ARTIST INFO

 

Originally inspired by the rhythmic force of The Bomb Squad's productions for Public Enemy, hip hop was the primary influence on Natural Self's first forays into music. His hometown of Oxford was just near enough to London to pick up Tim Westwood's then seminal Capitol Rap Show floating across the airwaves. The beats he would hear as a teenager led him forward to the future hip hop of DJ's Shadow and Krush and back to it's roots in the American funk of the late 60's and early 70's. This gave him a keen sense of musical lineage as well as the possibilities of the future and would provide the foundation of everything that was to follow. The crate digging culture upon which hip hop is based introduced him to a whole world of music and broadened his horizons immeasurably.

 

2001 saw his production debut with the "Shakedown/The Soul step" single on Tru-Thoughts recordings. Having already had 7 years of DJ'ing experience by this time both tracks had a strikingly direct and confident sound, perfectly working the dancefloors for which they were intended. The characteristic combination of raw drums, polyrhythmic percussion and strident horns would become a signature style of the several singles that followed, notably in the renowned collaboration with his good friend Nostalgia 77 (recorded as Keno-1 & The Hermit), the mighty "Heavy Heavy". This style became increasingly sophisticated and subtle, as show-cased on Natural Self's 2006 debut album "Let peace be the ruler" for Breakin Bread records. This saw the introduction of live recording into the sound as well as a first full-vocal production with Alice Russell on "I don't need this trouble". Also released in 2006 was the Natural Self and Nostalgia 77 collaborative album "Gravity" recorded as The Broken Keys. Combining the skills of the two producers, the album also featured Natural Self's first steps into singing after the original vocalist was unable to take part in the project.

 

Throughout this time, his services as a remixer became inreasingly in demand, re-working tracks for such artists as Nichole Willis, Quantic, Abdominal and Elizabeth Shepperd. Natural Self's skills as a DJ also saw him travel increasingly across the UK and Europe as his style came to incorporate Latin and African music alonside the funk and hip hop that has played such a consistent role since he first started out. This blend of new and old music from across the globe is mixed with a deftness honed during his formative years learning to cut and scratch hip hop beats. His Breakin Bread mix CD "The Ritual" is a perfect example of his style and approach as a DJ.

 

Returning to Tru-Thoughts, the home of his first releases, Natural Self will shortly be releasing his second solo album. Entitled "The art of vibration", the new long player sees a further development of the continually distinctive productions, featuring experiments in electronic sound as well as collaborations with Canadian MC Abdominal and rising UK soul singer Andreya Triana. The album will be released on June 30th and will be preceded by the 12" single "The Rising" featuring the vocals of Andreya Triana and Natural Self, to be released on May 26th.

 

The Natural Self sound continues to develop constantly and this album is the next step in it's evolution. 2008 is where it really gets started.