Biography
Following in the footsteps of supremely talented South-coasters like James Zabiela, James Talk & Ridney are on a two-man mission to bring the city of Southampton to the attention of party-goers the world over.
Ridney's first break came in 1997 from local friend James Zabiela. After listening to one of Ridney's early mix tapes, he was asked to play a regular slot at James' night in a local Southampton venue. He began producing in early 2000 and featured in a handful of production groups before striking his first success - co-writing "Your Love" for Scarpi in 2004. Continuing to produce a number of singles, he was invited to provide a producer guest mix for the Trophy Twins on their BBC Radio 1 show during October 2006.
Further productions and remixes in 2007/2008 were supported on Pete Tong's Fast Trax show, with Ridney appearing 5 times! This included being voted one of the 4 top Bedroom Bedlam producers at the end of 2007. Then in July 2008, Ridney scored his first "Essential New Tune" on Pete Tong's BBC Radio 1 show. His collaboration with James Talk on the track "Sunshyne" was also named 2008 "Track of the Year" by Carl Cox in the Top 100 edition of DJ Magazine.
One of the unsung heroes of the UK house music scene, James Talk has gone from a fledgling producer and DJ championed by Pete Tong to a global star, gracing the world’s most respected labels and clubs on a regular basis.
The 27-year-old Southampton talent has been DJing half his life, and over the last 7 years has carved a name for himself in the production world as one the most talented groove-makers around. Whether it’s the straight-up, chunky acid and tech house sound that he’s best known for, or the flashes of anthemic genius in his tracks with Ridney his productions are always filled with colour, character, and funk.
Having graced world-leading labels like Get Physical, CR2, Bedrock, Noir, Saved and fabric in recent years, he’s kicked off the new decade in sterling form with his stomping, peak-time remix of M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade’s Donut – with the latter loving his version so much that they’ve asked him to remix their stone-cold classic Manderine Girl. In addition, he’s got releases coming up throughout 2010 on acclaimed labels like Blu-Fin, Great Stuff Recordings and Global Underground.
After playing many of the world’s most revered clubs over the last two years – including Tokyo’s Womb, Chicago’s Spy Bar, London’s Ministry Of Sound, Manchester’s Sankeys and Toronto’s Footwork – he’ll be continuing to tour the globe extensively throughout 2010, with many more exciting plans afoot for the year. His successful Radio 1 Essential Mix from September 2009 will be followed on by a third guest mix for John Digweed’s Transitions show.
James Talk and Ridney have gone on to score two further Essential New Tunes on the Pete Tong BBC Radio 1 show. On 17th July 2009, their remake of the classic Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls" achieved the prestigious crown. Now, they may have producer their biggest track to date; the classic-disco sampling ‘Forever’ has once again earned them an ‘Essential New Tune’ and promises to set Ibiza and beyond alight in the summer of 2010. Harking back to the classic, Bangaltar-esque French house era of the late 90’s, it is a unifying and uplifting record of supreme quality, and with remixes on the way looks set to re-ignite the sub-genre for a new generation. Watch this space…
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