Paul Walden (6 June 1964 – 28 December 2015), better known as Guru Josh, was a

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

musician, active in the British post-

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

scene, best known for his debut single "

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

Biography

Musical career

Walden was the son of a Jersey dentist, Harold Walden. After studying dentistry himself in 1981, he began his career as an entertainer and

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

player at the Sands nightclub in Jersey, performing under the name of Syndrone and Animal and his Crazy Organs. In 1988, Walden tried

ecstasy Ecstasy may refer to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...

for the first time at a London pub where he was playing a gig with his rock band Joshua Cries Wolf, subsequently switching from rock to house music. In 1989, Guru Josh released "

" also known as "Infinity (1990's... Time for the Guru)", from his debut album ''

''. The song was originally produced for a friend of Guru Josh's who was organising a warehouse party of the same name, and gained attention when it started to be played by Haçienda DJ

Mike Pickering Mike Pickering (born 21 February 1954) is an English musician and DJ. Career Pickering was a DJ at The Haçienda's Nude and Hot nights, and later Shine. He worked for Factory Records, where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell with Burgundy and ...

. The song achieved success in Europe, especially in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the UK,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The song was later re-mixed and re-released on multiple occasions (the most popular remix by Klaas), still receiving particular success in 2011. Guru Josh released several other singles in the 1990s including "Freaky Dreamer", "Holographic Dreams", and "Whose Law (Is It Anyway?)", which reached number 26 and number 12 in the UK and Germany, respectively. "Hallelujah" was released in 1991. Shortly after this, Guru Josh diversified into also doing multimedia production creating the ''Dance in Cyberspace'' series of music videos under the name of Dr. Devious and also VR, in collaboration with Darrel Jameson, Guy Labbé, Dave 'Pointy shoes, smart trousers and a baseball vest ' Evans, Marcus Pennell and others. Following the success of "Infinity", Guru Josh moved to

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

, concentrating on art and running a promotions company. In 2007, he was part of Guru Josh Project, formed by Darren Bailie and signed by Big City Beats. The group consisted of Paul Walden, Anders Nyman, and Darren Bailie. In 2008, "Infinity" was re-released as "Infinity 2008", which was remixed by the German DJ Klaas. It experienced widespread success, peaking at number one on the Belgian, Dutch, French and Danish singles charts, the Czech airplay chart and the Eurochart Hot 100. In 2010, he released a new single entitled "Frozen Teardrops". In March 2011, he released "Love of Life", with a more modern and punchy house style, and it has been remixed by Sgt Slick, Digital Freq, and The Fusion & DJ Dima June. In 2012, saw the release of a remix of the 1989 original of "Infinity" called "Infinity 2012" by Guru Josh, with the main remix done by DJ Antoine. This single was then used by Langnese for a large marketing campaign promoting a new product launch during the summer of 2012 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Guru Josh created 3D

glass art Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including glas ...

under the name of "Louie Fabrix", sold in small exhibitions in New York, Madrid, Paris and Berlin.

Death

Walden committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

on 28 December 2015 at the age of 51. Associates said Josh had been suffering from drug and alcohol addictions, as well as depression following a break-up with his girlfriend.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

*
Guru Josh at Discogs

The Guru Josh Project at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Josh, Guru 1964 births 2015 deaths Acid house musicians British electronic musicians British record producers British expatriates in Spain Jersey musicians Suicides in Spain 2015 suicides