name: kent christopher

locales: madison/milwaukee [usa] | london [uk] | brisbane [australia] | portland [usa]

musical style: house | tech-house | techno | breaks | atmopheric drum & bass | downtempo | ambient

influences: richie hawtin | sven väth | john acquaviva | scott hardkiss | boo williams | ltj bukem | dj garth

affiliations: nice musique | eucalyptus productions | trim records | the shell studio

background: upon disovering electronic music in 1992, i began buying music ranging from the early U.K. breakbeat pre-cursors of drum & bass to the dream-like ambience of aphex twin. in 1995, after witnessing the talents of local electronic music djs, i came to see the act of dj'ing as a means of greater interaction with the music i was so passionate about. i knew it was something i had to do.

the focus of passion shifted to house music in 1996, and my musical tastes were further expanded and refined when, in 1997, i joined nice musique, founded by madison's most prominent dj, nick nice. upon exposure to the performances of richie hawtin circa 1997-1998, my old interest in techno was rekindled and i began incorporating the yamaha 01v effects processors into my sets.

living in london during the winter and spring of 2001, the hard tech-house sounds heard at my regular club hangout the end fueled my harder edged playing style, only to be balanced out by a subsequent trip to berlin, where i fell in love with the subtle but raw style that is the german sound.

subsequent extended overseas travels from 2002-2004 presented me with the problem of mobility. in early 2004, after spending three months recording my vinyl collection to digital audio files, i made the move to final scratch - a setup using simply a laptop and two specially-encoded vinyl records, allowing me to play anything from my collection no matter where i am in the world.

musical perspective: on a personal level, the process of mixing and blending pieces of music together serves as an emotional outlet: a reflection of my initial mood, amplified by the music i begin with and then explored with each successive piece, creating a journey from one emotional state to another. when performing live, i strive to create this journey through music in hopes of arousing, guiding and challenging people's thoughts as well as providing a release for everyone, tickling the soul and reminding us all that we are living, perceiving creatures, able to celebrate our very existence through music and dance.