It’s all too easy to endlessly list Richard Dinsdale’s accomplishments. It’s all too easy to wax lyrical about his Ministry Of Sound residency, his genre bending productions or his rapid rise to the top of house music’s well spread table. It’s even eas..
It’s all too easy to endlessly list Richard Dinsdale’s accomplishments. It’s all too easy to wax lyrical about his Ministry Of Sound residency, his genre bending productions or his rapid rise to the top of house music’s well spread table. It’s even easier to tell you how Fatboy Slim rates Richard’s tunes as his finest weekend weapons, and how his first ever production was a remix for a blockbusting Hollywood movie. But where’s the fun in that? Of course Richard’s one of the UK house music’s recent heroes. You wouldn’t be reading this if he wasn’t. What you need to know is why he is where he is. And why this time next year he’ll be even further.
With razor sharp studio skills, Richard’s productions – whether you’re talking the body-slamming electro-jack anthem ‘Crunch’ or his sonorous slice of sonic seduction ‘Your Mind – all have one thing one thing in common; their attention to detail. If Richard wants it to rumble, he’ll spend as long as it takes to strike 10 on the Richter scale. If he wants the dancefloor to dissolve beneath your feet, he’ll work that euphoric rush to perfection. He’s been known to take months on some productions. Admittedly, on paper that sounds painstakingly boring. How it sounds on the dancefloor is another thing altogether. A modern day musical martyr, Richard sacrifices his time to give you the best house music experience he could possibly provide.
While his rise to dancefloor stardom has appeared somewhat swift, his lifelong immersion in bleeps and squeaks happened at an early age. Heavily influenced by his mum’s passion for Motown, Richard’s discerning taste in music was refined before he was out of short trousers. By the time you or I were puffing a cheeky fag behind the bike sheds, he’d already moved into electronic pastures, listing the tracks the DJs played on specialist shows and working his fingers to wee stubs on his first pair of wobbly belt drives. Oh yes, his attention to detail isn’t exclusive to the studio; he’s a mean mother crusher as a DJ too.
Having earned his stripes in various bars and clubs of Surrey, Richard really began to flex his DJ muscles when he began his residency at Seb Fontaine’s much-loved monthly night Type. Developing an innate ability to tease and tickle the crowd with perfectly programmed sets that rise with lolloping techno grooves and fall with spine-tingling synth whooshes, his skills didn’t go unnoticed.
One year later and he’s now a proud resident disc spinner for clubbing institution Ministry Of Sound. And his DJ profile has gone through the roof. Not only can you catch him at least once a month at Ministry, but you can expect to find him as one of the rave jet set with regular gigs in every corner of the globe; extensive tours of Australia, Indonesia and Eastern Europe are already in the bag and you’re just as likely to catch him at lavish venues such as Ministry Of Sound Singapore as you are Glastonbury Festival.
As for his productions, Richard’s currently eased his foot off the remix pedal in order to focus on his own productions and range as a producer. He’s always shown a flare for surprise – just compare the bumpy electro grooves of ‘Bora’ to the sharp techno energy of his Neo Geo remix of Dub Pistol’s ‘Rapture’ – and he’s keen to capitalise on this; be it a hefty 12”, or a rollicking remix, you can continue to expect the unexpected. Even more so, in fact, as he’s just started collaborating with well-respected electro chart buster Michael Gray, with an exciting album project well underway.
From filthy funk to energising electro via rolling ravenous techno and good old fashioned house music, on labels such as Renaissance, Nervous, Global Underground, Toolroom and Sunday Best, Richard’s already exposed a widescreen remit. But the best is yet to come. Call it an exciting unpredictability if you want, but be sure to bank on one thing and one thing only; his eagle ear for consistent sonic perfection in both the studio and the club.
And that, my friends, is why he is where he is today and will be even further in a year’s time.
Dave Jenkins, iDJ Magazine
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Remixes
Meat Katie - Mint 400 / LOT 49
Dub Pistols - Rapture / SUNDAY BEST
Michael Gray - Somewhere Beyond / EYE INDUSTRIES
Luchiana - Say What You Wanna Say / EYE INDUSTRIES
Ralph Falcon - I Need Someone / NERVOUS RECORDS
Mark Knight ft Luchiana - Party Animal / TOOLROOM RECORDS
Cicada - Electric Blue / HEAT RECORDINGS
DJ Colette - About Us / OM RECORDS
Goodwill - Out Of Control / MINISTRY OF SOUND
Paul Harris - I'm With You / TOOLROOM RECORDS
Rookie - I'll Do You / OM RECORDS
Robbie Rivera - Escape / JUICY MUSIC
DMS12 - Velvet Dreams / JUICY MUSIC
Robbie Rivera - Your Mistake / TOOLROOM RECORDS
Shafunkers - Man Woman Club / SPINOUT RECORDS
Kevin Swain - Never Be The Same / GLOBAL UNDERGROUND
Bump - House Stompin / WHOOP RECORDS
The Skeleton Key - The Conjure / RENAISSANCE / UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Original Production
Richard Dinsdale - Too Much / TOOLROOM RECORDS
Richard Dinsdale - Wirefire / TOOLROOM RECORDS
Richard Dinsdale - No Soul / TOOLROOM RECORDS
Richard Dinsdale - Handle It / TOOLROOM RECORDS
Richard Dinsdale - She Wants Me / SPINOUT RECORDS
Richard Dinsdale - Kiss Me Baby / JUICY MUSIC
Richard Dinsdale - Rock You / JUICY MUSIC
Richard Dinsdale - Crunch / TOOLROOM RECORDS
Richard Dinsdale - Your Mind / GLOBAL UNDERGROUND
Richard Dinsdale - Pulling Me Under / TOOLROOM TRAX
Richard Dinsdale - Simple Text / TOOLROOM TRAX
Richard Dinsdale - Don't Feed My Ego / TOOLROOM TRAX
Richard Dinsdale - Wallop / KINKY VINYL
Richard Dinsdale - Code Red / KINKY VINYL
Richard Dinsdale - Bora / SR2 RECORDS
Richard Dinsdale - Sniffin / TOOLROOM TRAX
Richard Dinsdale - Rescue Me / KINKY VINYL
Richard Dinsdale - Mesmerize / KINKY VINYL