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Wade Randolph Hampton is an American DJ, film and music producer and recording artist. He is known for his contributions to electronic music and his involvement in the development of the North American rave scene.
Wade grew up in Dallas, Texas, and discovered his love of music at an early age. During his high school years, his taste for electronic music in particular was inspired by DJs at the legendary club, the Starck, [1] watching highly influential DJ Rick Squillante and Go-GO Mike DuPriest. Wade began regularly DJing warehouse parties near the University of North Texas, in Denton, in 1985, eventually playing small clubs on the campus itself. Two years later he would open his first nightclub, Westend, with another Starck Club DJ and lifelong mentor Kerry Jaggers, in Austin, Texas.
Following the explosion of electronic music in America in the early to mid ‘80s, he moved to Chicago in 1988, [2] epicenter of the house music movement. As house music grew from its smaller roots to become an international musical genre, so did Wade’s involvement in the burgeoning warehouse party scene. He quickly launched acid jazz/balearic/soul weeklies at prototype ultralounge VooDoo, Wade's World at Shelter where he also assisted the club's director, Michael Blatter, with initiating Outlaw parties from New York City’s Project X magazine.
It was at this time that Wade developed close friendships with DJs that are now widely known internationally, including Derrick Carter, Mixmaster Morris, John Digweed, Vince Lawrence, Mark Farina, Spencer Kincey, Diz, DJ Colette, Heather, Dayhota and DJ Keoki.
Splitting time between Chicago and Los Angeles in 1991 again coincided with the rapid spread of electronic music subculture. Wade and partner Patty Ryan, along with crew Blue Sky Corporation launched Chicago’s historic Life parties in September of 1991. Later in November of that same year, Wade took LA streetwear phenomenon Freshjive on the road with an event at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro, featuring U.K. DJ John Digweed, Keoki from NY, Jon Williams from LA, alongside Chicago’s Mark Farina and Derrick. It was on April 18, 1992 that events took a groundbreaking turn, notably his coproduction of the Circa series of massive events, a partnership with L.A. artists Richard Duardo and Tef Foo that would come to define the American rave scene. Incorporating art, music and technology utilizing traditional performance visual elements such as lighting, video, lasers, and graphic design, as well as, literary work from notable writers Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson and Terrence McKenna within the promotion and actual live production via LED transmission. It was this relationship between the music and art scenes that would offer legitimacy to the previously termed, ‘underground scene’ as Mr. Duardo successfully placed one-night-only productions from the crew in Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition. The team also became available for high-profile event production, including Jean Paul Gaultier’s first social event in the U.S. at the Shrine Auditorium, hosted by Madonna.
LA in 1991 would also prove to be the setting in which Wade developed a friendship with psychologist Timothy Leary, a relationship that would last until Leary’s death in 1996, as Wade would go on to DJ at his private funeral memorial at his home in Beverly Hills. [3]
It was at Circa 92 that he would also begin his longstanding relationship with the Hardkiss Brothers, [4] [5] an event that would lead to eventual management and many collaborations. At the end of that year, Wade would present Louder Than Words at the legendary Rainbow Roller Rink featuring a rare West Coast and Midwestern lineup in collaboration with Derrick May’s Transmat Records, San Francisco’s Hardkiss Music and Chicago’s Rednail House Crew. The lineup included Scott Hardkiss, Robbie Hardkiss, Jon Williams, Mark Farina, Derrick Carter and a live performance from Stacey Pullen and Silent Phase.
During the mid ‘90s he moved to San Francisco cementing his status as a representative of the west coast electronic scene, and moving in with the Hardkiss Brothers in 1994. After signing a record label distribution deal in 1995 with Moonshine Music to launch Domestic Recordings, [6] which would feature his own works under the monikers ‘W’ and ‘Wish FM’, [7] [8] delving in multiple genres such as deep house, drum and bass, dub and nu jazz. He would also release albums from acts such as Mark Farina, Symbiosis and Westside Chemical. [9] After moving the operation from L.A. to San Francisco in 1996, he would also have success with his weekly night ‘La Belle Epoque’ at The Top, [10] [11] and with his Lower Haight Street retail store Faster Bamboo. [12]
By 1998 he was releasing albums through other labels, Northern California electronic label Zoe Magik and Hardkiss imprint Sunburn/Lightyear/WEA. The success of these ventures led to performance opportunities at major festivals across North and Central America, such as Ultra Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, Nocturnal Wonderland, Planet New Year, Cyberfest, ACA World Music Festival in Acapulco and most recently in 2013 and 2014 on the main stage at Lights All Night.
From 2000–2004 Wade maintained a home in Park City, Utah [13] where he produced shows at Harry O's (now Park City Live). It was in this city that he also formed longstanding relationship with Paul Oakenfold and the two consistently presented highly celebrated duo performances at Sundance Film Festival, as well as, an opening night show at of 2002 Winter Olympics. They have continued this tradition to this day, performing together on 4 turntables at the 2012 SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas.
From 2006–2012 Wade served as a Director for Dallas’ Ghostbar nightclub, on top of the W Hotel. [11] [14] Notable events he produced there included DJ residency with the late DJ AM on Tuesdays called The Seduction, LeBron James and Jay Z’s Two Kings during the 2010 NBA All Star week, back-to-back sets with Tiesto for Super Bowl XLV, multiple opening performances with LMFAO, as Dj for Mickey Avalon’s live performance, with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake and other notable shows to include Erykah Badu, Steve Aoki, Jazzy Jeff, Public Enemy, Dave Chappelle and Cisco Adler.
Wade’s first involvement with the film industry was in 1997, creating the score for the European TV advertising campaign for the Mercedes Benz A-Class automobile, which would eventually go on to be the best-selling car of all time for the German automaker. The following year he produced the soundtrack for Swiss energy drink Isostar TV advertisement which premiered during the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. In 2000, he made his acting debut in the electronic music film Groove, [15] [16] where he played himself (as WishFM), alongside fellow DJ John Digweed. The film was the very first sale on opening night of the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, purchased by Sony Pictures Classics. He also produced the soundtrack for the film, which was nominated for ‘Best Film Under $500,000’ at the 2001 Independent Spirit Awards. Amazon.com listed the Groove Soundtrack in two different categories of 2000 Editor's Picks, for both Best DJ Album and Best Soundtrack Album. A year later he worked on the Requiem for a Dream Remixed album from Darren Aronofsky’s Oscar-winning film. In 2006, he was Music Supervisor on the film TV Junkie, [17] which won the ‘Special Grand Jury Prize for a Documentary’ at Sundance Film Festival, while showcasing his own music along with Jackson 5, Spiritualized and Explosions in the Sky.
He is music supervisor, producer and original score composer on the upcoming documentary The Starck Club, about the rise and enduring legacy of the Dallas nightclub, a project for which he also created the original score. [18]
Wade currently resides in Los Angeles, where he continues to focus on film and music production, operating film, TV and music company Silent Partner Films.
| Release | Artist | Credit | Label | Catalog Number | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wish FM 96.1 The Progressive Electro Revolution | Various | Producer/Executive Producer | Domestic Recordings | DMT 10001-2 | 1996 |
| Jet Set | Various | DJ/ Producer | Domestic Recordings | DMT 10004-2 | 1996 |
| Clandestine Electronic Subculture | Symbiosis | Executive Producer | Domestic Recordings | DMT 10003-2 | 1996 |
| Seasons One | Mark Farina | Producer/Executive Producer | Domestic Recordings | DMT 10002-2 | 1996 |
| Wish FM 97.1: West Coast Drum & Space | Various | DJ/Producer | Domestic Recordings | DMT 10005-2 | 1997 |
| Blue | Infinite Posse | Remix Co-Producer | Sunburn Records/Lightyear Entertainment | SPF 009 / 54274-0 | 1997 |
| Phibsborough | Westside Chemical | Executive Producer | Domestic Recordings/Stray Records | DMT 10006-2 / SR2700 | 1997 |
| Wish FM 98.1: Live At La Belle Epoque | Various | DJ/Producer | Sunburn Records/Lightyear Entertainment/ Warner Entertainment Group | SPF 19004/54285-2 | 1998 |
| Redheadestepchild | W | Writer/Arranger/Engineer | ZoëMagik Records | ZM CD005 | 1998 |
| Meta | Symbiosis | Producer/Executive Producer | Domestic Recordings / Silent | DMT 10007-2 / SR9837 | 1998 |
| Duke's Up | W | Writer/Producer | ZoëMagik Records | ZM-017 | 1998 |
| Stepheadedredchild - The Remix Sessions | W | Writer/Arranger/Engineer/Remixer | ZoëMagik Records | ZM CD006 | 1999 |
| Groove (Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture) | Various | DJ/Executive Producer | Kinetic/Reprise Records/ Warner Entertainment Group | 9 47765-2 / 947765-2 | 2000 |
| The Royal Treatment | The Baroness | Remixer | ZoeMagik Records | ZMCD-003 | 1997 |
| Requiem For A Dream (Remixed) | Clint Mansell Featuring Kronos Quartet | Remixer | Thrive Records | 90703-2 | 2002 |
Thomas John Digweed is a British DJ and record producer. DJ Magazine voted him the World No. 1 DJ in 2001. As well as achieving success as a solo act, he has collaborated with Sasha as Sasha & John Digweed, and with Nick Muir as Bedrock.
Sasha & John Digweed are a British DJ duo comprising Sasha and John Digweed. Digweed had been DJing for ten years before getting a gig at Renaissance where he met Sasha, who had been working the past few years in various acid house music clubs and raves. Together, they honed their DJ skills, focusing on track selection and technical mixing abilities. In 1994, they released the triple CD mix album Renaissance: The Mix Collection on Renaissance Records. It contained many popular dance hits of the time from artists such as Leftfield, Fluke, and 2 Bad Mice as well as original productions and remixes from themselves. Two years later, the duo became "true superstars" (AllMusic) with the release of their double CD Northern Exposure on mega-label Ministry of Sound. This release was brought to the United States the next year in a single CD package on Ultra Records. 1997 saw the release of the Northern Exposure 2 double CD mix album, again on Ministry of Sound. Sasha and Digweed toured internationally, helping define the sound of progressive house & trance music in the late 1990s. In 1998, both John Digweed and Sasha released separate mix albums on Boxed as part of the Global Underground series with Digweed's GU 006: Sydney and Sasha's GU 009: San Francisco release.
Movement Electronic Music Festival is an annual electronic dance music event held in the birthplace of Techno, Detroit, each Memorial Day weekend since 2006. Previous electronic music festivals held at Hart Plaza on Memorial Day weekend include Detroit Electronic Music Festival (2000–2002), Movement (2003–2004) and Fuse-In (2005). The four different festival names reflect completely separate and distinct producers, brands and directions. All of these festivals presented performances by musicians and DJs that emphasized the progressive qualities of the culture surrounding electronic music including the celebration of Detroit being the birthplace of the popular electronic music subgenre Techno.
Alexander Paul Coe, known professionally as Sasha, is a Welsh DJ and record producer. He is best known for his live events and electronic music as a solo artist, as well as his collaborations with British DJ John Digweed as Sasha & John Digweed. He was voted as World No. 1 DJ in 2000 in a poll conducted by DJ Magazine. He is a four-time International Dance Music Awards winner, four-time DJ Awards winner and Grammy Award nominee.
Homelands was a music festival run by Mean Fiddler Music Group which consisted mainly of dance music, both live acts and DJs. The festival was held in locations in England, Scotland and Ireland in the period 1999 to 2005. The organisers of Homelands were also behind the Home Nightclubs chain including Home nightclub in London and Sydney.
Mark Farina is an American disc jockey and musician, known for his Chicago house, acid jazz and downtempo works. His notable releases include Mood and the Mushroom Jazz series, and recently known also from house compilations El Divinio. He is primarily identified with the house music scenes in his hometown of Chicago, and San Francisco, California. Farina currently resides in Dallas, Texas.
Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland is a 1999 memoir written by James St. James about his life as a Manhattan celebutante and Club Kid. The book specifically chronicles his friend Michael Alig's rise to fame, and Alig and his roommate's subsequent murder of fellow club kid and drug dealer Andre "Angel" Melendez. St. James was Alig's mentor, rival, and collaborator in the Manhattan party scene and was familiar with many of its key figures. The memoir was later retitled Party Monster after the 2003 motion picture of that name starring Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Chloë Sevigny, and Marilyn Manson.
George Lopez, known by his stage name DJ Keoki or Keoki Franconi, is a Salvadoran-American electronic musician and DJ. Born in El Salvador and raised in Hawaii, Keoki began advertising himself as "superstar" shortly after moving to New York City.
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The Area Festival was a music festival founded by popular electronic musician Moby, who asserted that he was "in large part, inspired by the ethos of Lollapalooza", and wished to create a similarly "genuinely eclectic, interesting, alternative music festival". Moby organized the first such festival, called Area:One in 2001, and the sequel tour Area2, in 2002. The festival is currently on indefinite hiatus. The festival featured diverse genres of music. Besides headliner Moby, the main stage mostly featured rock and pop acts. The second stage was an air-conditioned tent where electronic, dance and smaller bands performed.
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Wild in the Country was a music festival organized by record label Renaissance and held from 2004 to 2007.
Rick Squillante was a nightclub disc jockey and music industry representative and record producer, who rose to fame during the 1980s as the principal DJ at the Starck Club in Dallas, Texas. He has been noted as a major influence on many of today's modern DJs in the dance music trade.
Monster Massive was a Halloween-themed electronic music festival held annually on a weekend near Halloween at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. Many of the attendees dressed in costume. The event was sponsored by Go Ventures.
Together as One was an electronic music festival. It was held on New Year's Eve in Los Angeles. It was a joint production by promoters Go Ventures and Insomniac Events through 2010, but is now promoted solely by Go Ventures. Taking place in downtown Los Angeles, Together As One attracts audiences of over 40,000 dance music enthusiasts each year.
Darin Epsilon is a music producer, DJ, radio personality, record label owner, and music critic from Chicago, which is widely considered the birthplace of House music. He lived in Los Angeles from 2008 to 2016 and currently resides in Berlin as of 2017.
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