DJ RAMOS
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Well well well where do I start, it began like this: I used to go to a club in Southampton many moons ago, when I was 12 to 13, called the top rank. It was here that I sampled my first taste of dance music: hip hop, electro, soul, funk and house. After about 2 months of me watching the dj from outside the booth and me buying records he asked me if I want to be his side kick and I gratefully accepted! I used to warm up for him and then when I got better at mixing I went on later.
After a couple of years I started to hang around with Dj Lee, Dj Brisk and of course Dj Supreme and was going to London every weekend after getting me wages from work and spending it all on toons. Then came the radio station Future FM and it’s from here that I started to get proper recognised. Then came the time which me & Dj Supreme met Rik, alias Sunset Regime, and that’s when we made our first release, Crowd Control and The Journey Part 1. This was around about 1991-2 and it was this sort of time I met Dr S Gachet down Sterns in Worthing and he helped me get a lot more bookings from promoters around the country, what a fabulous man he is!
After the success of our first release myself, Supreme and Sunset made our next smash it was the classic Sunshine and gotta believe on hectic records and is still an anthem to this day! The years progressed and I had my own record shop in Portsmouth where I met the little skate Hixxy, hee hee up the SAINTS! And it was here that we got Hixxy in the studio to do his first tune peoples Party which came out on our Label RSR. Over the years I have made many hardcore records, dabbled a bit in Techno, trance and house. I done stuff with the likes of Slipmatt, Sharkey, UFO, Hixxy, Happytunes, Kniteforce, and Billy Bunter and so on. I must then admit I sort of left the scene for awhile for personal reasons and also to get myself an education and after many nights studying I am now a fully qualified approved electrician!
It was back in 2003 I heard alot of the new hardcore being played whilst I was Dj-ing at the raves and thought I could get right into this, so myself, Dj Supreme and Sunset Regime invested in to a studio again. It took us a couple of years and a lot of our time in the studio to get the sound we produced. Most of our releases went out on THC records.
Well that was then!!
Now Supreme & Mob are working hard with their latest tunes some of which I get stuck into with them. Meanwhile, me and the misses have invested in our own studio of which I am now doing producing and engineering as well as DJin. We have re launched RSR. Dj Punch is in on the action and we had had numerous releases on RSR as well as other well known labels.
So, it’s all go go go here!! Just the way we like it : )
Interview with DJ Ramos
1. What venue and when was your first major break into the rave scene?
It was the the Shirehorse in Cornwall way back in 1992 is where it all kicked off for me and also probably Sterns nightclub in Worthing.
2. You have been well known for your Old-Skool, Techno as well as the hardcore music, is there any other music you have dabbled in and what have you enjoyed most?
Well I started my dj career playing early house, electro and rap at the Top Rank in Southampton when I was 13 years old. I have also made a bit of House music in the past and have had some of my tracks put on big named albums, under a different name of course! My main passion is Hardcore and rave music and also lovin the breaks stuff at the moment as well.
3. Where did the name “Ramos” originate?
Well an old friend started calling me Ramos the pirate along time ago when I was a teenager, (thanks Mr Dean Wheeler) allegedly it had something to do with when I had a little drink or two I used to act like a pirate, hence Ramos the pirate! I kept the name because it’s an anagram of my surname and my star sign is an Aries hence the Ram!
4. How would old mates from your younger days describe you? Would you say you have changed much over your years of Djing?
Dunno really probably say how did the skinny spotty erk end up such a good looking hunk of a man, lol! Nah in all honestly I don’t hardly see many of my old mates from the past, all moved on!
5. Can you tell us of any embarrassing times on stage?
Not had many major disasters but played a few places where I have gone down like a lead balloon na d a couple times I have had the sound cut out on me for which is quite embarrassing!
6. You have Djed all over the world, is there any country that you would want to return to and why?
Japan was one of my favourite’s really nice people and love all sorts of music. Australia is probably the best place for me, friendly, hot and would probably move over there if I could!
7. You have worked alongside a lot of artists in your time, are there any that have really inspired you and why?
To be quite honest there is to many to mention but Dr S Gachet, Carl Cox and Danny Tenaglia all inspired me in my early days and now the likes of Hixxy, recon, Gammer and Styles inspire me with their hard work they put into the rave scene and the music they are all making is awesome!
8. What are your biggest achievements to date both personal and career wise?
Well me lovely missus and me 3 older girls and me baby girl is the tops and also having me doggy Britney. Career wise I am still learning and have lots to do and learn but I suppose the building of my own actual studio in me back garden and learning to make the music myself is a big thing for me after all these years of being in the scene.
9. How would you describe yourself different from the DJ Ramos we see on stage
I suppose I am a little different with 3 girls, I am a little more responsible at home but I still keep me cheeky and dry sense of humour at home.
10. How has the rave scene and music changed over the years that you have
been in the scene? And is it for the better?
It has changed hell of a lot over the years, better venues to play at production all around the scene is better. You can never take away the memories of the early days, I am still as excited about it now as I was 15 years ago I am just more professional now and where I am getting on a bit now I take things a little slower, hee hee!
11. You came out of the rave scene for a few years to learn a new trade, can you tell us why you decided to do this and have you benefited from it?
I was not enjoying the rave scene at the time due to personal reasons and I am a person who gets bored very quickly, I have to do something I can’t laze around. I got a job as an electricians assistant and after a few months I started to get frustrated i needed to broaden my horizons so I signed myself up at college and 3 years later I became a fully qualified Approved electrician. It taught me a hell of a lot made me more confident and i know now that if you put your mind to anything you can achieve anything!
12. What is the best re-mix you have ever done?
Boy that’s a toughie let me get back to ya on that one!
13. What inspired you to build your own studio and start up RSR again?
Well I suppose it was the fact, like with anything I do in life, I like to be able to do it myself without relying on other people I am a very independent person and when I do something I want to become the best at what I do. I have a lot to learn from the music business still and now I have my own studio I will put all my energy into making it a success!
14. What are your future plans for RSR?
There will be more releases on RSR. Alot of stuff also going out on download, keeping up with the times!! New genres will be appearing from myself with other artists, a bit of house and D&B maybe.
There will be merchandise, you have to admit, and the RSR logo is wicked!! Just concentrating on getting more great tunes out there.
15. Now you are writing your own tunz, are you also writing your own lyrics? And will we be hearing the voice of DJ Ramos in any of your tracks to come?
Oh yeh it is hard work writing decent vocals but I love it, we have also just acquired some decent singers, male & female, so I am sure between us all we can come out with some stonking vocal tunes! As for my vocal talents on a tune well you just have to wait and see there might be a few surprises in the pipeline!
16. Do you have any words of wisdom to anyone out there thinking of embarking in a career as a DJ?
Yeh keep persevering at what you do and most importantly you have to write your own music now to make it as a DJ so get yourselves set up with a studio and get learning to write music! Also try and create something different with your own style of things and also don’t give up be confident in yourself!
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