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Biography

JOHN B BIOGRAPHY (TwitchCon June 2024)

Hi! I’m John B – a Drum & Bass Producer & DJ, (and part-time gamer!).

I’ve been making music since 1997, have released 7 albums, had tracks/remixes on legendary DNB labels like Metalheadz, Prototype, Moving Shadow, Hospital Records, Spearhead, Viper & Drum & Bass Arena – also majors like Universal & Warner. Everything on my own label Beta Recordings is safe to play here on Twitch free from DMCA.

I’ve officially remixed artists like Pendulum, High Contrast, Dusky, Adam F, Pharoahe Monch/Mos Def/Nate Dogg, DJ Fresh, Bloc Party, Howard Jones, Visage, Pythius.

Nicki Minaj sampled my track ‘Red Sky’ on her song ‘Here I am’ on her debut album ‘Pink Friday’ & has been performing it on her 2024 worldwide stadium tour.

I mostly make DNB but have also produced a bit of Trance & Electro/Techno. A couple of those tracks featured on Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto Records on his compilation ‘The Great Wall’.

I’ve toured the world extensively as a DNB DJ for the last 30 years & have performed pretty much everywhere on the circuit & have been part of Drum & Bass’ development from the early days, playing everything from headlining club shows up to huge festivals, routinely touring the USA, Europe and also a lot all over Russia back in the day too. You can check my current diary on my website HERE

AWARDS:

Drum&BassArena Awards 2022 – Critics’ Choice Award
Breakbeat Awards 2022 – Best Digital Streamer
Drum & Bass Awards Germany 2021 – Best International Livestream (2nd)
DJ Mag Top 100 (2009) – #92 (Top DNB DJ)
DJ Mag Top 100 (2010) #76

DJ STREAMS

My DJ sets on twitch to date have focused on DNB as I have been sticking to the TOS rules about only playing music you have the rights to – but I’m a huge fan of 80s & 90s dance music & techno/electro so am really looking forward to playing a more broad range of music as we move on now that Twitch has announced the DJ Program and full support for DJs.

VODs of music streams aren’t permitted on twitch for copyright reasons but I upload everything to YouTube afterwards. (New sets are exclusive to YouTube ‘Members’ for 2 weeks and are then unlocked for full public access after that). Full tracklists are posted on my discord.

VISUALS

I decided early on in order to stand out in a sea of DJing content on twitch it was important to elevate the visual side of the experience. Aiming to be the opposite of simple static camera shots – interesting and exciting visuals are an epic priority in my streams. The music side is always most important of course, but I consider that under control, given my experience lol.

I went down a video-editing & OBS rabbit-hole during covid and learned all the techniques you’ve seen me pioneer in the visuals I use on my DJ set (and Tarkov) streams, which also crosses over into some of my official music videos. I create everything you see here myself & it’s all broadcast live. There’s a lot of video asset preparation in advance that I do using Final Cut X & other tools with varying amounts of transparent videos layered in the ‘scenes’ you see me perform in on stream. Depending on the session there are ofter up to 50 different scenes which cycle throughout the show, or I trigger manually. They also include other long-form background VJ visuals which slot into them, with filters applied so they sit better in the overall scene. My stream PC in the loft gets quite hot lol.

STUDIO PRODUCTION STREAMS

In 2023 I streamed 60 hours a month from my studio as part of a Music contract with Twitch – during which time I made loads of new music, discovered (and signed to my label) several exciting new artists, and had a lot of fun sharing my process with the chat, learning from their tips too!

I now usually stream from the studio once a week on Wednesday afternoons – come say hi! I’m always happy answer questions.

WYLD DOGZ

I’m 1/2 of a new DNB duo called Wyld Dogz and sometimes work on music for this project live on my production streams. Wild Dogz output is all high energy Drum & Bass versions of big tunes you would recognise from more mainstream dance music & the 80s/90s. When you hear our stuff you might think it’s remixes/bootlegs but we actually re-record all the vocals and ‘samples’, getting them replayed by musicians & guest vocalists! We’ve already had millions of streams of some of our tracks, with lots of exciting new songs in the pipeline.

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“John B personifies the more leftfield, zany side of d&b. Sporting crazy hairdos and 80s electronica-inspired eye-makeup (water/sweatproof we hope!), his gigs have become a favourite on the trans-European and worldwide DJing circuit, not least this year, where his bookings list has skyrocketed as a result of wildfire word-of-mouth recommendations on the hedonistic circuit, as well as straight d&b nights.”DJ Mag

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“John B has almost single-handedly developed a drum & bass style soaked in 80s electro, rock, grunge, and trance influences and doused in tongue-in-cheek humour; and it has garnered him a fan-base few of his contemporaries could test. If you buy one drum and bass album this year, make it this, as you’ll be playing it in years to come.”iDJ Magazine

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"One of D&B’s few genuine global super-producers… John B really is in a league of his own… Remember John B’s unique contribution to the genre”Mixmag

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“British DJ John B helped to tear the lid off drum & bass in the mid-to-late nineties and become the Dr. Frankenstein of the genre, suturing 170bpm to anything that moves, particularly trance, liquid funk, and Eighties-style synth pop.”Miami New Times

JOHN B OLD BIOGRAPHY (Last Updated 2015)

Part man, part machine, part #airportninja… ALL original.

DJ, producer and multiple label owner: John B is one of electronic music’s most distinctive, creative and consistent contributors. Splicing genre DNA like a modern mad scientist, touring all corners like a D&B missionary; with a sound as sharp as his wardrobe and a vision as defined as his eyeliner, he’s ensured he’s remained a relevant, in-demand and influential source for almost 20 years and has developed one of the most loyal international fanbases in the scene.

The highest ever charting D&B DJ in the DJ Mag Top 100, John has found favour from all sides; from championing Mixmag’s groundbreaking Trance & Bass mix CD to being responsible for one of Metalheadz most enduring, timeless classics ‘Up All Night’, John unites scenes and sub genres like no other. A high profile touring machine, he’s drum & bass’s most characterful international ambassador, notching dancefloor bedposts everywhere from Moscow to Manhattan, Manchester to Melbourne, Los Angeles to London. Freshly signed to Evolution artist agency – home of the most respected drum & bass talents – this global representation has just gone next level.

The list of his creative accomplishments is endless: As a label owner, he’s responsible for signing early releases from an impressive roll-call of well-known artists to his labels Beta Recordings and Nu-Electro: Nu:Tone, Logistics, Commix, Xilent, High Rankin, Gemini, Receptor, Dexcell and Camo & Krooked have all enjoyed John’s support in the past while exciting new artists such as Gmorozov, Virtue and Vice City have all experienced the Beta treatment in the last 12 months and have plenty more in store in the near future. John has also developed a cult following on his food blog ‘Cooking With John B‘ and grows his own vegetables including voicebox-melting Trinidad Scorpion Moruga chillies.

The real heat, though, is in his beats: John has released on hugely influential labels such as Goldie’s Metalheadz and Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto. His skills have also been identified by Nicky Minaj who recruited John for co-production duties on her hit single ‘Here I Am’. He’s also remixed artists as disparate as Howard Jones to Pendulum via Bloc Party, Michael Cassette and My Robot Friend.

Meanwhile as a selector he can conjure up the deepest, darkest classic sets, the most forward-thinking futuristic free-for-alls… And everything in between. No stranger to electro, Latin, punk, techno or jungle, his hugely popular podcasts reflect his rich understanding of the widest picture. Destination johnbpodcast.com: each show regularly exceeds 100,000 downloads and frequently hit the number one spot on Mixcloud and iTunes podcast charts top 10. For 18 months he also blasted his broadcasting experience to over 130 cities across Russia with a weekly show on Radio Record.

Naturally his wide range of reference points and his passion for all styles are also represented in John B productions. Flex right back to his scene-shattering steppers on SS’s scene-defining imprints Formation Records and New Identity Recordings, Grooverider’s Prototype Recordings & Fabio’s Creative Source in the mid-90s: while his peers pushed samplers to their very limits, John was exploring synthesis in a manner that was a decade ahead of its time.

An early adopter of digital and online social culture, John was also way ahead of the rest with his media missions; his website www.john-b.com harboured all manner of freebies and behind-the-scenes treats long before the word ‘content’ became a buzzword, he was blogging before it was known as blogging and his sharp social dialogue has scored a loyal engaged fanbase who appreciate his wry take on life… Including a rare moment of EDM satire when he hoodwinked us all that Eric Prydz was suing the world via his ‘Bazzfeed‘ site.

Back to the future; his 2012 studio album ‘Light Speed’ was album of the month in Mixmag and described by DJ Mag as a ‘suitably bananas soundtrack the maddest weekend ever’, while 2014’s ‘Drum & Bass Carnival’ showcased John’s hot blooded Latin licks as he revisited the sun-kissed side of his repertoire and provided two brand new party-startling productions; the yearning soul of ‘Take Me To La Cinta’ and the Darrison-fronted bass bubbler ‘A Man Is Just A Man’ were heartfelt homages to Sardinia’s scene Mecca – Sun & Bass. One of the festival’s most consistently memorable performers, he regularly plays several sets across the week, including a grand finale in San Teodoro’s Town Square in 2014. Another pivotal John B release in 2014 was ‘Drum & Bass 2014: Summer Sessions’… Digging deep into the Beta vaults, he reminded us just how era-bounding his own label and production discography really is.

2015 saw his debut album ‘Visions’ enjoy the same deluxe, remastered and remixed re-release treatment applied to his ‘Light Speed’ album in 2014. Yet more evidence of how he has remained at the forefront of all corners, behind his trademark robot shades, he’s looked dead into the future and explored sounds long before they’re adopted by the wider community. Both revisits will set the scene for a slew of new material, including a return to Metalheadz with a new remix of ‘Up All Night’ and the outrageously dark ‘The Colossus’. Already causing a stir amongst those lucky enough to have the dubplate, ‘The Colossus’ is a 10 minute epic that takes us right back to the icy techstep source… Where John’s roots are deeply entrenched.

Other key releases in 2015 include a collaboration with DJ Fresh, a long-awaited follow up to 2002’s ‘Trance & Bass’ mix, brand new Beta single ‘Damages’ with one of electronic music’s most versatile vocalists Shaz Sparks, a speaker-melting remix of Seba & Kirsty Hawkshaw’s ‘Nothing Can Divide Us’ and plenty more. All this and one of the most gruelling tour schedules in drum & bass in which John will trounce crowds across America, Russia, Australia, Europe and beyond.

Style-splicing, territory-tearing and still the sharpest looking character in the scene, John B is more inspired and invested in work than ever before. Distinctive, creative and consistent, be prepared to experience his influence and impact on all corners of electronic music for a long time to come.

Quotes.

“One of D&B’s few genuine global super-producers… John B really is in a league of his own… Remember John B’s unique contribution to the genre”.

-Mixmag

“John B personifies the more leftfield, zany side of d&b. Sporting crazy hairdos and 80s electronica-inspired eye-makeup (water/sweatproof we hope!), his gigs have become a favourite on the trans-European and worldwide DJing circuit, not least this year, where his bookings list has skyrocketed as a result of wildfire word-of-mouth recommendations on the hedonistic circuit, as well as straight d&b nights.”

-DJ Mag

“British DJ John B helped to tear the lid off drum & bass in the mid-to-late nineties and become the Dr. Frankenstein of the genre, suturing 170bpm to anything that moves, particularly trance, liquid funk, and Eighties-style synth pop.”

-Miami New Times

“John B has almost single-handedly developed a drum & bass style soaked in 80s electro, rock, grunge, and trance influences and doused in tongue-in-cheek humour; and it has garnered him a fan-base few of his contemporaries could test.  If you buy one drum and bass album this year, make it this, as you’ll be playing it in years to come.”

-iDJ Magazine

“Think 80s, Speak and Spell, He-man and She-ra, and the gay bar in Police Academy and then you have an idea of where this is coming from.  In a nutshell this is porn-banging, nut grabbing genre-smashing electro overdosing shenanigans for catwalk models and porn stars alike. Enjoy!”

-M8 magazine

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