Empathy erd Birthday - House-music-inyourface.com

Nick Warren WayOutWe www.excession.co.uk
Steve Gerrard (Bedrock/Wreckled Angle)
Stuart Wilkinson
Sam Richardson

Since Empathy was formed in March 2001. Ever since it has become highly successful in bringing
a unique sound to Bristol, having brought in many Dj's from around the world including Czech Republic, Australia, USA, Portugal, Holland, Germany, Israel, Poland, and Turkey It is known throughout the UK and abroad, hailed by Pete Tong on his Radio1 Essential Selection as one of the best up and coming nights in the UK and also placed in Dj magazines top 5 clubs 7 times in the past year. Empathy has always had focus on a particular type of music, Tech Tribal Progressive House, this is not the most popular type of dance music in the UK but Empathy has pushed it into a ever-popular sound. February 2002 Empathy joined forces with Hope Recordings with the launch of Loop held at a 800 capacity venue in Bristol bringing in guests such as Dj Remy, Nick Warren, Ashley Casselle from Holland, Germany and the UK. In December 2002 Empathy started a residency at Prague's (Czech Republic), at the same time Throughout 2004 Empathy hosted the second room
at Slinky a intimate space which could certainly create a good atmosphere.
Out of the 259 events many stand out, the 2nd Birthday with Hybrid and once more Empathy joined Hope recordings with Timo Maas, Locodice, Jody Wisternoff and Starecase tore the place apart with tickets selling out a week before the event. The live performance by Israelis Flash Brothers was also hugely popular. Empathy has had 4 residents since the beginning Nick Farrant played a part in the beginning later being replaced by Jody WayOutWest and now we have Sam Richardson who impressed us so much on his appearances he joined regular fixture Stuart Wilkinson. Empathy's appearance at the Ashton Court Festival in July last year was a memorable appearance one of the hottest day of the year in more ways than one. More recently,
Empathy has been on the move again.
Turkey this time, the launch was awesome, Jay Massive, Ilker Turker and 7 Erhan delivering the goods, the nights are doing really well packing in 700 regulars every time, future guests hopefully include Hernan Cattaneo, Steve Lawler and Danny Howells. Empathy has launched itself in to the capital with Londons Sub Logic being the location right bang in the West End and plenty to offer with Graham Dunn and Stuart Wilkinson as residents and guests to include Sumsonics Chris Gainer, Jay massive, Demi and many more. Empathy moves to a Friday for a one off special with Bedrocks Steve Gerrard and polish dj Quantum Mekk plus if that's not enough there's the regular
Thursday at Bristol's Bar Latino with Jody Wisternoff, Jonathan Lisle and many other guests.

Dj Profile - Nick Warren

You can tell when Nick Warren's on the decks. The music emanating from the man is that perfect club mix of driving percussion and soaring musicality, bursting out of the speakers, soaking everyone in melody, drenching them in sound. On the floor, where it really matters, his crowd experience all the peaks and troughs that make his music so unique. Locking on early, you'll hear his deeper take on house which morphs, as the club mood changes, into harder territory, music for sweating and losing yourself to. And at that point when the light are low, when smoke fills the room and people are dancing on instinct, that's when the melodies start to rise over the top, washing the worries and exertions of life away, completing the club experience. That's why Nick Warren is so respected, because he knows how to truly work a club, to take a crowd high, then higher again. That's what comes with vision and, just as importantly, experience. Nick, a music obsessive who grew up on punk, reggae and pop was, like so many DJs turned onto the power of house music in the late 80s. Living in Bristol, he'd been playing tunes for a few years before, running his own club night, Wiggle, in the city with a friend and he took immediately to this new sound coming from America. In 1990, a new house club, Vision took the city by storm and in a perfect bit of timing, he was offered the chance to play in the upstairs room, spinning weird downbeat Balearic records and mixing house with music by The Clash and Frank Sinatra. Catching the attention of a group of guys who had their own band, he was roped in to tour with them as their DJ when they went to play America. The group was Massive Attack. As their official DJ, he began working on music of his own, even joining the Massive remixing team at one stage. At the same time, people were beginning to notice this quietly-spoken DJ from Bristol, the way that he really understood what made people dance, yet never compromised his vision of what good music should be. He started, unsurprisingly to get written about in the dance music magazines. Here was someone, they said, who could rock it with the best of them, yet who also stood out as a person with their own unique style, mixing straight up house with trancier material, throwing in breakbeats to keep the flow going, playing the most up to the minute music that somehow
also reflected a rich musical heritage.

Joining up with another Bristol producer, Jody Wisternoff in 1994 to form Way Out West, they recorded the seminal 'Ajare' single together, a huge progressive house club hit. Three years later, and with the duo now signed to Deconstruction, it was re-released, this time breaking into the charts and finally, the nation's consciousness. Then came 'The Gift'. With a memorable hook line culled from an old hardcore track, blended with a mix of ambient soundscapes and breaks won it universal plaudits. The success of 'The Gift' propelled WOW onto Top Of The Pops and catapulted Nick into the league of the superstar DJ and producer.

Their next two albums, 'Blue' and "Intensify" took every single one of the pair's influences and shaped them into a groundbreaking collection of tracks that will always remain in the hearts of fans all over the world. The release of Nick's fifth GU outing, this time from the beautiful Icelandic city of Reykjavik comprises of double cd spanning lush ambience through to Warrens harder edged prog funk sound that is representative to what he plays all over the world. Now the duo of WOW are signed to Distinctive and have an eagerly awaited third album due at the start of next year. The first single, tastefully entitled "Muthaf****a, is out imminently. Nick Warren isn't for standing still, he loves what he's doing too much for that, but you know that already.

Dj Profile - Steve Gerrard

Gerrard "Steve Gerrard is another DJ who is making a name for himself by delivering great sets everywhere he goes. He always rocks it at Bedrock when he plays." John Digweed Steve Gerrard
is a name that, if you follow progressive music, you will be hearing plenty of this year. Hailing from Chester, he now lives in Birmingham, UK and got his first taste of house music in 1994 when he was given a copy of the first Renaissance album. He recalls hearing the track "Song Of Life" by Leftfield and it completely changed his ear for music and his life today. In 1998, Steve won Muzik Magazine's Bedroom Bedlam competition, and 2 years later won the Ericsson Award for Best Bedroom Bedlam DJ. Since then his career has gone from strength to strength. With influences that range from the Sasha and Digweed, Nick Warren and Danny Howells to Adam Freeland and Hybrid and the technical skills of Anthony Pappa, he has developed a unique style. Which is: deep, progressive house mixed with breakbeat, building steadily and creating a set which is more than the sum of its parts. All the while keeping in mind that it is his job to make people want to
dance and keep on dancing.

These days, Steve's living the life that many aspiring DJ's dream of. He gets to travel all over the world, meet new people and play great music. "If you're lucky", he says, "this job allows you to do all of those things, and that's something I'm very grateful for." Although we know it's more than just luck that will take you places.

Some of Steve's notable accomplishments include: Winning the Ericsson Muzik Award (best bedroom bedlam DJ 2000), starting his own successful club night in Birmingham called Subspace and headlining at some of the world's greatest clubs. He also produces as one half of both Filta and Wrecked Angle. Now with a full DJing schedule, Steve has been invited to play around the world at clubs like Bedrock, Home (London), Nikita (San Francisco), Giant (LA), Spundae (WMC Miami), Limelight (NYC), Skysound (Mexico), Fluid (Hong Kong), Code (Birmingham), Ministry of Sound, The End (London), Passport (Moscow), Gas Club (Sydney), El Campo (Argentina) and Trance Buddha (Amsterdam), as well as being picked by Steve Lawler to be resident at his Midweek Session night. Steve's played alongside the A list of DJs, and his broad musical tastes saw him invited to appear as the support DJ for Oasis at Wembley Stadium in front of 93,000 people!!! Steve's mixes have been featured on such infamous dance radio shows such as Pete Tong's Essential Selection and John Digweed's Kiss FM show in London. He also mixed a CD for the cover of Muzik Magazine (December 2000).

As if the life of a jet-setting wasn't enough, Steve's now also focusing on production. He and studio partner Russell Pearce have released tracks and remixes under the names Wrecked Angle (breaks) and Filta (progressive). With releases on Minimal, Intrinsic & Choo Choo, plus remixes for the likes of Baroque, Navigation and 3 Beat. John Digweed, Sasha, Nick Warren, Anthony Pappa, Steve Lawler, Hybrid, James Zabiela and Danny Howells have all been supporting their tracks. Xpander called Steve "one of the most impressive upcoming DJ's in the world", and Chris from Hybrid said in Muzik magazine that "Steve is one of the best up and coming DJs I've heard in a long time. He has very similar tunes in his box to me, actually - deep, progressive tracks that aren't too shiny! I walked into a club recently and he was playing most of the stuff I was going to play...
God knows where he gets all those tunes!"