Kevin Searle

I first took an interest in DJing in my late teens through a friend who had his own decks. That led me a few years later to buying my own pair of Technics SL-1200s (I much prefer the silver ones to the black 1210s). They’re still going strong to this day. Since then I’ve played at countless parties around the country, had a regular show on Ipswich‘s ICR FM during the early to mid-2000s and have been part of the Transient Radio family from day one. After much resistance and snobbery, I finally embraced the digital revolution a couple of years ago, although I still buy and spin vinyl. Playing out, I lean towards deep house, tech house, all shades of techno (including dub techno), dubstep/140 as well as drum and bass. I also love playing old and new acid - along with the Amen break, I’m a sucker for a 303 squelch (hearing these iconic sounds is like catnip to me). My radio show goes out between 4pm and 6pm on the first Saturday of each month, covering a broad spectrum of music. I typically draw tracks from across various styles (including disco, 80s boogie, soul, hip hop, dub and ambient alongside the more electronic sounds I like to play for the dancefloor), airing fresh music released only that week to tracks from forty, sometimes even fifty, years ago. Hence the show is called ‘Future:Past’. To understand what’s shaped my sound and style, we have to begin by going a long way back. Eighties synth pop was where it all started for me. From there it was just a small sidestep into the 808 and 909 beats and riffs of house and techno that followed. The Belleville Three - Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson - were (and still are) firm favourites of mine, as well as the second wave of Detroit producers like Carl Craig, Kenny Larkin and Dan Curtin. I started to get really serious with listening and buying electronic music following the advent of the UK techno and electronica scenes of the early to mid 90s. 808 State, The Black Dog, B12, LFO, The Future Sound of London, A Guy Called Gerald, The Irresistible Force, Orbital, System 7, Reload/Global Communications, The KLF, Aphex Twin, Plaid and The Orb were on regular rotation during this period. I also listened to a lot of Luke Slater, Stefan Robbers, Dave Angel, Kirk Degiorgio, Stasis, Bandulu and DJ Shadow. Living 60 miles outside the capital, I would painstakingly Blu Tack the cheap antenna from my Pioneer stacking system to my bedroom ceiling until I got something vaguely resembling a reception. Depending upon weather conditions, I could then pick up Colin Dale and Colin Faver’s shows on Kiss FM. Along with John Peel on Radio One, this was how I’d get my fix of new electronic music during these exciting times. The NME, Melody Maker, DJ Magazine and Mixmag were also good research tools. I'd buy records from the likes of Jelly Jam (Brighton), Fat Cat (London), BPM (Leicester), Rounder (Worthing/Brighton), Eastern Bloc (Manchester) and Rockaboom (Leicester) amongst many other places. That said, the money I earned back then from working part-time behind the deli counter at Tesco didn’t go that far towards feeding my habit... I was born just a couple of years too late to have experienced first hand the rise of acid house and the Second Summer of Love. I did, however, go to a few free outdoor raves in/around Brighton before the authorities clamped down on parties playing "sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats" (section 63(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 - what other youth subculture has had its music defined in law?!). I also went to Sterns whilst it was still in its heyday; a nightclub set largely underground, beneath an old mansion house in the hills just outside Worthing - people would travel from all over the country to go to this legendary rave venue which was literally on my doorstep. I spent a few years in Leicester during the early 90s where I released a couple of house tracks on a subsidiary of DJ SS’ classic hardcore/jungle label, Formation Records. Regularly visiting their 5HQ base on Charles Street, I was repeatedly bombarded by the frenetic beats, sub bass, chipmunk vocals and riffs of hardcore. While I love listening to those sounds now, back then the techno purest in me was having none of it. At least, not until LTJ Bukem’s “Demon’s Theme” came along - the first release on his pioneering Good Looking Records label. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the track sampled a number of techno records. The rolling Amen break also resonated with me, starting my long-term love affair with the raw power, syncopation and versatility of Gregory Coleman’s famous drum hits and cymbal splashes. I moved to Ipswich - the home of Transient Radio - in the late 1990s and came to discover its rich musical heritage, particularly with drum and bass. The town is linked to the likes of Photek (still my favourite electronic music producer of all time, followed closely behind by Burial), Digital, Spirit (RIP), Klute, Rob Solomon (Universal/Origination), Certificate 18 Records, Function Records and, of course, the place where you could - and still can - buy all that music, Redeye Records. “But hey, enough of my yakkin'. Whaddaya say? Let's boogie!”