Matthew Orrell & Scott Davidson Sessions#27

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Chieftain - Scott D

A small hub in Edinburgh playing electronic music

I like to create mixes of atmospheric progressive house, with the occasional bit of techno thrown in too. I always strive to make every mix a proper journey, hopefully ebbing and flowing whilst balancing dark and light, throughout. 

All my mixes contain a blend of propulsive, driving tracks, coupled with deeper, more emotional productions. There is so much amazing music out there, and I always aim to do it justice, and put any track in a context that will give it maximum impact - whilst still fitting perfectly with the mix as a whole. 

I know when the time is right to record a mix, as I feel an absolute compulsion to do so. Everything uploaded to this page has come about as a result of that. I hope they all convey the overall feeling, and warmth, that I was striving for.

I am immensely proud of all of the mixes I have uploaded to my page, and the many others that are hosted elsewhere on this site - all of which can be found my playlists. I very much hope that any of you kind enough to take the time to listen, enjoy them.

I was a resident for Progressive House UK from 2020-21, and all the mixes that I recorded for that excellent site, and many others not on here, can be found at: 

https://www.mixcloud.com/steviereid/

In addition, I was a winner in a mix competition judged by Quivver in 2017, a hugely proud moment. I have also done guest mixes for Gai Barone's Patterns show, Il Modo, PFG, Saturo Sounds, 21C Progressive House and Melodic Distraction.

A bit about me: I am Edinburgh born and bred, I feel incredibly lucky to call this beautiful city home. Growing up, the house was always full of music thanks to my parents. I was also lucky enough to be exposed to some fantastic music thanks to my older brother's exemplary taste.

When branching out on my own, of a wide variety of genres, Depeche Mode were the band that spoke to me the most - with honourable mentions to New Order and The Smiths. 

Even as a young child, the dark atmosphere of their tracks resonated with me, and that has been the biggest influence on the kind of progressive house that I play in my sets.

It was early 90s rave music that first got me into dance music, but it was hearing the bassline on Orbital's 'Halcyon' for the first time in 1995 that made me realise that such music could move you in many, many more ways. 

Seeing Leftfield live in 1996 at the Barrowlands in Glasgow remains the most incredible music experience I've ever had. I was a regular at some seminal Edinburgh clubs in the late 90s and early 2000s, but it was at the legendary Taste where I truly found my clubbing utopia. 

In 2006, thanks to the generosity of Mark and Brian at a Taste afterparty, I had a shot of CDJs for the first time. Later that year, thanks to the advent of virtual DJing, I began recording mixes. I've never really stopped since.

In terms of influences from the world of progressive house, there are too many to mention - but Quivver is my all time favourite producer. As such, when my December 2017 mix was picked out by him for a mix competition he was running, it was among the proudest moments of my life.

I would always consider myself to be a bedroom (or living room!) DJ first and foremost, but I have been lucky enough to play at some fantastic clubs and venues.

I made several appearances at Karnival in Edinburgh, the undoubted highlight of which was appearing on the same bill as Inner City. I was also lucky enough to play at (the sadly now defunct) Kinfolk in Brooklyn NYC, with two of my closest friends.

If DJing was something I never thought I'd end up doing, making music most certainly wasn't - but thanks to Edinburgh legend Kev Wright, I have co-produced numerous tracks that have been released since 2011.

Through Kev I was also lucky enough to tag along with he, Gary and the Beat Laundry crew - and playing live streams during lockdown, with that amazing community, managed to put so many special times into an era that was so challenging for everyone.

My true happy place has always been playing at parties in my living room, or at a friend's house, with a great group of people. 

Those opportunities are few and far between now since my amazing daughter Anya was born in 2023 - but I'm at a different stage of life now, and I am blessed to have this amazing addition to an already phenomenal family.

Making mixes will never leave me though, and I very much hope to still continue to do so, as much as I can, going forward. As much as it's amazing playing in front of a crowd that you're in sync with, I love the permanence of a recorded mix.

There is no better feeling than receiving messages from someone you haven't met, on the other side of the world, letting you know that they are enjoying something that you have created.

As long as I feel compelled to keep putting them together, I will most definitely do so. 

(Very well done if you read this far!)

Matthew Orrell & Scott Davidson Sessions#27

The Soapworks Sessions