DJ Fresh

Fresh in person is charmingly feral in his polite, soft-spoken British way. Like The Tiger in William Blake’s poem, his gold- green eyes burn bright with fire. Prolific creator of some of the wickedest melodies and rhythms of our time, Fresh’s quiet reserve masks a beast pacing inside him. Fresh, AKA Dan Stein age 28, who was voted best producer of the year in the prestigious Knowledge Drum and Bass Awards in 2003, has made his indelible mark on drum and bass history, not only musically but as co-founder of vibrant seminal drum and bass labels and one of the world’s largest and most heavily trafficked music message boards, www.dogsonacid.com, the unofficial hub of the global drum and bass community, which has even spawned two record labels.

One senses the full force of Fresh’s creative prowess, fueled by his ferocious imagination and drive, is yet to unleash as he presses ever forward with new ideas. Bass Invaderz, Fresh’s first solo U.S. album released on American drum and bass icon Dieselboy’s HUMAN label, is a playful concept mixed CD that challenges drum and bass heads to think beyond the box.

In 2003 Fresh and another drum and bass superstar Adam F joined forces to create the Breakbeat Kaos label, home to hot producers Pendulum and Baron, which have released several chart-topping singles and launched the “Junglesound” compilation CD series. Fresh’s single Mo’ Fire crossed over into the mainstream, rising to No. 21 on the UK National Chart. Fresh and Adam F worked with the Pet Shop Boys on their 2003 hit single, and last year they worked together in New York on several hip-hop and R&B projects. More recently Fresh worked with Grooverider, co-producing more than half the tracks on Rider’s new album for Sony Records.

Currently based in Maidenhead between London and Bristol, Fresh completed an eight-city North American Bass Invaderz Tour with Dieselboy and MC Messinian. Not your typical drum and bass mix CD, Bass Invaderz comes scripted with aliens battling DJ Fresh for bass supremacy via a video arcade game and wandering off to a rave. Fresh explains his concept: “I wanted to do a CD of my favorite drum and bass tracks of the last year or so and give it an atmosphere a bit more special than just another mix CD. A lot of the tracks are big anthems [in the UK], and I thought it would be nice to give the heads in the States a bit of an English take on things. A lot of the stuff is from me and my guys, Pendulum and Baron. My whole take on drum and bass has always been to try and bring it down to earth, using dogsonacid.com to get people talking, get people interacting with each other.
Besides Fresh’s running Breakbeat Kaos, the dogsonacid.com message board, and its two labels, and his soulful house projects with pirate radio buddy Aaron Ross (including the Osiris label and a catsonacid.com house message board), Fresh worked hard on his debut artist album Escape from Planet Monday. Fresh says, “I really had to fight to do what I’m doing now and it finally worked out in the end. I’m a very strong supporter of people doing what their passion is and fighting for it as opposed to giving in and getting a normal job which might be unfulfilling if they’ve got such a strong passion. Escape from Planet Monday is about being aware of your passions and not doing things just because you’re being told that’s what you should be doing.”