John Barber Biography:

Driven, focused and a perfectionist are credentials that have been etched into the soul of John from a very young age. Living with his grandparents in a sleepy village in the New Forest, South England, John become independent and mature early in life.

Socialising with a much older age group was what exposed him to all aspects of youth culture when most his age were at home playing with toys and being read bed time stories. Although left to his own devices, John somehow remained grounded and disciplined when it mattered - life could have quite easily led him to self-neglect and destruction as many others do.

Heavily influenced by that of his older peers, including his brother, an interest developed in electronic music and at that time the rave scene in clubs and parties around the UK. Obviously too young to attend such events, mix tapes and recordings available from his local record shop were the only way to follow the development of the music. As dance music culture at the time became increasingly popular John was able to watch his brother practicing making mix tapes prior to his local gigs in Southampton and Bristol, which inevitably lead to him trying his hand at it himself. Slowly an addictive obsession and interest developed not only to practicing but also to buying vinyl, which still exists to this day.

When you are a teenager with very little money, the only way to feed a habit like this is to work in a record shop. Buying and selling the popular genres of electronic music to the aspiring and established local dj's, and in turn developing his own unique style, sound and understanding of djing and music progression. Not wanting to be pinned to one subgenre of 'house' music, and in an ideal position to experiment with the resourses at hand in the shop, the result is a dj who understands how to build energy, atmosphere and emotion buy playing music to a crowd of people. A style that is unique in feeling but always showcased with the danceflood in mind.

Johns desire to create seamless dj mixes and live performances that focus on the development of different moods, emotions and energies is what eventually gained him recognition with some of the top UK clubs. After a few years of playing locally, a need to perform to a more educated audience developed.

At this time, sending demo CDs out and being an excellent dj is all you needed to get the chance to play, and when johns first demo cd got into the hands of a handful of clubs it wasn't long before he was on the bill and holding down residencies at Turnmills in London, Club Class in Maidstone and Maison in Bournemouth - brushing shoulders with the elite of dj circuit at the time, serving his time as 'apprentice' and furthering his understanding of set building and warming up and supporting the headline performers.

A natural progression into music production followed, as a handful of successful colaborations under various alias' found their way into many djs record boxes and compilations CDs around the world. However, shortly after this time house music, and dance music generally began to take a hit as the music cycle turned away from dance music. Popular UK clubs closed their doors and many underground parties came to a end. Getting gigs and releasing music became more challenging. Mass vinyl releases were replaced by the digital format and free downloads. A club night in Bournemouth was Johns outlet for music expression for the next 3 years. Electric Playground was organised and promoted by himself and many talented and established DJ's were invited to entertain the local community that developed at the parties, the only one of it's kind in south England at the time.

Johns steady progression into music production over the last 3 years has become a key point in his profile, with releases on credible labels Viva Music (Faith In Music EP) and Metroline Limited (Midnight Souls EP & Lonely Knights EP) all of which have supported by the cream of electronic DJ’s worldwide. This has enabled him to release consistently and continue to develop his sound. Inevitably John’s DJ schedule is increasing and you can certainly expect to hear a lot more of him over the coming months.