Roger Perry, Simon Grigg and Jon Davis as well as opening up Auckland’s first true dance music vinyl emporium, Bassline Records with Grant Kearney. Sam Hill and Grant Kearney opened up this vinyl mecca after the demise of 256 Records. Situated in O’Connell St (where Karen Walker now resides) Bassline kept Auckland’s djs sorted for top tunes as well as hosting its own nights like Headstrong and Madchester at the Box. Bassline played host to the New Zealand DJ school and with the help of Jon Davis taught a lot of young students how to DJ. With it’s in-store pinball machine Bassline became a hang out for raverkids, club owners, trainspotters and anyone else with a vague interest in dance culture. 

After Bassline Records closed in 1996 BPM records was opened and was owned by Simon Grigg, Tom Sampson and Sam Hill. With orders arriving almost daily BPM’s shelves are always filled with the latest releases from around the world. 

At the start of the new millennium Sam released some dance compilations called Back2back, Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2 and did national tours to support their release and at the first and last NZ music awards in 2003 Sam came 2nd to Greg Churchill for the DJ of the year. 

Sam Hill then started a residency at Auckland’s most talked about club, Code where he spun a mixture of house music, sleazy electro and mutant disco. Since Code opened in 2005 it has consistently been Auckland’s busiest late night venue for noctournal hedonists with Sam doing the peaktime slots until it changed ownership in early 2009. 

This year sees Sam playing on most major festivals and events, including Godskitchen, Slinky, Chemistry, Deep Hard n Funky, Ministry of Sound, one love as well as weekly club slots at two new Auckland dance venues. He has moved into the music production field recently and is non-stop in the studio producing his new fresh sound to unleash on the dancefloors. Lookout for new releases from Sam in 2009 on Luxury records with his production partner Jolyon Petch and as assault on the dance charts.

Sam Hill’s DJ skills are increasingly in demand both in NZ and Australia where his trademark sound always goes down a storm. His salacious, anarchic DJing style has always inspired a keen following on Auckland's busiest dancefloors.

Sam has played alongside international DJ’s - Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk, John Digweed, Fatboy Slim, Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold, Armand Van Helden, Basement Jaxx, Carl Cox, DJ Sneak, Nick Warren, X-Press-2, Mauro Picottto, BT, Sander Kleinenberg, Dave Seaman, Junkie Xl, Doc Martin, Judge Jules, Tall Paul, Eric Morillo, Steve Lawler, Ritchie Hawtin, Giles Peterson, Andy Weatherall, Justin Robertson,Steve Hill, Agnelli and Nelson, Pete Wardman,Johan Gielen, DJ Jean, Barthezz, Ashley Beedle, Grooverider, Lucien Foort, Paul “Trouble” Anderson, M-People, DJ Heaven, Norman Jay, Brandon Block, Tomcraft, Jeremy Healy, axwell, Infusion, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Dirty South, Goodwill, Tommy Trash, Bass Kleph, Frew,Boys Noize, Steve Aoki,Crookers, Stupid Fresh and many, many more.


Greg Churchill and Angela Fisken tracks, exclusive remixes and re-edits
  
  Download Aural Trash mix cds at http://soundcloud.com/aural-trash and http://soundcloud.com/aural-trash2
    
    

AP3X is a name that has become synonymous with dark, driving, breaks in the Auckland dance scene. 

Arriving on the Auckland club scene in 2002 with the conception of “Revolt”, co-promoted with the infamous Andy Bukshot, playing progressive house and techno. The eventual discovery of breaks around 2003 set the course for the future. 

After gigs all around the North Island, guest dj mixes on NZ national music TV channel ‘Juice’ as well as the two major Auckland Dance radio stations, co-hosting the ‘Audio Damage’ show on UPFM and holding things down for one of NZ’s longest running breaks nights “Infectious” with co-promoters and dj’s $ure$hot and Joe Revell, the natural progression was to move onto production. 

With releases on Ridiculoud Records(U.S), V.I.M Records(Greece), breaksoll 2011 'Best New Label' Diablo Loco Records(Greece) and In Bloom Recordings (U.K), the controls are firmly set to making tough, driving, prog tipped psy breaks, watch this space... 


email: contact@ap3x.co.nz

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