Graham Campbell

Electro / Breakbeats / Drum n' Bass

Toronto, Canada

Billboard

Biography

Name: Graham Campbell
Style: Electro, Breaks, Tribal, Progressive, Drum & Bass
Born in: Canada
Lives in: Toronto, Canada
Website: www.myspace.com/grahamcampbell

The Beginning:

Graham Campbell fell in love with electronic music and the culture that came with it in late 1997, while spending a year in Switzerland finishing high school. He was instantly addicted to the euphoric mixes of deejays such as Tony DeVit, and Seb Fontaine, as well as being inspired by deejays such as Fatboy Slim, Armand Van Helden, Carl Cox, Donald Glaude and many more.

The DJ:

Once back in Canada, Graham continued to develop his passion for the music which ultimately culminated in 2000 with his purchase of two turntables and a mixer. He began practicing, not only spinning Breaks, House, Trance, and Techno, but also Drum&Bass. Ironically, he stood out more initially as a Drum&Bass deejay due to his use of records as tools and his incorporation of Turntablist techniques into his sets, and was soon booked in and around the university city of Kingston, Ontario, where he was attending Queen's University. However, it soon became apparent that Graham's skills could not be contained by any one genre and he began being booked for House, Breaks and Techno nights as well as for Drum&Bass events.

Originally from Vancouver, BC he had several connections there and in Victoria as well and was able to secure sets at Hush Nightclub, a club in Victoria that has hosted all of the top deejays in the world, as well as playing in locations in and around Vancouver. Since his first sets at small underground raves in Kingston, Graham has captured his audience by challenging them with his track selection, which often includes several genres and frequently juxtaposes two seemingly contradictory styles, which are married beautifully with the aid of complimentary hooks, melodies and technical finess. Though this juxtaposition of styles is a theme of Graham's, he also incorporates the familiar into his sets, his philosophy is simple:

"Play what the audience wants,
then challenge them by blending
the familiar with the unfamiliar"

Graham has never confined himself to any one genre, preferring to create sets that cross these boundaries, while maintaining continuity. His love of tribal rhythms is apparent within all of his sets, tribal percussion often acts as a sort of glue, a unifying element combining otherwise unconnected sounds. While Graham was at Queen's his skills did not go unnoticed, Graham quickly secured several residencies at local after-hours and with local promoters.

Throughout his years at Queen's, Graham worked hard to hone his skills as a turntablist for his Drum&Bass sets and constantly challenged himself to push his mixing skills to new heights. He became well established in Kingston, both as a Drum&Bass deejay and as a Breaks/Progressive House deejay. He even began promoting events on campus to grow awareness for the electronic music scene.

The Producer:

Upon completion of his two degree's at Queen's University, Graham decided to make the fateful plunge to move to Toronto, attend the Harris Institute for the Arts, and learn the science behind the art of music production. In 2005, he graduated with honours in Producing & Engineering at the top of his class and has been focused on production ever since. His latest productions range from gritty Electro tracks to big room Progressive bangers, dirty Nuskool Breaks to Tribal House, with occasional Drum & Base track for good measure.

In 2006, he was contacted by Thomas and Xavier from the Belgian label Wanted Music. He was asked to do a remix for their debut vinyl (U&Me - Kiss her Lips EP). Graham accepted this opportunity with much pleasure. The result was an electro breaks remake of the original track, and his first well-deserved vinyl release. U&Me's - Kiss her Lips EP ranked 43rd in Belgians Top 100 records sold of 2006, and is set to be re-release worldwide on April 23rd, 2007 via Astral Music.

The Future:

With a large number of completed, yet unreleased material in his arsenal, and an increasingly recognizable Electro sound to his productions, the future is now for Graham Campbell. His drive, ambition and skills both behind the decks and in the studio are set to put him at the top of the game!