Qumulus & Clart - Str8 Flip (Fokuz Recordings)

Born and raised in West London, Qumulus has moved through all genres of music coming full circle back to drum and bass. Citing a broad spectrum of influences from soul to electro and early house, he was a keen audiophile for many years before attempting to enter the world of djing, which for him was an inevitable path. 

Starting out initially as a hip hop dj renowned for playing the local parties in West London, he gradually progressed to warehouse raves and pirate radio. Hailing from West London, his youth was musically enriched with all of Londons pirate stations, many of whom he contributed guest appearances, interviews and dj sets. 

Throughout his foray into the music scene, Qumulus has experimented with most genres of music adopting the Norman Jay or Giles Peterson philosophy of simply wanting to play and hear good music. 

His university years bought a flurry of activity which he utilised to develop connections within the dance music industry and catalyse involvement in various nights in and around London. Some may recall his shows on World Wide fm (deep house, filter house, techno) although he was predominantly known for his regular drum n bass show (Journey sessions) which saw a myriad of guests over the years. This show led to various stints in and around London whilst also holding a residency at a regular night (Upfront) at university. 

Some may also remember the Definitive sessions at Ministry of Sound at which he played all manner of house from deep to tech house not to mention stints at The Lost Weekend and subsequently the Blu Note club at which he helped launch and host the Wax drum n bass nights with Pete Rann and Oracle. 

Gradually, he entered the world of production after initially starting off with a Yamaha drum machine to which he later added a Roland-MC303. 

"Its the case in production sometimes that you start with a few bits of kit and eventually get them all talking to each other, next thing you know, youre programming compositions.Im still learning about production all the time, as is everyone else I guess. Although, I think it will be years, if ever, when Im happy with my sound"

In 2005, Qumulus signed several tracks to a record label started by Nookie, one of the most influential name's in Drum and Bass. He formed this label, Strictly Digital Records (www.strictly-digital.com) in order to provide exposure to all of the unheard future heroes of drum n bass and create an outlet for their unsigned material. Since signing tracks to this label, Qumulus has enjoyed a larger and more widespread exposure to the public and the dance music scene in general. It has catalysed interest in his production and his dj'ing leading to various guest spots and remix projects. He has subsequently gone on to sign further tracks to new digital projects like Point 9 Recordings, and more recently, All Street Recordings (Brazil) and also Vibration Records(www.vibrationrecords.com/itstooloud.com) who have developed a loyal and creative following over the years. It is hoped that this kind of exposure will inspire the future heroes of tomorrow to bring forth thier creations to the public and the loyal punters 

To accompany these digital releases, Qumulus has also released a dozen vinyl singles on labels like Outta London, Vibez, Zen, Sensor and Keynote Recordings. He has also released numerous bootleg's over the years such as a Roy Ayers bootleg and more recently a Snoop Dogg remix to name but a few. 

"It isnt possible to elect a point in time where I can say definitively that I was largely influenced by one song or one particular album. I think it somewhat pretentious to say that my life changed after I heard a certain track/album. As a passionate music enthusiast, it was a culmination of experimentation and discovery that led me to the doorstep of different music scenes. This wasnt because I aimed to be all things to all people, but because of the gift that music is there to be enjoyed and that is exactly what I aim to do. Music remains the greatest uniting force it is a medium through which valuable alliances are formed that shape our lives to come. I only hope that this is the philosophy people adopt when they listen to it" 

...journey your mind some more

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