AJ – DJ Biography
AJ plays a freestyle selection of the best in dance and listening grooves but majors on world music, electronica, fusion, dub and beats. The playlist varies to suit the occasion. AJ is a Big Chill resident DJ, and stage MC and sometime DJ for WOMAD so the records suit both ends of this spectrum and everything in between. Although he has DJ’d since college, his work was recognised in the mid-eighties when he was asked to produce and host the first ever world-music show on provincial radio, “Worldwide”, on Bristol’s GWR. Around this time he was commissioned to make the pre-show tapes for Peter Gabriel’s Secret World tour and he also co-programmed a number of WOMAD festivals. The late eighties and early nineties AJ toured (with new partner Karlo) the successful Yu Fe Danse Sound System playing at Glastonbury, WOMAD and Bracknell festivals and at many benefit and club nights across the UK, including a monthly sell-out residency, “Club Sandino” at Bath’s Moles Club. International touring followed with shows in Barcelona, Gran Canaria, Marseilles, Greece, Paris and Sicily.
In the mid-nineties AJ met up with The Big Chill’s Pete Lawrence to host “Hypnotique” a left-field London club which included exotica, film soundtracks, world muzak and electronica in its programme, and featured many star guests from Tom Middleton to Mixmaster Morris. AJ, meanwhile, also became a resident DJ at The Big Chill where he has played sets at all of the festivals in the UK (including the legendary Black Mountain Gala) and at all three Greek Island extravaganzas in Naxos.