Shaun Williams (DJ)

Last updated

Shaun Williams is a DJ and jazz dancer from Birmingham, United Kingdom (UK), notable for his pioneering role in the UK's jazz fusion and electro music scenes. He achieved success with the early electro club track, released with DSM, "Warrior Groove". [1]

Contents

William's was described by musician and author, Mark "Snowboy" Cotgrove, as an "A rated dancer and a peoples-champion as one of the early pioneers of the Jazz dance movement". [2]

History

The rise in popularity of jazz-funk and jazz fusion in the UK during the late 1970s led to a profusion of "all-dayers" [3] being held across the country. These events drew youngsters who travelled in the thousands to listen to their favourite DJs at venues like Birmingham's Hummingbird and Locarno [4] (which later became the Powerhouse) and Rock City in Nottingham.

Shaun Williams first became involved in the UK's jazz dance scene as part of an innovative group of Birmingham-based jazz dancers. [5] [6] However he soon progressed from the dance floor to DJ turntables, where he gained a reputation as an influential [7] [8] and experimental [9] [10] DJ who refused to be restricted in the music he played. [11] Williams was a staple of the Midlands' circuit from 1979 to 1985, [12] [13] [14] representing Birmingham alongside other top DJs from around the country. [15]

At a time when most Birmingham night clubs operated selective door policies and admitted few black people, [16] the Monday nights were a haven for youngsters from all backgrounds, an environment where they could express themselves freely through dance and fashion. It subsequently became known as one of the country's most competitive and cutting-edge jazz fusion nights, [17] with the weekly session attracting dancers from across the UK, who came to listen to Williams and to "battle" against the best of the Midlands' dancers. [18] [19]

Following his all-dayer popularity [20] Williams, along with Birmingham DJ Dave Till, started his long-running jazz fusion night at Birmingham's Rum Runner nightclub. Although Till left the club a couple of years later, Williams continued his residency until its closure in 1983. [21] The Rum Runner saw the formation of the band Duran Duran (who would often be rehearsing upstairs during these jazz nights) [22] and was popular with New Romantics, but on Monday nights Williams played jazz fusion, funk and soul to a predominantly black audience.

As the popularity of electro gained momentum through the early to mid-1980s, so did Williams' reputation as a scratcher, following regular appearances on the all-dayer scene and his Sunday night sessions at Faces International nightclub in Birmingham. [23] [24] This culminated in him teaming up with Danny Poku [25] (later known as D Mob) to co-write and scratch on DSM's "Warrior Groove", [26] released on Elite Records in 1985 and re-released in the same year on 10 Records, [27] a subsidiary of Virgin Records. It was re-released on compilation album Attica Blues Present Drum Major Instinct [28] on X:treme Records, 2001.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Evans, Simon,"A Fine Romance" The Birmingham Post. 23 January 1999. Retrieved 4 February 2011
  2. ↑ Cotgrove 2009, p. 128
  3. ↑ The Dood (2005–2009). "The History of the UK Jazz Dance". UK Vibe. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Cotgrove 2009, p 88 Interview with Colin Curtis
  5. ↑ Cotgrove 2009, p. 128 Interview with Graham Warr
  6. ↑ Colin Curtis (11 January 2010). "BIRMINGHAM 2010 SPOTLIGHT ON DJ'S KWAI @LORD BYRON". Colin Curtis Connection. Google. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Cotgrove 2009, p. 128
  8. ↑ Colin Curtis Connection Colin Curtis interviews DJ IMD
  9. ↑ Cotgrove 2009, p. 141 Interview with Bruce Q
  10. ↑ Cotgrove 2009, p. 134 Interview with Linford "Fanny" Taylor
  11. ↑ Cotgrove 2009, p. 129 Interview with Shaun Williams
  12. ↑ Monson, Tony, "Funk Finder", Black Echoes, London, 9 May 1981
  13. ↑ Monson, Tony, "Down at the club", Black Echoes, London, 9 May 1981
  14. ↑ Kilbourn, Bob, "B & S clubs report", Blues & Soul , London, 14 February 1984
  15. ↑ "DJhistory.com Archived 21 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine Interview with Colin Curtis by Bill Brewster on DJHistory.com
  16. ↑ Cotgrove 2009, p 127-8 Interview with Graham Warr
  17. ↑ Cotgrove, 2009, p 92-3 Interview with Hewan Clarke
  18. ↑ Cotgrove, 2009, p 100 Interview with The Jazz Defectors
  19. ↑ Paul Bradshaw (2008). "Dancing in Outer Space : Stepping into the future" (PDF). Independent Movement. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  20. ↑ Cotgrove, 2009, p 132 Interview with Rhythm Doctor
  21. ↑ Dodd, Ros, "A right Rum do; The Rum Rummer Reunion at Ronnie Scotts was a big hit" The Birmingham Post. Retrieved 26 April 2011
  22. ↑ Odell, Michael, "In their own words: Duran Duran reveal all Observer Music Monthly, The Observer, 16 November 2003. Retrieved 26 April 2011
  23. ↑ Avenger, The, "Night Clubbing", Black Echoes, London, 9 March 1985
  24. ↑ Avenger, The, "Night Clubbing", Black Echoes, London, 17 August 1985
  25. ↑ Danny Poku
  26. ↑ Warrior Groove Elite Records,
  27. ↑ Warrior Groove Ten Records
  28. ↑ Attica Blues Present Drum Major Instinct X:treme Records

Related Research Articles

Funk Music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s

Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul, jazz and rhythm and blues (R&B). It de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths.

House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115 to 130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture in the 1980s, as DJs from the subculture began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat and deeper basslines.

Acid jazz Music genre

Acid jazz, also known as club jazz, is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1980s with the rare groove movement and spread to the United States, Japan, Eastern Europe, and Brazil. Acts included The Brand New Heavies, D'Influence, Incognito, Us3, and Jamiroquai from the UK and Buckshot LeFonque and Digable Planets from the U.S. The rise of electronic club music in the middle to late 1990s led to a decline in interest, and in the twenty-first century, the movement became indistinct as a genre. Many acts that might have been defined as acid jazz are seen as jazz-funk, neo soul, or jazz rap.

Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post-punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from subgenres and what is now classed as world music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. It also explored the consequences of new technology and social change in the electronic music of synthpop. In the early years of the decade, while subgenres like heavy metal music continued to develop separately, there was a considerable crossover between rock and more commercial popular music, with a large number of more "serious" bands, like The Police and UB40, enjoying considerable single chart success. The advent of MTV and cable video helped spur what has been seen as a Second British Invasion in the early years of the decade, with British bands enjoying more success in America than they had since the height of the Beatles' popularity in the 1960s. However, by the end of the decade a fragmentation has been observed, with many new forms of music and sub-cultures, including hip hop and house music, while the single charts were once again dominated by pop artists, now often associated with the Hi-NRG hit factory of Stock Aitken Waterman. The rise of the indie rock scene was partly a response to this, and marked a shift away from the major music labels and towards the importance of local scenes like Madchester and subgenres, like gothic rock.

Electro is a genre of electronic music and early hip hop directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines, and funk. Records in the genre typically feature drum machines and heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals, although if vocals are present they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. This is the main distinction between electro and previously prominent genres such as disco, in which the electronic sound was only part of the instrumentation. It also palpably deviates from its predecessor boogie for being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.

Gilles Peterson French-born British broadcaster and DJ

Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE, better known as Gilles Peterson, is a French-born British broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brownswood Recordings in 2006. He was awarded an honorary MBE in 2004, the AIM Award for Indie Champion and the Mixmag Award for Outstanding Contribution To Dance Music in 2013, the PRS for Music Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Radio in 2014, and The A&R Award from the Music Producers Guild in 2019.

Brit funk is a musical style that has its origins in the British music scene of the late 1970s and which remained popular into the 1980s. It mixes elements from jazz, funk, soul, urban dance rhythms and pop hooks. The scene originated in southern England and spread with support from DJs including DJ Froggy, Greg Edwards, Robbie Vincent, Chris Hill and Colin Curtis. Major funk acts included Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, Average White Band, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Carl Douglas, Hot Chocolate, the Delegation, Hi-Tension, Light of the World, Level 42, Central Line, the Pasadenas, Beggar and Co and Soul II Soul. The genre also influenced 1980s new wave/pop groups such as Culture Club, Bow Wow Wow, Pigbag, Dexys Midnight Runners and Haircut 100.

Dimitri from Paris Musical artist

Dimitri from Paris is a French music producer and DJ of Greek descent. His musical influences are rooted in 1970s funk and disco sounds that spawned contemporary house music, as well as original soundtracks from 1950s and 1960s movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, La Dolce Vita and The Party, which were sampled in his album Sacrebleu. Dimitri fused these sounds with electro and block party hip hop he discovered in the 1980s.

Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre whose spectrum is quite wide and ranges from strong jazz improvisation to soul, funk or disco with jazz arrangements, jazz riffs, jazz solos, and sometimes soul vocals.

Greg Wilson (DJ)

Greg Wilson is an English DJ and producer associated with both the early 1980s electro scene in Manchester and the current disco/re-edit movement. He is also a writer/commentator on dance music and popular culture.

Manuel Joseph "Man" Parrish is an American songwriter, vocalist and producer. He, along with artists such as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Art of Noise, Arthur Baker, Afrika Bambaataa, John Robie, Jellybean Benitez, Lotti Golden, Richard Scher and Aldo Marin, helped create and define electro in the early 1980s.

Keb Darge is a Scottish DJ and music producer, in the genres of Northern soul, Deep funk, Garage punk, and Rockabilly music. He is credited with inventing the term "deep funk".

Snowboy is an English percussionist, bandleader, DJ and journalist.

Post-disco is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to civil unrest and a riot in Chicago known as the Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979, and indistinctly ending with the mainstream appearance of new wave in 1980. Disco during its dying stage displayed an increasingly electronic character that soon served as a stepping stone to new wave, old-school hip hop, euro disco, and was succeeded by an underground club music called hi-NRG, which was its direct continuation.

Old school jazz dance refers to the improvised dancing style that originated in the UK in the 1970s. The style grew in clubs in the UK, mainly in London and in northern cities, with the sounds of bebop, Afro-Cuban jazz, fusion, swing and other Latin-influenced jazz and funk.

Neil Rushton is a British journalist, DJ, record dealer, record label entrepreneur, event promoter and author who is closely associated with the Northern soul scene.

Colin Curtis is a British DJ whose career spans several decades and musical developments.

Alfredo Fiorito is an Argentinian DJ. He has been credited as the "Father of the Balearic beat". In later years he has more commonly been referred to as DJ Allie Williams, and continues to perform.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.