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Justin Robertson's role in the evolution of house music
shouldn't be understated. Be it as DJ, producer or even
the occasional top 40 pop star Justin's role in dance
music remains fixed as that of both enthusiast and constant
innovator. Justin's elevation to the position of one
of Britain's most respected DJs and musicians began
in Manchester back in 1990 with the seminal Spice night.
A geographical counterpoint to Shoom, it has long since
become an acid house reference point for those seeking
to write history down.
This underground success was followed by the higher
profile 'Most Excellent'; another legendary night where
the young Chemical Brothers were first spotted cutting
a rug on the dancefloor.A sweaty, hedonistic affair
'Most Excellent' was held back from the clutches of
out and out narcosis by Justin's legendary turntable
skills. Remember, if you can keep your head while all
about are losing theirs...
'The Rebellious Jukebox', Justin's next venture originally
started as a laugh for a few mates to share the pleasures
of the sort of records you only listen to at home. A
bit of Curtis Mayfield, Northern, Larry Levan, Dusty
Springfield, hip hop, Studio 1 and Coxone 7"s. Now just
add booze. The night inadvertently became the blueprint
for a new kind of backroom club as events drew an eclectic
showcase of sounds from folk like Andrew Weatherall
and David Holmes. 'The Rebellious Jukebox' in time became
the inspiration for Heavenly's infamous 'Sunday Social'
as well as countless other well respected roots clubs
around the country.
In-between these successful pioneering clubs Justin
was also finding time to play all around the country
and across the globe. In Britain he regularly thrills
crowds at, Shindig in Newcastle, Sankey's Soap in Manchester,
Mono and the Red Box in Dublin. Now, of course, he enjoys
a residency alongside Dave Clarke at Bugged Out! which
is proving to be one of the most successful underground
music nights in the country boasting stars ranging from
Daft Punk, DJ Sneak, Roger Sanchez, Carl Cox to The
Chemical Brothers in its line-ups. Abroad, he rocks
crowds from New York to Tokyo, from Sweden to San Francisco,
Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, New Mexico,
Argentina, Uruguay with his customary deck skills and
unique combination of techno and house sounds. Whether
at a 500 capacity party or a 10,000 person festival
Justin never fails to rock the crowd.
Naturally all this experience has made Justin a seriously
sought-after remixer. His CV includes remixes of Manic
Street Preachers, Happy Mondays, Bjork, New Order, Placebo,
Smoke City, A Guy Called Gerald, The Stone Roses, Suede,
Erasure and The Stereo MC's. One of his early remixes
was for Chemical Brother Tom Rowland's previous band
Ariel which has now become a tasty little addition to
any vinyl junkiešs collection. More recently The Chemicals
brought the relationship full circle by getting Justin
to remix the outstanding 'Music: Response' from their
last album. The mix brought the mid-tempo track to a
whole new dancefloor crowd.
In addition to this there has been Lionrock the band
which toured around doing festivals and tours with the
Cocteau Twins and The Chemical Brothers, scoring a top
20 hit with the infectious 'Rude Boy Rock' following
on from previous hits like Packet of Peace, Tripwire
and Carnival.
The last couple of years has seen Justin's workload
get even more intensive. By way of acknowledgement of
his consistent killer performances at Bugged Out! The
club asked Justin to mix their first CD. The result
was a tough but funky blend of house and techno both
underground yet accessible, like the club itself. The
reviews came in strong as ever. More recently Justin
mixed an album for the Distinctive crew who introduced
a new mix series called 'Imprint' opening with Justin.
Look out for a new mix album for 2003 from Justin out
later in the year.
Years of scouring round record shops for obscure funk
and soul 7"s led Justin to form a firm friendship with
Dave Hill from Nuphonic. The relationship has been further
cemented by Justin being signed to the label under the
name Revtone. The Revtone sound was once again a marked
departure for Justin. Taking his cue from the disco-fied
New York sound of late 70s Talking Heads Justin weaves
in melodic techno influences to create an intriguing
new sound.
Of late much interest has been made of Justin's track
'Ruckus Juice' for Shine's new label as well as remixes
of his Revtone singles Everpresent and The Brightest
Thing by Black Strobe and Chicken Lips respectively.
Justin's also been busy on the remix front with recent
highlights being mixes for Chicken Lips, Felix Da Housecat,
LHB and Wally Lopez.
Although techno and house will always remain a constant
in Justin's life he has a new musical direction up his
sleeve under the name The Situation. Keep your ears
to the ground for a 7" and a new London club of the
same name due to open sometime in May.
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