Biography of Louis Hughes |  |
| Moniker(s) / | Two Deep |
Louis has been a DJ for over 14 years, but his love for House Music is a lot older. It all started in the mid 80s while Louis was at school. He would listen to acts such as New Order, Beastie Boys, Adeva, Snap, S Xpress, Black Box, Marshall Jefferson, Fast Eddie & Lil Louis etc to name but a few. Dance Music was getting more popular and hits were beginning to cross over into the commercial top 40 with acts and hits such as Pump Up The Volume by Marrs and You Got The Love by The Source.
If we fast forward to 1992 Louis was 16 and finally looked old enough to get into some clubs. He became a regular fixture in venues and club nights such as Shellys, Kinetic and The Hacienda. It was in these legendary clubs that he was blown away by DJs such as Sasha, Todd Terry and Carl Cox. These cornerstones of Dance were the reason Louis bought his first pair of Decks from a friend in 1994. They were Technics BD22s, belt drive unit with a rotary pitch control. These were to be the tools that Louis used to learn how to mix on.
At the end of the summer of 1995 Louis got his first gig in a local club called The Tolardie in St Aseph. It was a private night where he played Techno and Hardcore to a minimal crowd. Over the next 8-12 months Louis played various local venues and parties perfecting playing to crowds.
Towards the end of the summer in 1996 Louis made a decision to concentrate on one genre of Dance music as the scene had become very segregated. Drum and Bass DJs were no longer playing alongside House DJs, Techno DJs were at different venues to Garage purveyors. The style of music Louis chose to play was his favorite and was of course House!
Over the next two years Louis played at various venues throughout North Wales and the North West before being offered a residency at a night in Llandudno called Surreal. This night was a new monthly night and guests included Paul Bleasdale, Scott Bond, Luke Neville and John Kelly amongst others. Unfortunately the night came to an end after a very successful run. Louis continued to play at various venues and nights including Freak, Inspire, Invasion and Hendre Hall.
In the summer of 1999 Louis was offered his second residency. The night was called Menu and because of the success of Surreal Louis didn't hesitate in accepting this offer. On the first night the main guest was man of the moment Steve Lawler alongside Louis. It goes without saying this night was an instant success. Over the next two years guests included Guy Ornendel, Scott Bond, Fragma, Graham Gold and Hybrid amongst others. The Menu nights reached legendary status but unfortunately came to an end when the promoters decided to go their separate ways.
Over the next couple of years Louis again without a residency but very much in demand played many parties and venues across the North West. Some of the bigger venues were Zinc, Zumbar and the Void.
In 2002 Louis met a couple of fellow DJs called Jon Scudamore and Richard Williams. They talked about starting their own night and eventually launched a night called Manipulate. At first they were small parties in Broadway Boulevard in Llandudno and The Phoenix in Hollyhead. The parties weren't really going anywhere and all the DJs booked were local. In 2003 a conscious decision was made to give Manipulate a big push. In the April of that year Justin Robertson was booked to play the first night at the new venue, Hendre Hall. The night was a sell out and the blueprint for the future parties that are still going to this day. Guests have included the very best in Underground House music including, Billy Nastey, Lottie, Yousef, Hybrid, Paul Woolford, Louis Boardman, X-Press 2, Danny Rampling, Ralph Lawson, Mr C and Funk Dvoid. As well as residing at Manipulate Louis has also spread his wings to play Venues such as Sankeys, Mint Club and My House (formally Stinky's Peephouse) and even spreading his wings as far as Ibiza and Bulgaria.
Another residency followed in 2007 at a night in Leeds called Assemble. Louis was playing alongside underground artists such as Phil Weeks, Inland Knights, Slum Science, Jason Hodges and Hector Moralez. Unfortunately as with lots of nights with a niche market it came to end in October.
Appearing as a runner up in the IDJ Raw Talent pages on two separate occasions Louis has won great acclaim from the judges with Yousef going as far as to say "Technically he's spot on. Heads up, this is a guy to look out for!" and IDJ saying "Louis is consummately professional as well as funky!" and "With this trajectory the worlds his oyster".
In the last couple of years Louis has also added producing his own tracks to his CV as a logical progression. He has formed a production duo with Middleman called "Two Deep" releasing remixes and original productions on labels such as Digifunk, Gourmand and Trendy Mullet, all of which are well respected Underground House labels. On the mix "Introducing the Sounds Of Playhouse" you can hear a track called "Sax Pest" as well a couple of remixes Two Deep have completed.
You can even catch Louis playing live on his own radio show "The Truth" every Thursday 9- 11PM GMT on Chicago House FM playing upfront and classic Underground House. Guests have included Hector Moralez (monthly resident), Kink, Homero Espinosa, The Sound Republic, Natural Rhythm, Monoman, Anhanguera (and the list goes on). Please tune in on www.chicagohousefm.com and pop by and say hi in the chat room!
As for the future? Well there is the launch of two new labels. 1999 Recordings is a Vinyl label with the first 4 releases including tracks and remixes from Underground House heavyweights such as Hector Moralez, Kink, Frankie J of The Sound Republic, YSE, Rhythm Plate, Ross Couch, Monoman, Middleman and Louis’s own production outfit Two Deep. The other label is 6th Sense Music and a digital only label. Again it boasts an impressive artist roster including Anhanguera, Camouflage, Jangatha, Craig Hamilton & Esteban Caracas, Dave Decase (Combined), Middleman and Two Deep. Both labels launch Feb 2009 and sure will be a success! Louis is looking forward to his busiest year to date in 2009 pushing hi unique underground sound!