David Maurice Clarke (born 19 September 1968) is an English
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
DJ, producer and
radio presenter
A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...
. BBC radio presenter
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
named Clarke "The Baron of Techno".
Early life
Born in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
, England, Clarke was educated at
Brighton College
Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...
, but moved out of home at the age of 16 after his parents separated.
Since the age of 8, Clarke has been interested in music and technology, and to him, "there was no alternative but to go professional."
After a brief period of homelessness, a friend offered him temporary accommodation and Clarke continued to develop his love for music — initially hip hop and post-punk.
The Damned was an early influence for Clarke and he continues to listen to the band during his music career:
"I bought my first Damned album because I thought they sounded like they'd be really evil," he declares, "and even now their album ''Machine Gun Etiquette'' is one I keep coming back to. I like the attitude, the free rein of it, and on an artistic level I see my music as in the alternative genre rather than dance music. Techno and electro is an alternative that happens to be on the peripheries of dance music."
During this period, his employment included a low-paying job in a shoe shop; however, his musical ambitions were established at this stage of his life: "I used to tell people when I was working in a shoe shop that I would one day travel the world based on a career in music... I was that driven."
Musical success began when he attained a DJ residency at the Brighton
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
"Toppers", which rivalled a club night run by
John Digweed
Thomas John Digweed (born 1 January 1967) is a British DJ and record producer. ''DJ Magazine'' voted him World No 1 DJ in 2001. As well as achieving success as a solo act, he has collaborated with Sasha as Sasha & John Digweed, and with Nick M ...
(then known as DJ JD). Clarke later explained that he regarded the period "as an apprenticeship".
Clarke's music reviews were also published in the now-defunct ''DMC Update'' magazine and he reviewed the inaugural single by
Aphex Twin
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
. Clarke acknowledged in 2013, "having my reviews in there
'DMC Update''helped me to get the vinyls I needed to be out there DJing."
Musical career
Clarke's musical career commenced as a producer and his first release was under the moniker "Hardcore" on the XL Recordings label in 1990. The release occurred two years after he played his first international show at the now-defunct "Richters" venue in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, the Netherlands.
The XL release gained the attention of Belgian techno music label
R&S Records
R&S Records is an independent record label founded in 1983 in Ghent, Belgium. R&S represents the initials of Renaat Vandepapeliere and Sabine Maes, the couple that created the label. R&S Records has had several subsidiaries, most notably Apollo Re ...
and he subsequently released various
EPs in 1991 as both Hardcore and "Directional Force".
In 1992 Clarke launched his own music label, "Magnetic North", releasing recordings under the moniker "Fly By Wire". He then produced a series of EPs under the name "Red", one of which was listed by the ''DJ Mag'' publication in its "All Time Techno Top 100" list.
The Red recordings led to a significant level of attention for Clarke, who subsequently produced remixes for prominent artists such as
Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Maurice Saunderson (born September 5, 1964) is an American electronic dance music Dj and record producer. He is famous for being a member of a trio, along with Juan Atkins and Derrick May, who came to be known as The Belleville Three, w ...
's "Inner City", The Chemical Brothers,
New Order and
Underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
.
Signed to the de-Construction label, Clarke then released his debut album, ''Archive One'', in 1996, which contained elements of the
breakbeat
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...
and
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
genres.
Clarke is one of the few DJs who performed live on Peel's radio show and segments of the performance were released as ''The John Peel Session'' EP on the Strange Fruit label in 1997, under the name "Directional Force". Also in 1997, Peel identified ''Archive 1'' as number 14 in a list of his top 20 albums at the time.
Clarke then released a series of DJ mix albums, including two ''World Service'' sets, released on the React Records label at the beginning of the 21st century.
One of the albums sold over 100,000 copies,
while ''World Service Vol. 1'' was ranked number 9 in the ''Resident Advisor'' (RA) magazine poll of best mix albums from the 2000–2009 period. In response to the ''RA'' ranking, Clarke stated:
There was a general frustration for me at the time that I started putting World Service together that there was so much good electro and techno coming out at the time, and I didn't want to do just one specific genre on a mix. I wanted it to be a continuation of my radio show—similar to the BBC's World Service—available to everyone around the globe. While I think I prefer the electro mix from World Service 2, there are so many great tracks on the first.
The album ''Devil's Advocate'', released in 2004, was Clarke's output during a brief period with the Skint music label and featured collaborations with
Chicks on Speed
Chicks on Speed is a feminist music and fine art ensemble, formed in Munich in 1997, after members Australian Alex Murray-Leslie and American Melissa Logan met at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
Though Chicks on Speed reached cult status th ...
, Mr Lif and
DJ Rush
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
.
In 2006 Clarke launched his weekly radio program, "White Noise", on Dutch radio broadcaster VPRO (3FM).
Clarke relocated to
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
in 2008, explaining in 2013 that he "just couldn't grow there
nglandanymore." Following Clarke's performance at Richter in the 1980s, he states that he "fell in love with the place and hoped one day to live" in the city. Clarke commended Amsterdam in 2013, as it "has so many great things, an amazing way of life in the most beautiful setting with a bloody great big and reliable airport 15 mins away."
In 2011 Clarke started a new project called "_Unsubscribe_" with Jonas Uittenbosch (aka Mr. Jones), after they met in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
, the Netherlands. They have remixed artists such as Ben Sims,
Detroit Grand Pubahs and
Boys Noize
Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a Berlin-based German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter, and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he estab ...
. In May 2013 their debut single, "Spek Hondje", appeared on the Houndstooth label—prior to this, Clarke had not recorded in a studio for six years.
Since relocating to Amsterdam, Clarke founded the "Dave Clarke Presents" event moniker that, as of 2013, appeared on eight sold-out occasions at the annual
Amsterdam dance event
The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is a five-day electronic music conference and festival held annually in mid-October. The event, organised by The Amsterdam Dance Event Foundation, offers a full programme of daytime conferences at ADE Pro, ADE Tech ...
(ADE) and hosted the second-biggest outdoor stage at the
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...
2012 festival in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
; Dave Clarke Presents returned for Tomorrowland 2013. Clarke has also appeared at other prominent festival events, such as Awakenings,
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...
,
Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium, in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the ...
and Nature One.
As of 2013, Clarke's DJ presence at clubs includes
Fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
in London, UK,
Berghain
Berghain () is a nightclub in Berlin, Germany. It is named after its location near the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain in Berlin, and is a short walk from Berlin Ostbahnhof main line railway station. in Berlin, Germany, and Fuse in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium.
In a 2013 interview, Clarke explained that Fabric and the "celtic side" (Ireland and Scotland) were solely responsible for quality electronica in the UK region:
But yes, the scene is cheesy in the UK, why do I think this...well I blame one person: Pete Tong
Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and ''Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio stre ...
, the driver of big business into UK radio. That is my interpretation anyway. Also the sad demise of record shops didn't help sustain a healthy disdain to the commerciality so omnipresent in the UK. Yes, Fabric kicks the crap away with an amazing stance for quality week in week out, but you mostly have to go to the celtic side to get back the punky attitude, Scotland, Ireland...
Clarke performed at the Smart Bar in Chicago, United States (US) in November 2013, which was his first American live show in around eight years. Clarke explained in a promotional interview that "shiesty promoters not being professional and honouring legal commitments" were responsible for his protracted absence.
In the same interview, Clarke also provided his perspective on US electronica:
That is strange for me, the US invents house and electro, digests European electronica and comes up with Techno, yet never understands the culture it gave Europe and the World and doesn't treat these innovators with any deep respect or understanding above cult status, that is a dilemma I cannot fathom.
As of 11 July 2021, 810 editions of "White Noise" have been broadcast and the program has moved from VPRO (3FM) to the Irish station RTÉ 2fm. Clarke explained in 2013 that the radio show "really is my way of paying back the scene."
Clarke was featured in the April 2014 edition of ''Mixmag'' magazine, in which he states: "EDM is a vehicle for ego-centric artists to expand their wallets". In 2014 Clarke will curate a stage at Belgium's Tomorrowland event for the third consecutive year and explained in a June 2014 interview with American magazine ''Big Shot'': "In Belgium they always had an understanding and respect for underground music. I have been playing there for over 20 years so I think in their hearts they love having a bit of punk spirit on a very successful EDM festival, for me it is an honor to be entrusted in doing an alternative stage." When asked for his final thoughts in the ''Big Shot'' interview, Clarke stated: "An American mag asking me questions whilst I am not and never have been part of EDM has to be an honor."
DJ equipment
Clarke has not played vinyl in clubs since the end of the 2004, and instead played digital files on CD (his players of choice were the Technics DZ1210). In mid-2006, he then used the Technics DZ1210 in conjunction with
Serato Scratch Live
Scratch Live is a vinyl emulation software application created by New Zealand based Serato Audio Research, distributed by and licensed exclusively to Rane Corporation. Serato was first known for its Pro Tools plug-in, Pitch N Time, which was ...
—with an SL3 converter—but also uses
Pioneer CDJs or
Denon CD DJ players (DJ SC2900), the latter of which he helped develop.
For fast & easy navigation on Serato he is using a
SpaceNavigator.
Clarke explained in June 2014 that he never prepares his DJ sets, which he explained was considered "weird" by others. Clarke explained:
I like to be on my toes and be instinctual and “live,” so I will deal with each gig as it comes. Of course some are more “pressured” than others, but as an artist you feed off that.
Personal life
In 2013 Clarke explained that his experience as a professional DJ was a combination of "ups and downs":
... the travelling is tough, the lack of sleep is a killer (3–4 hours over 2–3 days), giving up your weekends for 25 years needs understanding from friends and family, being dead tired on a Tuesday is really a bummer, being in cars for hours on end when you want/need to sleep can drive you mad, being in a club when people really get you and all is syncopated is pure magic ...
Clarke also described an ideal Sunday in his life at the time: "Getting home at 8am, my lovely girlfriend cooking me breakfast after I have a bath, sleeping for four hours, then going for a walk together to a record shop, then a steaming hot curry. That is heaven."
Selected discography
Albums
* ''Archive One'' (1996) –
UK No. 36
* ''Devil's Advocate'' (2003)
* ''Remixes & Rarities'' (2006)
* ''Charcoal Eyes (A Selection of Remixes from Amsterdam)'' (2016)
* ''The Desecration of Desire'' (2017)
Singles and EPs
* "Red 1" (1994)
* "Red 2" (1994)
* "Red Three : Thunder / Storm" (1995)
* "Southside" (1996)
* "No One's Driving" (1996)
* "Shake Your Booty" (1997)
* "Before I Was So Rudely Interrupted" (2000)
* "The Compass" (2001)
* "The Wolf" (2002)
* "Way of Life" (2003)
* "The Wiggle" (2004)
* "Just Ride" (2004)
* "What Was Her Name?" (2004)
* "Blue on Blue" (2004)
* "Dirtbox" (2005)
* "The Wolf/Way of Life" (remixes) (2017)
* "Charcoal Eyes (Glass Tears)" featuring
Mark Lanegan
Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the St ...
(2017)
* "I'm Not Afraid" featuring
Anika
Anika (Devanagari: ) is a female given name of Sanskrit, German, Arabic, Swedish, Dutch, Hebrew, and Māori origin and is also an alternative spelling of the name Annika or Anikha
Meanings
The meaning of the name "Anika" is different in several ...
(2017)
DJ mix compilations
* ''Dave Clarke Presents X-Mix – Electro Boogie'' (1996)
* ''Muzik Masters'' (1996)
* ''Dave Clarke Presents Electro Boogie Vol. 2 – The Throwdown'' (1998)
* ''Fuse Presents Dave Clarke'' (1999)
* ''World Service'' (2001)
* ''World Service 2'' (2005)
* ''I ♥ Techno'' (2007)
* ''Back in the Box'' (2008)
* ''
Fabric 60'' (2011)
Selected remixes
*
Aphrohead a.k.a.
Felix Da Housecat
Felix da Housecat (born Felix Stallings Jr., August 25, 1971) is an American DJ and record producer, mostly known for house music and electro. Felix is regarded as a member of the second wave of Chicago house
Musical career Early life
Stall ...
– ("In the Dark We Live") (1994)
*
Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas are an English electronic music group, for which Richard Fearless serves as frontman. The band was formed in 1994 by Fearless and Steve Hellier and signed to Concrete Records under the name of Dead Elvis. Owing to an Irish record ...
– ("Rocco") (1996)
*
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...
– ("Chemical Beats") (1996)
*
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
– ("
Dream On")
*
Midfield General – ("
Coatnoise") (2000)
*
Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner were an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in Chicago after meeting in school. The name is a combination of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner.
Career
Originally a duo formed by classi ...
– ("
Emerge") (2001)
*
Chicks on Speed
Chicks on Speed is a feminist music and fine art ensemble, formed in Munich in 1997, after members Australian Alex Murray-Leslie and American Melissa Logan met at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
Though Chicks on Speed reached cult status th ...
– ("
Wordy Rappinghood
"Wordy Rappinghood" is the debut single by American new wave band Tom Tom Club, from their 1981 self-titled debut album. It uses part of a traditional Moroccan children's song and game, " A Ram Sam Sam", made popular by the 1971 Rolf Harris r ...
") (2003)
*
I Am Kloot
I Am Kloot were an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 1999. The band was composed of vocalist/guitarist John Bramwell, bassist Peter Jobson and drummer Andy Hargreaves.
The band released six studio albums, and was nominated for the Mercu ...
– ("
These Days Are Mine") (2013)
* Marcel Fengler – ("Sky Pushing") (2014)
UK charting singles
References
External links
Official website
White Noise radio show*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Dave
1968 births
Living people
English techno musicians
English DJs
DJs from London
English record producers
Musicians from Brighton and Hove
DJs from Brighton and Hove
People from Brighton
Electronic dance music DJs