DJs
Asad Rizvi (UK)
Ever since his emergence on the scene in 1995, Asad Rizvi has been a leading proponent of the ever-growing underground House movement, known the world over as Tech-House. With over 40 releases to his name and DJ itineraries that have spanned five continents, the 25-year-old Londoner has developed a distinctive sound that has consistently won him support from the industry's leading music publications and DJs alike. Having already been dubbed a "new school hero" by Muzik in 1998, "Producer for 2000" by Mixmag, and a "DJ for 2000" in The Face, Asad has proved himself an artist who never fails to deliver.
The broad-minded aesthetic of his music is clearly reflective of early years spent in an assortment of countries and a musical backdrop that was no less colourful. His taste for musical creation was developed on school and college recording facilities from the age of 13 onwards. These skills were later recognised as talent when he and the now-legendary producer Ian O'Brien committed their first efforts to vinyl as Memory Tree in 1995. The single immediately gained enthusiastic support from DJs and journalists across the globe, two of whom awarded it Single of the Month reviews. Simultaneously, Asad had begun to DJ on a number of local pirate stations, there and then spawning a love for an occupation that would later take him to all corners of the globe.
Seven years down the line, Asad's contribution to underground dance music has been second to none. His production has gained a reputation for its diversity, slick production and dance-floor dynamic. Recording under a number of guises, Asad's discography covers a multitude of well-respected labels such as The End, Loaded, Visitor, Surreal, Wiggle, as well as his own imprints Wrong and Reverberations. The latter, co-run with Get F***ked's Nathan Coles, is home to the duo's infamous Two Right Wrongans releases which have found their way onto the revered Global Underground mixes by Danny Tenaglia and Anthony Pappa. Reverberations, the label, sound-system and production team is an amalgamation of Asad's talents with those of good friends Ravi McArthur, Tom Gillieron and Charlie Inman. Now in it's eighth year, it is one of the few labels around that can boast support from DJs as diverse as Terry Francis, Gilles Peterson, Adam Freeland, LTJ Bukem and John Digweed.
On Mr C's End Recordings, Asad and label partner, Ravi have been recording as the Impossible Beings for a number of years. Though only five twelves have been released under that name, the project is presently the focus of their work with a highly anticipated full-length album due out later this year. Featuring a vast array of instrumentalists and vocalists - including the former Opus 3 diva Kirsty Hawkshaw - the album promises to surprise many who know them for their work as House producers.
In 1999, Asad and Charlie Inman's jazz-tinged Appleheadz project found a home on Brighton's Loaded Records. Their single "Hold your Turtles," reached number one in the DJ magazine buzz chart when it was released in 2000. Asad went on to mix their "Fine House Music" compilation which went out to over 30,000 listeners via the cover of JockeySlut magazine. Having recently changed the project's name to Emulsion, the project is taking a more vocal-based and less dancefloor approach with their new single "Kinda Blue" (featuring Danielle Liebermann) which is due out later this year.
Asad's solo work as Silverlining is perhaps the project he is presently best known for. Focussing on his darker, dubbier and more dancefloor-orientated material, he has had a host of well-received releases under that name on labels such as Tag, Eukahouse, Tektite and Japan's Ing Recordings. His single "Precision Spanner" on Wrong picked up a Vital Release in Muzik Magazine in 1998. The name has also provided the basis for his remix work which has had its slant laid on artists such as the old-skool hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow, the legendary Miami house outfit The Fog, and The End's Killer Loop (aka Mr C and Layo Paskin).
Asad's versatility in his music is also reflected in his ability to DJ many styles and he has regularly played at some of the most respected UK nights such as Fabric, Wiggle, and The End's Subterrain, as well as his own Reverberations parties in South London. He has embarked on tours to places as far apart as Europe, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, USA and Canada.
The next 12 months are set to be Asad's busiest to date, with a mix CD of his key productions and remixes entitled Silverlining Exposures due out on Reverberations in October; new singles and remixes to be released imminently on The End, Big Chief, Special Needs, Ing, Laus and Wrong amongst others; tours of Europe, Asia, North and South America; and the highly anticipated Impossible Beings album.
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