Chris Duckenfield
Turbo Recordings
Like every Tom, Dick, and Harry (English teenager) living within 150 miles of London or Manchester, Chris Duckenfield was significantly affected by the late '80s acid-house craze. After bopping about at Sheffield's Jive Turkey parties, Duckenfield bought himself a pair of Technics and began to put together a set. Shortly thereafter, he gained his first residency at Sheffield's Limit club. With Chris at the helm, the club exploded, and though short-lived (the club was demolished not long after he came on board), it was a perfect introduction to the workings of the dance scene.
Following his '89 DJ debut, Duckenfield became increasingly interested in production, eventually releasing his first record on the Warp sub-label Nucleus in '91. As RAC (with Limit partner Richard Benson), Duckenfield released a total of eight releases on Nucleus and Warp (he was also a buyer at the Warp store for five years before it closed its doors in '97). The engineer behind these early releases was a certain Richard Brown, with whom Duckenfield would later collaborate under the guise of Swag. So called because of their ruthless sampling techniques, Swag released four EPs and an album on London's prestigious Junior Boys Own and its sister imprint, Jus' Trax.
In '99, the duo parted ways with JBO's empire and founded their own Version Music label, designed specifically to release Swag material. Of course, Duckenfield was already running his own successful and much-praised underground techno/house Primitive imprint, so he had the necessary experience. Following a couple of Version singles and samplers, the duo released Felony Funk, an album that blended Swag's classic and creative production with a strong dance floor dynamic. The calls for remixes have come in thick and fast ever since. To date, the duo have tagged the Swag sound to releases from Bjork, Ian Pooley, Herbert, and Blaze, to name but a few. When not jet-setting around the world as a DJ, Duckenfield somehow manages to run a third label, Odori, and to release mix comps (such as this one) for Montreal's extra-special Turbo Recordings. My gosh he's a busy lad.
Luke Magnuson
last updated:
10/26/01
Sheffield Mix Sessions
24 To Vector Z (Morgan's Commuter Mix)Soulpower (Jazzanova Straight Dub Mix)Space Disco LatinoShriekSex In The DarkN'Arret PasBeautifulWe AreThe Last LaughLove Shared (Lil' Mark's Dub)OxygenConapt (Dub)Why Did You Do That?Free At LastThin IceGrass CutterMoonstreams (2 Left Feet Dub)Koko Demo Dub
