Billy Caldwell: A Selector’s Tale, Told Like It Ought to Be

“Well, you see, it was never about ‘career moves’ or ‘scene politics’—it was about chasing that moment. That feeling. The one where the bassline bends time and space, and for a few fleeting hours, the outside world doesn’t exist. That’s what got me. That’s what still gets me.”

Billy Caldwell, Manchester-born but now very much part of New York’s nocturnal fabric, has spent a lifetime in pursuit of those moments. His sound? A mongrel blend of Balearic warmth, NYC disco sleaze, and the raw, machine-soul of Detroit and UK techno—stitched together not with precision, but with instinct.

“It all started, as most of these things do, in the thick of it—late ‘80s Manchester, the Haçienda looming large over everything. But it was the afters, the places you’d stumble into at stupid o’clock, that really shaped things. Epping Walk was one of those places. A couple of knocked-through flats, a sound system that could shake the fillings from your teeth, and a rotating cast of reprobates, geniuses, and people who somehow managed to be both at once. New Order would be in one corner, Tony Wilson holding court in another, while someone like Sasha or Mike Pickering was test-driving the next evolution of dance music. It was beautiful chaos.”

That chaos became the foundation for a life spent soundtracking dance floors from Manchester to Manhattan. These days, Caldwell is a resident at Brooklyn’s Good Room and The Standard Hotel, regularly weaving his sonic narratives at Le Bain, The Boom Boom Room, and Sunset Beach. His radio show, Camino Del Sol on The Lot Radio, is a love letter to the Balearic spirit—freewheeling, eclectic, never predictable.

“Venues? I’ve played a few. Some grand, some gloriously grimy. From The Haçienda to Red Rocks, Radio City Music Hall, Sankeys, Festival No. 6—they all have their own stories, their own ghosts. And then, of course, there’s New Order. Opening for them on tour is a bit like coming full circle. One minute you’re sneaking into clubs to hear them, the next you’re stepping up to the decks before they take the stage. Surreal. But then, this whole thing has been surreal, hasn’t it?”

A defining force? A tastemaker? Maybe. But Billy Caldwell isn’t much for labels. He’s just a bloke with a record bag and a knack for reading a room. And maybe that’s the whole point.

DJ bookings/ Studio/Production enquiries : email: info@derekkaye.co.uk


Explorer. Adventurer. Manipulator of Sound. Master of Ceremonies. Producer of Yasiin Gaye, Fela Soul, Bizarre Tribe, A Common Wonder & more.

BIO:

Forging an evolution of the "mashup" album format, producer Amerigo Gazaway's "conceptual collaboration" projects imagine studio sessions between like artist of different genres and eras. With a process the LA Times' Randall Roberts described as "drawing a different design within a similar framework," the producer/DJ deconstructs and re-orchestrates samples from his respective subjects, bridging overlapping themes of the two musician's classic catalogues. Equally influenced by his Brazilian roots and southern U.S. upbringing, the 28 year old Nashville native's work was featured in Apple's "What Will Your Verse Be" series of iPad commercials, called "brilliant" by music’s premier aficionado, Questlove, and earned praise from national/global outlets such as The Guardian, Huffington Post, The LA Times, Vulture, NPR, BBC, MTV, BET, REVOLTtv, EBONY,VIBE, XXL, THE SOURCE, OKAYPLAYER, Wax Poetic, Gizmazo and HipHopXL to name a few. 
 
The son of renowned Jazz trumpeter, Gary “El Buho” Gazaway, Amerigo’s thematic documentary-like concept albums uses found interview sound-bites, live performances, and original multi-track stems to help narrate and craft his combined artists' stories. Finding his first success with 2011's Fela Kuti/De La Soul pairing "Fela Soul," the project went on to land on several year-end "best of" lists including NPR, Soul Train, and OKAYPLAYER. Following the release in 2012 with "Bizarre Tribe: A Quest to the Pharcyde", a concept that layered vocals of The Pharcyde over re-imagined productions sourced from the original Soul, Jazz, and Funk records ATCQ utilized to create their productions, Gazaway would later collaborate with The Pharcyde on their single "Still Got Love" and perform with the legendary group at SXSW.
 
Continuing the theme of his previous work in 2014, the producer united Brooklyn rapper Yasiin Bey (FKA Mos Def) and soul legend Marvin Gaye for a dream collaboration aptly titled "Yasiin Gaye" (side one and side two.) Building the album’s foundation from deconstructed samples of Gaye’s Motown classics, Amerigo re-purposes the instrumentation into new productions with the familiar fervor of the original work. Carefully weaving Bey’s tangled raps and Gaye’s soulful vocals over his new arrangements, Gazaway delivers a quality much closer to an authentic collaboration than a lukewarm “mashup” album. Drawing nearly 20,000 downloads in its first two days of release, the “Master Modern Soul Match Maker” (Juan Vidal- Vibe Magazine) earned a perfect “5 Star” review from BET, collaborated with New York Magazine cartoonist, Drew Dernavich, for the project's side two cover art, and landed on Billboard's Best Selling Singles Chart with the album's third single, "You Are Undeniable."
 
Honing his DJ skills through tours of Europe, Brazil, and the U.S., Gazaway’s dancefloor driving live set features classic breakbeats, original blends, remixes, edits, and mashups of multiple genres including Funk, Soul, Disco, Hip-Hop, Afrobeat, and everything in-between. With presentations and lectures logged at USC, MTSU and upcoming dates at Google HQ (NYC) and SXSW 2015, the DJ/Producer continues to highlight the possibilities of sample based art and shows no signs of slowing down.

DJ Bookings: dave.gerrard@ntlworld.com
A long time ago, after returning from a trip to Ibiza the decision was made to embark on music production. Getting championed by Greg Wilson leading to the first release on the Chopshop label, things snowballed with tracks released on Midnight Riot, Hot Digits, Disco Dat, Spa in Disco, Sound Exhibitions, Get Down Edits, Masterworks, Hot Groovers & most recently Lisztomania with support from Craig Charles, Dimitri From Paris & Brandon Block. Dave is also known for his productions with Rob Bairstow as Greyskooledits.

Retro Grooves aka Rob Bairstow lover of fine music from times gone past
Retro Grooves archive free downloads visit https://hearthis.at/fq2j7pct/
For booking enquiry contact rob.bairstow33@ntlworld.com

International Breakbeat Music Label. 
Main direction is the promotion of funky, bass and positive music.
Including artists from: Russia, Spain, France, USA, Latvia and more..

Our goal: To collect all fans of Breakbeat culture in one Break Box.

Hailed as a “music guru” by Rolling Stone and cited among the “world’s Top DJ’s” by The New York Times, J.PERIOD is a master of his craft: a musical storyteller whose work bridges cultures, generations and styles.

As a DJ & Producer, J.PERIOD's resume boasts collaborations with GRAMMY® winners Nas, Kanye West, Common, John Legend, The Roots, Q-Tip, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige and Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda on the Billboard #1 album, The Hamilton Mixtape.

His extensive roster of collaborators, combined with a visionary approach to musical storytelling, have earned comparisons to both DJ Khaled and Ken Burns and most recently, a prestigious post as a founding member of The Kennedy Center's Hip Hop Culture Council. “Make no mistake,” says DJ Booth, “as to the power of J.PERIOD’s impact and influence on hip hop culture.”  Music icon Questlove (The Roots, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon) calls J.PERIOD “the most creative mixtape producer of all-time.”

J.PERIOD’s work has also been featured in film and TV (American Gangster, NBA Inside Stuff, The Doctor), earning an EMMY®.  His groundbreaking work as Music Supervisor for the Brooklyn Nets’ debut Barclays Center was lauded as “the new standard” for music in the NBA arena.

For more: http://JPERIOD.com

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